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ITU symposium focuses on sustainable development

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Botswana, 21 Nov 2016
Brahima Sanou, director of the telecoms development bureau for the International Telecommunication Union.
Brahima Sanou, director of the telecoms development bureau for the International Telecommunication Union.

The 2016 World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS) is an important event to help countries track how ICT can be used for sustainable development.

So says Brahima Sanou, director of the telecommunication development bureau for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), speaking at the annual event earlier today.

Now in its 14th year, the WTIS brings together government officials, industry leaders and policy-makers to debate new and emerging ICT issues in order to provide strategic guidance to the international community on the information society.

This year's symposium, taking place from 21 to 23 November in Gaborone, Botswana, the third African country to host the event, is part of a call for action by all countries to recognise the role of ICT in sustainable development.

"The WTIS has become a very influential forum. Our work is not limited to indicators on telecommunication networks, and ICT access and use.

"Our work is highly relevant outside the ICT community, as ICT is helping accelerate the attainment of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets," Sanou said.

Last year, United Nations members adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 SDGs to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.

According to Cosmas Zavazava, chief of department, projects and knowledge management at the ITU, the development agenda is a mixed basket, with ICT at the core.

There is a great need to understand how ICT can unlock value and be used to meet the SDGs, he said.

Zavazava explained that one of the SDGs calls for action to protect the planet. Climate change is a reality and a new challenge for sustainable development, he said.

"2015 was recorded as the hottest year in history. Between 2011 and 2015 was recorded as the hottest period...Addressing climate change is important as it also affects food security."

As part of the WTIS, the ITU will also launch its 2016 Measuring Information Society Report, which features the ICT Development Index (IDI).

The IDI is a key international performance measure which captures the level of ICT developments in over 170 economies worldwide and compares progress made during the last year.

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