Achieving the SDGs in the Digital Age

With the aim to “leave no one behind and reach those further behind first”, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is at the core of most international agenda and is, nowadays, the main product of the international community; driven by the highest political commitment of the 193 United Nations Country members. The Digital Age offers global and vastly powerful tools to help progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the agenda and help achieve this commonly envisioned future.

Digital technologies and transformation are major catalysts across all three pillars of sustainable development (social, environmental and economic): they bring greater economic opportunities and help entrepreneurs bypass traditional gatekeepers, they help reduce poverty and hunger, improve access to healthcare and education services, increase empowerment for women and marginalized groups, help prevent natural disasters and allow for continuous innovation.

However, for these technologies to reach their full development potential, they must be accessible, affordable, and relevant to the needs of all citizens. Connecting the unconnected is not just about access to mobile, Internet and new technologies. Meaningful connectivity requires relevant content available in local languages and the skills and capability to transform information into actionable knowledge. Consumer readiness is slower to change than infrastructure deployment, with low literacy levels and gender inequality acting as the main barriers. New divides are also looming between those ready and equipped to embrace digital transformation and those unable to do so.

This session offers a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to better understand the 2030 Agenda and to interact with decision-makers at the international, regional and national levels, and finding paths for multistakeholder collaboration to achieve the SDGs.

This Session will feature high level representatives of all the communities, with the confirmed participation of:

As Moderator:

• Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

As High Level Panelists:

• Ms Estefania Laterza, Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Coordinator of the SDG Commision of Paraguay
• Mr Zhenmin Liu, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, UN DESA
• Mr Luis Neves, CEO, Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI)
• Mr Darlington Nwokocha, Member of the House Committee on SDGs and Chairman of House Committee, Nigeria
• Ms Gisa Fuatai Purcell, Acting Secretary General, Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation
• Ms Melissa Sassi, Chair, Digital Skills Working Group, IEEE
• Mr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Secretary General / CEO, CIVICUS / Oxfam GB