Committed to connecting the world

Advanced Search

Roxana Widmer-Iliescu's Bio

BIOGRAPHY

Roxana Widmer-Iliescu

Senior Programme Officer - Digital Inclusion Division

Telecommunication Development Bureau

ITU

Roxana WIDMER-ILIESCU has been working at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Development Sector (ITU-D) since 1998.

As Senior Programme Officer in charge of Digital Inclusion, she promotes the empowerment through ICTs of persons with specific needs – including Indigenous peoples, women and girls, youth, persons with disabilities (PwD) and the elderly. To achieve this, Ms. Widmer leads and coordinates the development of activities that enable these groups to further their social and economic development through access to and use of ICTs. As ITU-D Focal Point for ICT Accessibility, she also advises ITU Members on designing policies and executing strategies for promoting and implementing ICT accessibly services and solutions for PwD in their respective countries. To support global implementation, she directed the development of several ITU-D key resources, including: the “Web Accessibility Programme ”Internet for @ll”, the on-line trainings “ICT accessibility: the key to inclusive communication”, video-tutorials on the development and remediation of accessible digital content. These are concrete tools that can be used by all stakeholders to ensure that PwD can use affordable and accessible ICTs as well as to promote inclusiveness in the digital era. In her work with the ITU regional offices, Ms. Widmer also advocates for the promotion of the accessibility of ICTs and encourages implementation of ICT accessibility policies and services for PwD. Moreover, to strengthen regional capacity in ICT accessibility she also delivers ITU-certified executive trainings to stakeholders during regional events, most recently at ‘Accessible Americas: ICT for ALL’ held Jamaica from 28 to 30 November. The ultimate goal of Ms. Widmer’s work is to contribute to building inclusive digital societies globally.