The Roundtable on SDG 9 and 17 “Partnerships for inclusive and sustainable digital development" of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region will take place on 29

The Roundtable on SDG 9 and 17 “Partnerships for inclusive and sustainable digital development" of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region will take place on 29 March 2023 from 15:00 to 18:00 CET. It will be held in a hybrid format, online and in WMO Premises in Geneva, Switzerland. The Roundtable is co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with the contribution of UNEP, UNIDO and UN Women.

The need to address green and digital transitions jointly and the link that those two notions hold is of growing importance in the Europe and Central Asia region and became a defining characteristic to reach the 2030 Agenda. The UN75 Declaration and its subsequent Common Agenda deployed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls on renewed efforts to improve digital cooperation and to protect the planet. Those two notions are brought together under the UN SG Roadmap for Digital Cooperation which addresses Digital Environmental Sustainability. The Global Digital Compact, proposed under the Common Agenda and informed by the Roadmap, will be agreed upon at the Summit of the Future in September 2024 which reviews the progress made on the UN75 Declaration.

In light of the above, this roundtable will share policy recommendations and actions to support an inclusive and green digital transformation. It will look at factors hindering internet connectivity access and use across communities and locations. It will discuss the importance of robust digital infrastructure as a prerequisite for the successful uptake of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) solutions serving climate action. Overall, the roundtable will review the achievement made on SDG 9 and 17 indicators related to internet connectivity access and use, ICT infrastructure, innovation, and the development, transfer, and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies. Recognizing the need for strengthened digital cooperation, this roundtable will emphasize a systemic approach to digital development. Collaboration between the ICT and the Environment sectors is even more so crucial to a successful environmentally-sound digital development.

Radics Kornelia, Ponder Jaroslaw, Lucio Filipe are presesenters.