ITU Regional workshop for the Caribbean on promoting and measuring universal and meaningful connectivity

With financial support from the European Commission, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is organising a series of regional workshops. These workshops will convene policymakers and statisticians to deliberate on metrics for gauging progress towards universal and meaningful connectivity (UMC), analyze the persistent socio-economic and geographical divides, and harness data effectively to refine, monitor, and assess digital policies.

The regional workshop for the Caribbean will be held from 11 to 13 June 2024 in Nassau, Bahamas, and will provide an occasion to examine the concept of UMC and how to streamline it in national digital policies, how to improve the statistical capacity of countries in the region to produce and disseminate relevant statistical data, and how to use the data to identify good practices and policy recommendations. This workshop is organized in collaboration with the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority of Bahamas.

This workshop is intended for policymakers in charge of national policies and strategies for digital connectivity, and executives and experts responsible for the measurement of telecom/ICT development from ministries, national statistics offices (NSOs), regulators, telecom operators, research institutions, and other relevant organizations from the Caribbean.

The workshop will cover the following topics:

• Embracing universal and meaningful connectivity: The new policy imperative (day 1)
• Data-driven decision making: Enhancing statistician-policymaker collaboration (day 2)
• Tracking UMC: Strategies for overcoming measurement challenges (day 3)

Participants from national statistical offices and other institutions that collect data on ICT are encouraged to complete two free, self-paced courses available through the ITU Academy: “Measuring digital development: ICT access and use by households and individuals” and “Measuring digital development: Telecommunication / ICT indicators” prior to the workshop.

Fellowships

There is no participation fee for this workshop. To encourage participation of developing countries and subject to availability of funds, one full or two partial fellowships may be granted per eligible Member State in the Caribbean. Full fellowships will cover the air ticket (one return economy class ticket by the most direct/economical route from the country of origin to the meeting venue), and appropriate daily subsistence allowance intended to cover accommodation, meals and incidental expenses. Partial fellowships will cover either the travel or the subsistence allowance. Member States shall cover the remainder of the cost of participation.

To apply for fellowships, participants must first register for the workshop and complete the two mandatory ITU Academy training courses. Then, they should complete the online fellowship form by 5 May 2024 at the very latest. Successful fellowship applicants will receive further guidance on preparing a short contribution.

In line with Plenipotentiary Resolution 213 (Dubai, 2018), it is encouraged that fellowship nominations take into consideration gender balance and inclusion of persons with disabilities and with specific needs.

About UMC

Depriving vast swaths of humanity from the possibilities offered by the Internet is costly, deepens inequalities and undermines development. Over the past 30 years, the number of Internet users surged from a few million to 5.4 billion. Yet the potential of the Internet for social and economic good remains untapped: one-third of humanity is offline, and many users only enjoy basic connectivity. Multiple digital divides persist across and within countries, between men and women, between youth and older persons, between cities and rural areas, between those who enjoy a fibre connection and those who struggle on a spotty 3G connection.

Achieving universal and meaningful digital connectivity —the possibility for everyone to enjoy a safe, satisfying, enriching, productive and affordable online experience— is key for enabling digital transformation and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.