Underscoring the importance of information and communication technologies (ICT) in today’s world, the heads of over 20 United Nations agencies and offices have called for leveraging those technologies to ¡°fast forward¡± implementation of the??for Sustainable Development.
In a?, the senior officials also highlighted the critical link between information and communication technologies and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ().
¡°The 2030 Agenda
¡°This report presents evidence of how Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ agencies are adopting ¨C and adapting ¨C ICTs to maximize their impact and help communities and people in need,¡± he added, highlighting efforts underway to extend telecommunication networks and ICTs into remote areas; train and equip workers with new digital skills; and ensure that schools, hospitals, clinics and whole cities are smarter, more energy efficient and safer.
The??highlighted as the ¡°take aways¡± in the publication include ensuring that no one is ¡°left offline;¡± recognizing the catalysing factor of ICTs for innovation and change; putting people first; importance of prompt action to leverage ICTs; and creating new .innovative partnerships.
The report, coordinated by the International Telecommunication Union (), was written as a collaborative effort between top officials from Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ entities and international organizations, with each leader selecting one Goal and explaining why ICT is important for it, including drawing on their personal insights.
¡°As Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ leaders have identified [¡], ICTs must be leveraged to advance achievement of all 17 of the?¨C and we at ITU look forward to partnering with other Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ agencies to facilitate this,¡± said Houlin Zhao, the Secretary-General of ITU, said at the report’s launch, in Geneva.
The report’s release coincides with the ongoing 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (), the main Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ platform dealing with sustainable and inclusive development.