BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:unctad.org
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:6a8f1c157d14a
DTSTART:20241022T113000Z
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20241022T124500Z
LOCATION:Geneva\, Switzerland
SUMMARY:Exploring innovative financing mechanisms for community-centred con
 nectivity: A WSIS+20 agenda to leave no one behind&quot\; instead?
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:Side event at CSTD 2024-2025 Inter-sessional Panel on 22 Octobe
 r 2024This lunch event will bring together experts from governments\, civi
 l society\, academia and research institutions to explore how innovative f
 inancing mechanisms for community-centred connectivity can help address pe
 rsistent digital and developmental divides and how they can be enabled in 
 the WSIS+20 agenda.The WSIS (2003 and 2005) recognized the need for financ
 ing mechanisms to ensure “a people-centred\, inclusive and development-o
 riented Information Society\, where everyone can create\, access\, utilize
  and share information”. Acknowledging the progress towards achieving th
 at vision\, after more than 20 years of deployments in developing countrie
 s\, and despite the increase in investment from public funding sources\, t
 raditional telecommunication and mobile network operators have yet to meet
  universal access goals.Within this context\, the critical role of communi
 ty-centred connectivity initiatives is gaining increasing attention as str
 ategies to close the digital gap. These initiatives are driven by complete
 ly different investment imperatives\, bringing unique assets to the econom
 ic calculus of deployment\, and have the added advantage of bringing many 
 important social and economic benefits to the community.While the Tunis ag
 enda clearly stated the importance of “[h]elping to accelerate the devel
 opment of domestic financial instruments\, including by supporting […] n
 etworking initiatives based on local communities”\, the financial resour
 ces and mechanisms have been insufficient to help such initiatives scale t
 o the size of the problem. However\, recent years have seen examples of in
 novative financing mechanisms that are better fit-for-purpose and that cou
 ld support the full potential of community-centred connectivity in bridgin
 g digital divides.Questions to be addressed:What are community-centred con
 nectivity initiatives and how they contribute to diversify economies in a 
 world of accelerated digitalization?Are community-centred connectivity ini
 tiatives an innovative financing mechanism in themselves\, and if so\, wha
 t can government and financial institutions do to enable them?How can the 
 UN’s work on Financing for Development help inform the WSIS+20 Agenda?&l
 t\;p class=&quot\;text-align-center\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps:/
 /unctad.org/meeting/exploring-innovative-financing-mechanisms-community-ce
 ntred-connectivity-wsis20-agenda
DTSTAMP:20260826T170213Z
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