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Highlighting the Impact of Grassroots Connectivity Projects

1 World Connected, University of Pennsylvania

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**Coffee will be served before the workshop**

Session 331

11:00–12:45, Friday, 16 June 2017 Room C2, ITU Tower Thematic Workshop

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Governments, Civil Society Organizations and Businesses around the world have initiated multiple efforts to improve broadband adoption around the world. 1 World Connected seeks to consolidate, extend, and share information about these efforts by collecting and disseminating case studies on practices that have proven effective in improving broadband adoption.

In this session, some of our case studies and data on connectivity projects around the world are spotlighted. The session focuses on government-led initiatives in Bangladesh and Vanuatu, as well as civil society initiatives that have been funded by the Internet Society’s Beyond the Net and Community Grants Programmes. The World Economic Forum partners with Governments and the Private Sector for deployments in Africa, Latin America and South Asia. By understanding the strategies and impact of various stakeholders’ initiatives in various parts of the world, the session will lend to the growing evidence-base on the myriad of ways in which unconnected communities around the world are being brought online. Highlighting the real impact of these projects on communities’ social and economic development is a key goal of this session.

Moderator

Christopher Yoo

Speakers/Panellists

Alexis Cullen, OGCIO, Government of Vanuatu (remote)

Anir Chowdhury, Prime Minister’s Office, Government of Bangladesh

Ilda Simao, Beyond the Net Programme, Internet Society

Alex Wong, World Economic Forum

Session's link to WSIS Action Lines

  • AL C2 logo C2. Information and communication infrastructure
  • AL C7 e-Lea logo C7. ICT Applications: E-learning
  • AL C7 e-Hea logo C7. ICT Applications: E-health
  • AL C11 logo C11. International and regional cooperation

The session seeks to highlight key connectivity initiatives of different countries, each aiming to improve socio-economic development outcomes through the deployment of information and communication infrastructure (C2). Vanuatu’s VITAL Project focuses on e-health, and the Digital Bangladesh programme focuses on both education and healthcare access to rural communities in Bangladesh (C7). WEF and ISOC leverage partnerships in order to improve connectivity on the ground (C11).

Session's link to Sustainable Development Process

  • Goal 3: Good health and well-being logo Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all
  • Goal 4: Quality education logo Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
  • Goal 5: Gender equality logo Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
  • Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure logo Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

The session seeks to shed light on the ways in which Internet connectivity can improve outcomes in education, health and gender empowerment for people (Goals 3, 4, 5). It is directly related to the achievement of Goal 9 (c), which seeks to significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020.

Links

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