Rwandan president Paul Kagame (Cc image courtesy of ITU/J.Ohle)
Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame is among the three winners of the 2014 World Telecommunication and Information Society Award, for his commitment to using ICT development and broadband connectivity in achieving sustainable development, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced.
The ITU in granting the award highlighted in particular Kagame’s leadership, his dedication to education, and his recognition of the potential of ICT as a tool for social and economic change in Rwanda and Africa.
The president of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye and Carlos Slim, chairman of Grupo Carso and president of the Carlos Slim Foundation, were the other two winners of the award.
Kagame and Slim are co-chairmen of the ITU-UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development.
The awards will be handed over at a presentation ceremony on May 16, which coincides with the 149th anniversary of the creation of the ITU on May 17, 1865.
The theme for this year’s anniversary celebrations – known as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day – will be “broadband for sustainable development”, with a focus on the various policy and research factors necessary for achieving universal access.
“Broadband infrastructure development is a critical element in ensuring that ICTs are used innovatively as delivery vehicles for health, education, governance, trade and commerce in order to achieve sustainable socio-economic growth,” said ITU secretary-general Hamadoun I Touré.
“We need to implement national and domestic policies to accelerate the roll-out of broadband and to make it more affordable and accessible to all citizens; it is an effective way to empower people everywhere with information and knowledge to meet their aspirations and to achieve the overall goals of sustainable development.”
Following the presentation of awards, attendees will mark World Telecommunication and Information Society Day with a series of high-level round table discussions revolving around the topic of broadband for sustainable development.
The ITU said broadband is a powerful tool in achieving the three pillars of sustainable development, namely, economic growth, social inclusion and environmental balance.
