Digital coalition to bring the world online

In this era when Sri Lanka is facing its worst ever economic crisis since independence in 1948, President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Perapuna (SLPP) Government are making proactive efforts to pull the country and its people out of the mud hole. The agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the extended fund facility was a major step towards recovery while several countries including India, China and the United States also helping in a generous manner to help the Government reach sustainable development goals and give substantial relief to millions of people caught up in a poverty trap. In these moves, the Government needs to make full use of marvelous developments in digital technology. 

A United Nations’ affiliated organization will on May 17 mark the World Information and Telecommunication Society Day with the theme call of empowering the least developed countries through information and communication technologies. In a statement, the society calls on the public and private sectors to make pledges for universal connectivity and digital transformation in these countries through its “partner2connect digital coalition.” Mid-way through the agenda to fulfil the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, those countries face 
daunting challenges. 

The Fifth Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar, has set out an ambitious new United Nations programme of action to deliver on sustainable development for all by 2030. LDCs are the world’s greatest untapped resource and their needs must be addressed to achieve the SDGs. About one third of the 2.7 billion people who remain unconnected to the Internet are in these 46 LDCs. Investment in these young, vibrant countries can drive sustainable growth for generations. The UN affiliated agency has said that together we need to make 2023 a year of progress for digital transformation in the least developed countries. This day has been celebrated annually every May 17 since 1969. It marks the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and founding of International Telecommunication Union in 1865. Referring to means of harnessing the power of tech, the agency says the path to prosperity for the world’s least developed countries runs through 
digital development.

At a briefing for the UN Missions in New York on the Private Sector Forum of the LDC5 Conference (March 5-9), representatives from the private sector showcased pledges submitted to Partner2Connect, ITU’s digital coalition to mobilize commitments for universal and meaningful connectivity.The UN leaders and private-sector partners gave a briefing on February 7 on Partner2Connect (P2C), the innovative multi-stakeholder digital coalition created by the ITU to mobilize commitments to bring the whole world online. 

The briefing highlighted the combined moral and business case for ensuring that everyone, everywhere can benefit from the opportunities created by Internet connectivity. This means ensuring no one – including the world’s LDCs, Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – get left behind. The testimonies of real-world digital providers about their connectivity pledges laid key groundwork for a stepped-up Partner2Connect drive at the LDC5 – the fifth UN Conference on the LDCs which was held at Doha in Qatar, from March 5-9. A Private Sector Forum ran in parallel to the main inter-governmental conference between March 5-7. 
Rabab Fatima, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, said such partnerships were key to sustainable development. “Governments and countries cannot achieve sustainable development alone,” she says. “The private sector can play a big role.” With one in seven people now living in an LDC, “We need to build on the success of the Partner2Connect Coalition and encourage more investment to tap into this potential for success.” She called the ITU-led coalition an important step towards that end and an excellent example of what can be done.

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin reiterated the need for broad cooperation to ensure the benefits of the Internet reach everyone worldwide. “Any divide, including the digital divide, is an opportunity divide. It keeps the most vulnerable nations at risk of falling further behind,” said Bogdan-Martin, who led ITU development activities and was instrumental in the formation of the Partner2Connect before her election to ITU’s top job. Pledges made through the Coalition are already starting to boost meaningful connectivity on the ground. Convergence Partners, an impact investment firm, pledged last year to invest at least US$250 million over five years “to improve the availability, quality, capacity and affordability of digital infrastructure in 
sub-Saharan Africa.”

This Partner2Connect commitment will benefit more than one billion people, said the firm’s Executive Chairman Andile Ngcaba, adding: “we closed the fund at US$ 297 million,” or more than 18% oversubscribed.