BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin participated virtually in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2021, held in Katowice, Poland from 6-10 December.
Representing ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao at the opening ceremony, Ms Bogdan-Martin noted that the theme of this year's IGF, ''Internet United'', signifies an urgent call to action to bring meaningful connectivity to all.
To deliver on this goal, ITU recently established the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, which takes a holistic approach to bring all parties together and connect the hardest-to-connect communities around the world. The first session of the Partner2Connect Global Dialogues was held on day 0 of the IGF, and focused on the Digital Coalition's first focus area ''Connecting People Everywhere''.
On the same day, Ms Bogdan-Martin spoke at a High-Level Panel Exchange that looked at ''Global economic recovery – where are we at?''. Describing lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, the BDT Director observed that the crisis has demonstrated what the international community what we can achieve when we work together. ITU's latest figures reveal an unprecedented boost in global connectivity during the pandemic; but they also show that those unconnected are increasingly left behind – with 96% of the world's unconnected in developing countries – thereby increasing the urgency for partnerships and collaboration to change this picture.
Ms Bogdan-Martin also explained the value of a ''whole-of-government'' approach in achieving meaningful connectivity, especially in the context of digital transformation of government services, as she participated in a panel on the GovStack initiative (an effort between ITU, the Government of Estonia, GIZ and DIAL).
At a session on the Multistakeholder Network for Digital Capacity Building (a product of close collaboration between ITU, the Office of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology, and UNDP), the BDT Director emphasized the key role of digital capacity development in driving meaningful connectivity.
ITU's analysis shows that lack of compelling, actionable content in relevant languages remains one of the most important blocks to wider internet uptake. In a meeting that looked at the question, ''How Can We Achieve a Multilingual Internet?'', Ms Bogdan-Martin stated ''there can be no universal meaningful connectivity until we achieve a truly multilingual online space,'' and elaborated on the need to incorporate grassroots efforts and local communities in digital development work.
Finally, the EQUALS in Tech awards was held at the IGF on 9 December. Five winners were recognized for their ground-breaking work to bridge the digital divide. ''Our digital future can only be equal when women are at the table, designing and co-creating the tech solutions that impact us all,'' affirmed Ms Bogdan-Martin.
