By Godson Umejiego, Correspondent USA and Kingsley I. Ilechukwu, Correspondent Lagos
The President of the African ICT Foundation, Tony Ojobo is to speak at the 21st Infopoverty World Conference focusing on “How to build a fairer and more inclusive Digital Society?” which will be held on December 3, 2021 at the UN Headquarters in New York and live streamed on the UN WebTV.
The United Nations Conference is an annual rendez-vous to register and validate the best digital practices for the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda at the UN Headquarters.
In a letter inviting the ex-spokesman of the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) Ojobo ,to the Conference, the UN appreciated the commitment of African ICT Foundation to create job opportunities, accelerate innovation, and boost productivity and progress in the African economy.
This year the Conference will discuss the developments imposed by COVID-19 towards an acceleration of digitalization while, on the other hand, widening the gap between the élites and disadvantaged people and communities.
According to the letter, the UN Vision has always inspired the Infopoverty World Conference, born at the UN Headquarters in 2001 with the support of the European Parliament.
For twenty years the Conference has given rise to numerous projects in the wake of the digital revolution and its impact on the society, gathering eminent experts, UN representatives, Ambassadors and Ministers, Universities, private and public institutions as well as the Civil Society.
Last December OCCAM, the Observatory on Digital Communication, received a mandate to prepare a Report on new trends and approaches able to shape a new Digital Society which we wish to be fairer and more inclusive.
The Report will be presented at the UN Headquarters on December 3, 2021 during the 21st Infopoverty World Conference.
It reads partly: “Considering the accelerating cascade of innovations, stakeholders, and projects, where utopia and dystopia are playing the same game without a clear direction, the Observatory launches a large consultation driven by the SDGs, also blending in the efforts of G20, G7, COP-26 and the UN System to steer this process.
“Therefore, we would be very interested in receiving your opinions about this momentum in force of your specific competence, as well as the actions that African ICT Foundation is launching in this context.”
