BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin urged participants from around the world joining World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) celebrations on 18 May via remote participation to make digital connectivity a key priority of the UN Decade of Action for the SDGs, and put safe, affordable and accessible access within reach of all.
The GSR-20 Leadership Debate was the first event in a series of virtual dialogues leading up to the first virtual GSR, to be held from 1-3 September and chaired by Mr Daniel Sjöblom, Director-General of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority and the Chair of Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).
Master of Ceremonies, Dr Eun-Ju Kim, Chief of ITU's Digital Hub department, welcomed around 150 online participants, and an outstanding line-up of distinguished speakers, led by ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, who noted the extraordinary success of the GSR platform and the importance of national telecommunication regulatory authorities in driving access to and uptake of ICT networks and services.
In her opening speech, BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin celebrated the fact that the year 2020 marks the 20th edition of the Global Symposium for Regulators. “I am very proud to have been on the team that created this event, two decades ago," she said. “Back then, we recognized the urgent need for a global gathering where telecoms regulators – as they were known– could meet to exchange experiences and put their heads together to develop effective strategies to regulate a complex and rapidly evolving sector that was also becoming increasingly critical to every nation's economy. I am pleased that we had the foresight, 20 years ago, to recognize the importance of collaboration to the continued growth of the ICT sector. But it's also true that none of us, back then, really understood just how critical access to digital technologies would become, and how profoundly they would reshape our whole world. “
She noted that with digital goods and services continuing to evolve at breakneck speed, regulators face a perpetual struggle to adapt regulatory ecosystems to unforeseen challenges. In the wake of the COVID crisis, with digital connectivity finally occupying its rightful place at the top of every nation's agenda, she stressed that GSR is more relevant than ever. “Getting the policy mix right to enable rapid growth in networks and services has never been so crucial, nor so urgent. ICT policy and regulatory frameworks need to be up‑to‑date, flexible, incentive‑based and market‑driven to support digital transformation across sectors, and across geographical regions," she said, noting that 5th generation collaborative ICT regulatory measures and tools are the new frontier for regulators and policy makers as they work towards maximizing the opportunity afforded by digital transformation.
Her remarks were followed by a keynote speech by GSR-20 Chair Daniel Sjöblom, told the audience that in the wake of COVID, government leaders may have never been more receptive to how regulatory innovation can help them to leverage ICTs, building better, stronger, more robust societies in a post‑COVID‑19 world. He also warned of new bottlenecks emerging, with cross-regulatory cooperation becoming increasingly important. The GSR best practice guidelines, he said, are very useful for the global community of ICT regulators in highlighting the best ways to encourage necessary investments, while protecting competition, security and privacy, and building robust digital economies that citizens trust.
The session then moved to the Leadership Debate around Resilient and secure digital connectivity for all – COVID-19 Recovery and lessons learned for better preparedness and response, moderated by Doreen Bogdan-Martin. Distinguished panellists included H.E. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications, Ghana; Michel van Bellinghen, BEREC/GSR Regulatory Associations Meeting Chair; Flavien Bachabi, President of ARCEP-BENIN; Dr R. S. Sharma, Chairman, TRAI; Bocar Ba, Chairman, SAMENA Council, and Chair, CRO; Aarti Holla, Secretary General, ESOA; Joakim Reiter, Group External Affairs Director at the Vodafone Group; Makthar Diop, VP at the World Bank. Expert Interveners were Broadband Commissioners Mats Granryd, Director-General of the GSMA, and Lacina Koné, Director General of Smart Africa.
