“We never had a more opportune moment. Can we work together better to seize this opportunity of a lifetime within the lifetime of the opportunity?” Ms. Tiziana Bonapace, Director of Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division at ESCAP, highlighted the importance of consistent investments in ICT infrastructure and multilateral cooperation for seamless digital connectivity and digital transformation at the “Digital Almaty Forum” on 5 February 2021.

The Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation, Third Session was held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok from 19 to 20 August 2020. The Committee session was held virtually via videoconference on 19 and 20 August 2020. Bangkok-based representatives from member States and international organizations were welcome to participate in person at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok.

The Working Group on Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Development (WG on ITSD) is a subsidiary body under the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), comprising senior policymakers, researchers, decision-makers, and implementers from the SPECA countries responsible for developing guidance and finding practical solutions to problems identified by the countries.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) has published the outcome of the workshop "Recommendations for Implementation of Smart Sustainable City (SSC) ICT infrastructures in the APEC Region".

To view the report, please visit:

https://www.apec.org/Publications/2020/04/Recommendations-for-Implementation-of-Smart-Sustainable-City.

Photo credit: iStock/chombosan

Digital technologies including information and communication technologies (ICT) for development are cutting across many sectors. Progress on certain SDGs can be traced and correlated with ICT progress, especially in monitoring SDG 9: Infrastructure, Industrialization and Innovation, SDG 4: Quality Education and SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, which suggests that these may be the areas with the greatest potential for leveraging ICT for sustainable development.