20 March 2023 - Spotlight on #WSIS

Welcome to the first edition of the ITUNewsletter here on LinkedIn!

#WSIS Forum 2023 advances digital solutions for sustainable development. Leaders at last week’s global multi-stakeholder gathering on tech and sustainable development called for action to put the UN agenda back on track for 2030 and harness digital technologies for everyone’s benefit. Learn more .

“We are in a race against time,” ITU Secretary-General Bogdan-Martin said. “Progress has either stalled or gone backwards — especially for those in the Global South.”

Video playlist. Videos from the WSIS Forum 2023 include daily session highlights; a message from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres; interviews with Doreen Bogdan-Martin , Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and Dr Emilija Stojmenova Duh, WSIS Forum 2023 Chairperson; and more. Check out the playlist .

Digital #ethics front and centre. People and machines alike need ethical guidelines for human-centred digital development, said speakers at the global multi-stakeholder WSIS Forum in Geneva last week. Read more .

WSIS Prizes awarded. ITU’s annual awards recognize 18 projects driving sustainable #digitaltransformation across 11 global WSIS Action Lines. Check out all winners .

Partner2Connect gets 600th pledge! A year after launching, ITU’s #Partner2Connect pledging platform has received its 600th pledge!?Thanks to the Digital Child Rights Foundation and all pledgers. Guest lessons to children on digital rights will soon start in #Spain , #Netherlands , #Jordan and #Malawi . Watch the video testimonial .

Subscribe to the weekly ITUNewsletter here to receive it straight into your mailbox.

Empower girls for STEM careers. Women and girls need early digital empowerment, equal access to technologies and opportunities, and a seat at the table for digital decision-making, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin told the 67th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67 ), which concluded on 17 March in New York. Read about the outcomes .

Global Digital Regulatory Outlook 2023. With 2.7 billion people still unconnected worldwide, ITU’s latest outlook identifies five key tensions shaping measures to bridge the #digitaldivide :

1. Fast vs. slow regulation
2. Hardwired vs. ‘soft-wired’ regulation
3. Watchdog vs. ecosystem-builder approach
4. Sustainability vs. economic growth
5. National vs. global regulation

Download the report for free .

UN activities on #AI . Artificial intelligence (AI) can help drive progress on sustainable development. ITU’s annual study identifies 40 United Nations entities conducting over 280 projects that harness AI last year, spanning activities in pursuit of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals #sdgs . Dive deeper .

ITU Journal on Future and Evolving Technologies. Volume 4 (2023), Issue 1 shares research on network solutions for future services, intelligent surfaces, and GHz-to-THz broadband communications for #6g non-terrestrial networks. Explore the ITU Journal .

Wishing you a good week!