This year again, on 17 May, we celebrate the anniversary of World Telecommunications and Information Society Day, commemorating the founding in 1865 of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). For the year 2022, the ITU has adopted the theme: "Digital technologies for Older Persons and Healthy Ageing", focusing on the role of digital technology in ensuring healthy ageing and improving the living standards of older persons, and more broadly as a tool to address the global phenomenon of population ageing.
In particular, the use of technological and innovative solutions has the potential to bring significant, multidimensional benefits, enhancing older people's access to better quality health and care services, but also facilitating their active participation in modern society and economy, the labour market, learning and leisure. Emerging technologies are the basis for building smart cities and optimising the quality of life of citizens, accelerating the green transition and ensuring a healthy environment for humanity, as well as combating discrimination on the basis of age and other factors. A prerequisite for the full exploitation of the emerging opportunities and prospects, however, is both accessibility to telecommunications infrastructure and the strengthening of the digital capacity of society as a whole.
To this end, the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy has designed and is implementing a series of targeted actions, which have been included in the national Recovery and Resilience Plan (RPRP). In particular, reforms and investments of €53 million are envisaged for the purpose of upgrading the country's connectivity infrastructure by promoting the widespread deployment and penetration of ultra high speed networks (VHCN) - (5G and fibre) -, removing administrative bottlenecks and facilitating private investment, as well as public investment for VHCN deployment in areas where there is no private interest. In addition, an amount of €24 million has been included in the national SDS to upgrade the digital skills of all population groups at national level, combating the inequalities observed and ensuring the participation of all in the digital economy and society that is being built.
On the occasion of the celebration of the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day, the Ministry of State reaffirms its strong will to accelerate a holistic digital transformation of the state, economy and society, for the benefit of all citizens and businesses without exception.
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