Nairobi, Kenya October 13 — Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia will host this year’s World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-21), the first of such conferences to be held in the African continent.
In preparation for the global event, the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) in conjunction with the National Communication Authority of South Sudan convened the first preparatory meeting held virtually.
The meeting aimed to bring together duty bearers of the telecommunications sector across Africa to establish leading committees to develop the African common proposals and positions on the WTDC agenda items.
The conference and its preparatory meetings come at a time when the world is increasingly acknowledging the crucial role that ICT plays in times such as the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.
“Digital solutions, economies, and connectivity are key enablers of development and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr. Alsadig Gamaldeen, the Director-General of Telecommunication and Post Regulatory Authority (TPRA) Sudan.
WTDC is a crucial forum for ICT development as it sets the roadmap for achieving telecommunications development across the world.
With the COVID-19 pandemic having shifted the spotlight to connectivity, the forthcoming WTDC will be seen as the foremost conference for driving global ICT development to enable the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
For the first time, the conference will be held in Africa from 8th to 19th November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“These preparations will consider our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as the African States. We will also sanction special consideration on the pandemic’s outcomes so far and use them to enhance our individual and international collaborations as well as relevant partnerships during the conference,” said ATU Secretary-General Mr. John Omo, who spoke during the opening of the forum.
Through this online preparatory meeting, Africa is expected to among other things, evaluate the implementation of the WTDC-17 outcomes in Africa and consider their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals action plans.
As a matter of consequence, this should be able to assist in the evaluation of the progress of projects launched under initiatives by regional bodies.
Besides, the professionals say the meeting is crucial in starting the formulation of the African common proposals to the conference that would reflect the new challenges of ICTs in Africa and the mechanisms that would help to accelerate the implementation of the African digital transformation strategy.
“Digital technologies act as a catalyst that could accelerate progress towards the SDGs and make the African region the digital frontier where the truly transformational power and potential of connectivity will finally be realized,” Ms. Doreen Bogdan Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) told the meeting.
Omo also noted that having a common understanding of the issues that Africa faces and how telecommunications can downplay them is highly crucial for community engagements, economic growth, and international collaborations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.