ITU-D News

23/9​/2025​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, and and Apolonija Oblak Flander, Director-General of the Statistical Office of Slovenia and Chair of WTIS-25​

The World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS) has become the world’s primary forum on digital development statistics, offering a unique platform to debate key questions on digital policy and data. 

3/9​/2025​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, and Mansour AlQurashi, Acting Deputy Governor for International Affairs and Partnerships, Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia​

The Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) has just celebrated a historic milestone – 25 years as the world’s premier gathering for the telecommunication regulatory community. Since its inception, GSR has stood out as a driving force behind global digital policy.​

12/8/2025​​​

ITU News

Thirty-one young people from around the world travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, in July to pitch their community-enhancing digital initiatives to the global diplomatic community. They also took part in a week of intensive training and have now embarked on a year of project development under expert guidance from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

8/8/2025​​​

ITU News

Indigenous groups in Central and South America – from the high-altitude Rarámuri communities of northern Mexico to the Kichwa people of Ecuador’s rainforests – are operating their own community media and connectivity projects.

20/6/2025​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

Visiting Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp earlier this year, I was impressed by the determination of the inhabitants to keep up with digital innovations.The camp’s digital hub was operating in high gear, with a range of courses on offer – from beginner-level to expert. I joined a class where refugee women were learning to navigate the Internet, engage in e-commerce, and use the common digital technologies mentioned in many employment listings.

17/2/2025​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

ITU’s Smart Villages and Smart Islands initiative has proved a successful and sustainable way to improve the quality of life, economic opportunity, and services in rural communities.

30/4/2025​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, and Ernesto Rodríguez Hernández, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Communications of Cuba

Today’s young people, broadly speaking, are digital natives. They are early adopters of information technologies – quicker on the tech uptake, as well as ahead of their parents in catching fast-evolving trends in the digital landscape.

12/11/2024​​​

ITU News

Developing digital public services can be a challenge for countries and organizations pursuing wide-ranging digital transformation projects. Open source solutions can help build local skills and capacity, promote inclusive design, reduce duplication of efforts, and speed up the entire process of shaping a digital society and economy.

6/11/2024​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, and Lourdes Montenegro, Director of Research and Digitisation, World Benchmarking Alliance

Eliminating carbon emissions from industries, transport, and everyday energy use worldwide is an important and necessary way to avoid an irreversible climate catastrophe. But making the required changes is easier said than done.

14/10/2024​​​

ITU News

International E-Waste Day, celebrated on 14 October, calls on everyone this year to: “Join the e-waste hunt – retrieve, recycle, and revive!” The theme draws attention to the vast amounts of unused electronics in homes, emphasizing the importance of recycling and reviving valuable materials hidden in devices like mobile phones, cables, and other forgotten electronics.

9/7/2024​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

For over two decades, the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) has given the world a platform for exchanging the best practices in the regulation of digital technologies. Our latest edition, GSR-24, brought government ministers and heads of regulatory authorities together with industry executives and academics to discuss the most pressing issues in this fast-evolving field.

28/6/2024​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

Global regulators and policy-makers will meet over the coming week to exchange knowledge and experiences on advancing ‘regulation for impact.’ This year’s Global Symposium for Regulators, GSR-24, taking place in Kampala, Uganda, between 1 and 4 July, explores regulating for impact in ground-breaking fields of regulation such as artificial intelligence (AI), the space economy, and climate change.

25/4/2024​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

About 70 per cent of men today use the Internet, compared with 65 per cent of women globally. In some countries, the gap is much wider. The good news is that we are making progress, with the percentage of the world’s women using the Internet increasing steadily in recent years. Still, we have some way to go before the world reaches digital gender parity.

8/4/2024​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

Only a few years ago, it would have been difficult to consider a discarded flowerpot as electronic waste. But with our continuous technological evolution – including digital, self-watering plant pots – even ordinary products are being transformed. And the amount of e-waste is growing.

22/3/2024​​​

Casey Torgusson, Global Program Manager for Digital Development, World Bank, and Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

Artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies have piqued global excitement with their promise to drive economic growth and opportunity, unlock scientific breakthroughs, and build better services. But as we race to close the global digital divide, we must also ask ourselves some tough questions.

5/3/2024​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

ITU's latest statistics and analysis show where the world’s island economies stand in their journey to universal and meaningful connectivity. Internet use in the world’s 57 small island developing states and territories – or SIDS – has outpaced the world average over the past decade. SIDS Internet use grew by 8.4 per cent annually between 2014 and 2023, surpassing the global annual growth rate of 6.7 per cent.

3/12/2023​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.3 billion people experience significant disability. Essentially, this means one in six people require special consideration when it comes to technology and policy. While information and communication technologies, or ICTs, enhance the lives of most people, they are particularly crucial for persons with disabilities. For them, ICTs serve as vital lifelines, breaking down barriers and enabling them to actively participate in various aspects of life.

1/12/2023​​​

ITU News

Around the world, an estimated 2.6 billion people have never used the Internet and remain excluded from the benefits and opportunities offered by numerous digital platforms and technologies. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has focused on building high-impact partnerships to bring all those people online. The Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition, in particular, has become central in ITU’s work to extend meaningful connectivity to everyone, everywhere.

