BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin met with the engaged youth of Generation Connect - Europe Youth Group, as they presented the region's Youth Declaration ahead of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-21) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 2021.
The group was created in line with the ITU Youth Strategy and within the framework within the framework of the “Generation Connect" global initiative. They provided their views on the challenges and opportunities related to digital development and shared the actions they would like to see happening with regards to the regional priorities of the Europe region.
The Youth Declaration is an essential input to the Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) for Europe in the lead up to WTDC-21. Ms Bogdan-Martin expressed that she was impressed with the comprehensive declaration. She emphasized ''There is no doubt. To move forward on a robust digital development agenda— we need you.''
While youth have the right to full economic, social and digital inclusion, this is not always the case. Ms Bogdan-Martin noted that youth in both developed and developing countries, especially girls and young women, face disproportionate exposure to poverty and unemployment.
She said ''This is where ICTs hold so much promise. They can be powerful tools through which both young women and men can substantively contribute to, participate in and leverage their social and economic development.''
Ms Bogdan-Martin also recognized that connected to each other like never before, young people all over the world want to contribute to their communities, propose innovative solutions and drive social progress and change. She underlined that ''for this to happen meaningfully, we need to empower them, engage them and let them participate.''
The Generation Connect Global Youth Summit will take place on 6-7 November 2021 in Addis Ababa, right before WTDC-21. Ms Bogdan-Martin encouraged youth to participate in this event, and congratulated them for their important contribution towards a successful conference.
