By: Basel Khaled
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today announced its Partner2Connect pledging platform and an action framework to advance universal connectivity and digital transformation.
ITU’s Partner2Connect (P2C) Online Pledging Platform will help mobilize resources to transform societies, promote sustainable digital technology uptake, and ensure meaningful connectivity for everyone.
Today, an estimated 2.9 billion people – 37 per cent of the world's population – have never used the Internet. An estimated 96 per cent of them live in developing countries – despite a global surge in connectivity surge the past two years.
“In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, ITU has redoubled its efforts to help countries around the world expand connectivity, to reach communities where connectivity remains too fragmented or unreliable to offer meaningful benefits,” said Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General. “The Partner2Connect Coalition reflects these efforts, helping put new and emerging technologies truly at the service of humanity and sustainable development.
Collecting commitments
The P2C Online Pledging Platform is set to receive pledges and commitments from across the government, business, civil society, and academic sectors to drive digital transformation all over the world. The P2C Online Platform serves as a key place for leaders to declare their organizations' commitment to close the digital divide and as a “marketplace" to catalyse new partnerships and collaboration.
The 16 March kick-off featured high-profile statements of support from multiple governments and an initial set of pledges from the German development agency GIZ, and global technology and communications firms Microsoft and Vodafone.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, said: “The international community needs to find new ways to move the needle on connecting the unconnected, to overcome chronic connectivity barriers, to dramatically level-up affordable access to technology, to empower people with digital skills, and to foster thriving local digital ecosystems. As the UN specialized agency for ICTs with a mission to connect the world, the P2C platform will re-energize global and regional connectivity efforts through broader commitments and a holistic approach to advance universal and meaningful connectivity, so that everyone, everywhere, has access to life-changing, enabling, digital platforms and services."
