Secretary-General, at World Information Society Summit, Says Closing Connectivity Gap Critical to Advancing Sustainable Development Agenda

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2016, in Geneva today:

I am pleased to welcome all participants to this World Summit on the Information Society Forum.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are the drivers of the global economy and have revolutionized how we communicate, interact socially and do business.  ICTs also provide innovative solutions to combat climate change, improve health care and education, and empower women and the vulnerable.

ICTs will be critical to advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

People are better connected than ever.  But, we still have to close the gap so that everyone can benefit from ICTs.  We have to ensure that everyone has freedom of access to information.  I urge you to keep working to ensure universal access to a more open information society.  Let us empower people everywhere with these transformative technologies so that they can help build a better future for all.