JANUARY 11, 2023
Remarks by ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin at FerMUN 2023
Palais des Nations, Geneva
Good morning. It's great to see you all here this morning and to share this stage with Director-General Valovaya and the team at FerMUN, Secretary General Juliane Zeeb and Florence Baudry, the head of the inspiring program that is FerMUN.
Thank you for the opportunity.
And thank you to all the student participants past and present and from all over the world, who believe that the best way to solve our biggest issues is by working together, by respecting and reconciling different points of views.
I believe that, too.
It's the bedrock of ITU— of everything we do to bring digital technologies to people everywhere, and that's been the driving force of my career.
So today, I'm thrilled that one of my very first public events as the new Secretary-General of ITU is with a young audience.
It so happens that the last time I addressed this group back in January of 2020 for our Global Young Visionaries Summit was also one of my last public appearances before COVID-19.
Hard to believe it was almost three years ago to the day, and that makes today even more special.
It's also a reminder that you've seen a lot in your young lives.
When most of you were born, we knew the planet was getting warmer.
But few of us worried it could become uninhabitable in our lifetimes.
I commend FerMUN for focusing this year's conference on climate change.
Let me ask a question, quick show of hands:
How many of you got a new digital device for the holidays?
What happened to your old one?
It's really important that we think about the massive amount of e-waste that's building up, an issue that ITU tackles head-on.
When most of you were born, just one billion people were online.
Today, this number is more than five times greater, and your age group is the driving force of connectivity, with 75% of people aged 15-25 worldwide now using the Internet.
But here's another truth:
Not all young people have the same digital opportunities or digital skills, depending on where they live, their income, or their gender identity.
When most of you were born, AI technologies, autonomous driving, quantum computing, low-earth orbit satellites and other breakthrough technologies were a distant reality.
But look at where we are now. Look at the possibilities that something like ChatGPT open.
It will no doubt change the way you as students do your work, and are tested.
And it's stirring the debate on the role of AI in society.
We can't (and shouldn't) stop you from using these tools, the same way my parents couldn't stop my siblings and I from watching cable TV when it came out, and the way my own kids outsmarted us when we tried to curb their smartphone use.
Instead, we need to work with you to protect young people's rights online, to better understand how you are using digital tools and online spaces, and how, in the words of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth, we can make these spaces more accessible and democratic for young people.
You see the need for change in ways that we didn't necessarily see when you were born, and you don't shy away from engaging— you jump in.
I saw it first-hand at the first Generation Connect Global Youth Summit we held in Kigali ahead of one of our big conferences last June, and at all the ITU events where we involve young people and our Youth Envoys in line with our youth strategy.
And that makes me really hopeful.
As we mark the midpoint to 2030 and the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, let's all see the world through their eyes.
And to all the young people in this room and beyond:
I hope you will join our Generation Connect community and come work with us to ensure digital progress is sustainable, and felt by every young person, everywhere.
I'm pleased to announce that ITU will launch its Young Professionals Programme in 2023.
Keep an eye out for it.
We're excited about this.
Thank you all for the outstanding work, and thanks for helping build a better tomorrow.