23/11/2023​​​

ITU News

Chinese multinational technology corporation Huawei says it has brought connectivity to 90 million people in remote areas of nearly 80 countries as part of its "Partner2Connect" (P2C) pledge in support of meaningful connectivity and digital transformation for all. The P2C Digital Coalition, launched by the ITU, mobilizes commitments across the industry, prioritizing remote communities in countries and regions that lack digital access.

22/11/2023​​​

ITU News

The Brazilian government has launched a new national strategy to bring connectivity to the country’s 140,000 state-run schools. The National Strategy for Connected Schools aims to connect all schools in Brazil to the Internet by the end of 2026, with quality targets to ensure that all students in the country are guaranteed access and can use information and communication technologies (ICTs) for educational purposes.

13/11/2023​​​

H.E. Dr Mohamed Alkuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security, UAE Government

With over 5.4 billion people around the world using the Internet, cyber threats continue to escalate. Broad international cooperation has become increasingly important to maintain a safe and secure online environment.

24/07/2023​​​

Atsuko Okuda, Director, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Gokina is an idyllic-looking village located 25 kilometers from Pakistan's capital city. Our car ride there took us uphill on winding roads into the verdant mountains overlooking Islamabad. Goats greeted us as we walked down the steep, narrow path to the village school.

13/07/2023​​​

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

After Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines in 2013, I was on the ground, providing emergency telecommunications support from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to aid recovery. One memory sticks in my mind above all: the tears of relief one lady shed when we gave her access to a satellite phone to contact a family member after she had lost her home, her shop, and many friends and relatives.

23/06/2023​​​

ITU News

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced a new initiative to prepare women from developing and middle-income countries for meaningful roles in cybersecurity policy negotiations.

8/06/2023​​​

Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

Today, we closed the 22nd edition of the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-23) with the highest number of participants in the event's history: 757 participants - heads of regulatory authorities, ministers and captains of industry gathered in Sharm el‑Sheikh, Egypt.

27/04/2023​​​

ITU News

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is marking the annual International Girls in ICT Day with an inter-generational dialogue organized with partners in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, on 27 April. The dialogue, open for remote participation and livestreamed worldwide, highlights this year's Girls in ICT theme of "Digital Skills for Life."

27/04/2023​​​

ITU News

A new project from the ITU and the European Commission will promote Internet services and skills for everyone worldwide over the next three years. The project, ‘Promoting and measuring universal and meaningful digital connectivity’, will leverage EUR 3 million (about USD 3.3 million) over three years to advance holistic policy approaches and provide recommendations.

27/03/2023​​​

ITU News

The ITU Area Office and Innovation Centre was officially opened in New Delhi, India, on 22 March, providing an expanded presence for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to promote tech and sustainable development in South Asia. The inclusion of ITU’s first on-site centre for innovation positions the new office in India’s capital as a hub for promoting advanced technologies within the region and beyond.

27/03/2023​​​

ITU News

m-Diabetes accompanies you with SMS advice for Ramadan. To receive the advice send DIAB to 21214 or STOP to unsubscribe. That message kicked off the 10th annual mRamadan campaign in Senegal last week. Designed to provide practical health and nutritional guidance to diabetics during Ramadan fasting, the campaign has benefitted hundreds of thousands of people in one of the most populous countries in West Africa since its first cycle in 2014.

20/03/2023​​​

ITU News

Women and girls need digital empowerment from an early age, equal access to technologies and opportunities, and a seat at the table for digital decision-making, according to the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Doreen Bogdan-Martin, elected last September, is the first woman ever to lead ITU, the United Nations tech agency.

1/03/2023​​​

Rosie McDonald, Associate Officer for E-Waste Data, ITU

The information and communication technology (ICT) sector today remains highly energy- and materials-intensive. Yet a wide range of existing digital technology solutions can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create resilience among communities. The ITU works closely with governments and industry partners to leverage the power of digital for climate-change monitoring, mitigation, and adaptation, including through emergency readiness solutions like early warning systems.

23/02/2023​​​

ITU News

“Open communication” tops the list of methods for keeping children safe and secure on the Internet, based on a social media survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). ITU — the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies — conducted the poll among its online followers last week, highlighting its Child Online Protection programme around Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, 7 February.

20/02/2023​​​

Saemi Matsumoto and Dalsie Tolang – Smart Villages and Smart Islands initiative team, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

While most residents in Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila, enjoy modern digital lifestyles with smart phones, broadband and new e-services, those in rural and remote areas of the country often miss out on digitalization and the resulting socio-economic benefits.

09/02/2023​​​

Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

Before I became the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), I spent some of my career as an educator. Almost 20 years ago to the day, I began giving lectures to MBA students at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. This included a class on Information Systems, a wide field of study that bridges business and computer science.

17/01/2023​​​

Vanessa Gray, Head of Environment and Emergency Telecommunications, ITU and Rachele Gianfranchi, Director of Government Affairs, Everbridge

Today, three out of four people around the world own a mobile phone. This opens new opportunities for the use of mobile networks to share public warnings and save lives. When disaster strikes, just a little bit of extra time can prepare people to act or evacuate.