UPU Director General Edouard Dayan has become a founding commissioner of the joint ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame chairs the Commission with Grupo Carso’s Carlos Slim Hélu, reportedly the world’s richest man. About 30 commissioners – technology leaders and others representing business and social sectors – will provide policy guidance for accelerating the deployment of universal access to broadband networks and the achievement of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Commission hopes to achieve these goals through the implementation of broadband access that will support innovation, enrich education and boost basic hygiene and health – all priorities for many developing countries. Furthermore, broadband can provide new opportunities for economic growth and international trade and investment.
WSIS Forum
Yesterday’s announcement of the UPU’s participation in the commission came at the launch of the WSIS Forum 2010 in Geneva. The week-long event brings together leading public figures and grassroots activists from the global development community to examine how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can drive social and economic development.
Communication technologies and postal services are more connected now than ever before. This fusion emphasizes the importance for developing countries to have access to broadband to improve operations, Dayan said at a high-level debate. “The development of the postal sector is intimately linked to information and communication technologies, and broadband is an essential tool to construct the future of postal services,” he added.
ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré said that ICT network deployment – and particularly broadband – needs to move to the top of the national agenda in countries worldwide.
“Broadband is particularly important because it delivers benefits right across every sector of society. That’s why broadband needs to reach all people, in all nations,” he said.
Debate participants, including leaders in the private and public sectors, examined the importance of broadband networks in facilitating progress towards achieving the MDGs and determined what is needed to deliver universal broadband for local development.
With the 2015 goals deadline fast approaching, new and urgent work is needed to bridge the digital divide that has become a development divide between industrialized and developing countries.