The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Norwegian Government and the Government of Ghana will sign agreements to support the Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) Initiative in Ghana.
The new partnership with Norway will scale up and strengthen digital skills training for underserved communities in Ghana, in collaboration with Cisco and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC). It will provide around 14,000 citizens with job-ready digital skills, in particular women entrepreneurs, pupils, teachers and marginalized groups, through 200 centres across the country.
Launched by ITU in partnership with Cisco and its Country Digital Acceleration Program and Cisco Networking Academy in 2019, the Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) Initiative is operational in nine countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Its main goal is to support countries to equip people with the skills needed to effectively participate in today's digital society and economy.
Providing digital skills training is key to bridging the digital divide and digital skills are needed at all levels. By working in close collaboration with local partners and community centres, the DTC Initiative seeks to scale up the development of digital skills mainly at basic and intermediate level for citizens, particularly in underserved communities.
It targets people who need basic digital skills to use digital tools and access e-services and those who seek to enhance their basic and intermediate skills. It also targets entrepreneurs who wish to develop their businesses and it assists policy-makers in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes related to digital skills, with the overall objective of enabling a successful national digital transformation process.
The new partnership with Norway will help Digital Transformation Centres, in particular in Ghana, to accelerate building an inclusive digital society, to ensure that lack of knowledge and skills is not a barrier to participation in the digital economy, and to contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
WHAT: Official launch of the ITU-Norway partnership on the Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) Initiative in Ghana
WHEN: Thursday, 12 November, 10:30 – 11:30 CET (9:30 – 10:30 Ghana time)
WHERE: Virtual press conference
WHY: To scale up and strengthen the ongoing digital skills training for underserved communities in Ghana delivered as part of the Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) Initiative
WHO:
Moderator:
- Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
High-level remarks:
- Mr. Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union
- His Excellency, Mr. Aksel Jakobsen, State Secretary of International Development for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway*
- Ms. Wendy Mars, President of Cisco's Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia region
- Her Excellency, Ms. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications of Ghana
Note for UNOG-accredited media: UN-accredited media are only required to email
pressreg@itu.int expressing their intention to participate. They will be automatically registered.
Note for general and local media: Media are recommended to submit their request for accreditation and registration in advance to allow enough time for verification of media credentials and to receive key announcements in the run-up to the conference.
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About the ITU Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) Initiative
Launched by ITU in partnership with
Cisco and its
Country Digital Acceleration Program and
Cisco Networking Academy in September 2019, the initiative seeks to create a global network of centres, whose main purpose is to develop digital skills mainly at basic and intermediate level for citizens. It contributes to the broader goal of building an inclusive digital society and ensuring that lack of knowledge and skills is not a barrier to participation in the digital economy. The primary function of Digital Transformation Centres is to deliver basic digital skills training to enhance digital literacy and foster uptake of digital tools among underserved communities; to deliver intermediate digital skills training to provide users with job-ready skills; to improve workplace efficiency and enhance chances of employability; to improve the capacity of policymakers to design and implement digital skills programmes; to conduct train-the-trainer programmes on digital skills to ensure scalability and self-sustainability in digital skills capacity development; and to train small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in the field of digital technologies, innovation and entrepreneurship. For more information,
see
here.
About the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the specialized United Nations agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), driving innovation in ICTs together with 193 Member States and a membership of over 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. Established over 150 years ago in 1865, ITU is the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. From broadband networks to cutting-edge wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, oceanographic and satellite-based earth monitoring as well as converging fixed-mobile phone, Internet and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world. For more information, visit
www.itu.int.
*Please note that Mr. Dag-Inge Ulstein, Minister of International Development of Norway, was scheduled to deliver high-level remarks but Mr Jakobsen will be participating on his behalf.
