- Focus on digital skills and access to connectivityGigabit
- Crucial to support innovation and entrepreneurship for the digital transition[/B]
At a Ministerial Conference at the World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS 2023), organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 15 March 2023 in Geneva, Cyprus was represented by the Director General of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Dr Stelios Chimonas.
The discussions focused on the role of Information and Communication Technologies as drivers for accelerating the achievement of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, the participants exchanged views and best practices on how to shape the Global Digital Compass, a set of principles and policies that will guide the building of a digital future that is safe and beneficial for all.
In his intervention, Dr. Winter stressed the importance of developing resilient digital infrastructures and ensuring universal access to high-speed internet connectivity for a sustainable and equitable digital transition. "This is what we are looking forward to in Cyprus through targeted interventions such as government subsidies for connecting households to high speeds and extending network deployment to every corner of the island," Dr Chimonas noted.
At the same time, he referred to the equally important pillar of education and the development of citizens' digital skills, so that all citizens around the world, without exception, are equipped to make the most of the inexhaustible possibilities and opportunities offered by digital technologies. "At the national level," noted Dr. Chimonas, "we have developed a holistic plan, coordinated by the Ministry of State, which foresees actions worth more than €24 million from the Recovery and Resilience Plan to bridge the digital divide in the labour market and build an open and inclusive society." "Such actions", he added, "include training programmes for the public and private sector workforce, the general population and special groups such as the elderly and people living in remote areas, as well as the modernisation of the education system, in a way that digital technologies are used in teaching and learning, cultivating the skills of the future and promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) careers.
In the context of the Summit, the proposal to create an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Growth, a network of countries and organisations that will support the efforts of national ecosystems to develop the skills needed to lead in the new digital environment, was discussed. "Cyprus", said Dr Chimonas, "supports initiatives aimed at promoting innovative entrepreneurship to accelerate the digital transition globally", referring to important policies and reforms that our country has undertaken in recent years to create an environment conducive and friendly to entrepreneurship and investment and in direct alignment with the objectives of the national digital agenda.
(NΓ/ΣΧ)
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