2015 Annual Spring Meeting of the Broadband Commission

Date

February 27, 2015

Location

Paris, France

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The 11th Meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development takes place in Paris on February 26-27 at the invitation of Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO and Co-Vice Chair of the Commission.

On February 26 Commissioners will participate in UNESCO’s flagship Mobile Learning Week, co-organized this year with UN Women and a key event on the agendas of educators and the global ICT community. In the afternoon Commissioners will participate in the Mobile Learning Week High-Level Policy Forum, which this year has the theme of “Leveraging technology to empower women and girls”.

The morning of February 27 is dedicated to first bi-annual session of the Broadband Commission for 2015, after which Commissioners are invited to meet with UNESCO Member States interested in broadband-related issues. Commissioners will have the opportunity to share the objectives and work of the Commission while at the same time learning about Member States’ concerns, information gaps, and the evolving needs of educators in a fast-changing digital environment.

In Rwanda, investing in ICTs has been indispensable to the attainment of our development goals. Broadband enables business and social entrepreneurs to find ways to offer world class education at low cost, to populations that have never had access. These centres of knowledge already exist, but in order for developing countries and isolated communities, to access and use them productively, they will need faster, more reliable, and more affordable Internet. The same principle extends to government more widely, particularly in delivering essential services. Broadband technology can enhance public administration efficiency and accountability to citizens, no matter where they live.”

"The Broadband Commission has contributed to a shift from the perception of ‘broadband as a luxury’ to ‘broadband a basic infrastructure’, and in certain countries, even broadband as a human right. As we move ahead the Commission has twofold responsibilities; first, to improve the digital experience of those already online and second, to promote actions that will bring the remaining 3.6 billion people online."

“Education is one of the most powerful uses to which broadband connectivity can be put. For the first time in history, mobile broadband gives us the chance to truly bring education to all, regardless of a person’s geographical location, linguistic and cultural frameworks, or ready access to infrastructure like schools and transport. Education will drive entrepreneurship, especially among the young – which is why we must strive harder to get affordable broadband networks in place which can deliver educational opportunities to children and adults,”

“Every day, everywhere, women and men are inventing new ways to use broadband, mobile telephones and computers to be empowered, more autonomous and free. We need to tap this inventiveness to improve education, especially for girls and women. But we have a long way to go. Two thirds of illiterate adults are women, and two thirds of the world’s out-of-school primary-age children are girls. This is a huge injustice, and a gap that we must fill. The continued expansion of broadband combined with technology can help us make giant strides towards this.”

Press Release: Broadband the key to bringing ‘education to all’, says UN Broadband Commission