Despite the great progress in deepening regional connectivity through information and communication technologies, Asia and the Pacific is still the most digitally divided region in the world, with less than eight per cent of the population connected to affordable and reliable high-speed Internet. As a result, millions of people are shut out from transformative digital opportunities in education, health and financial services. Women and girls, in particular, have lower levels of access to broadband Internet and other knowledge-enhancing technologies. The Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway initiative aims to increase the availability and affordability of broadband Internet for all people across Asia and the Pacific.
A new policy paper explores available data from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia to identify those groups that have been left furthest behind in a range of indicators. Using innovative methodologies and analytical tools, the paper reveals gaps because those who have access to basic opportunities and services, and those who don't.
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14-15 December 2020 Time: 8:00am – 12:00pm EST
In addition to unleashing unfathomable opportunities for sustainable development, the digital age has also highlighted the vitality of digital solutions allowing societies to function and businesses to continue in the times of COIVD-19 pandemic. Online services and remote working arrangements were among the few of the measures addressing the isolation, keeping people informed and engaged during the COVID-19 response and recovery.
In recent years, a growing number of governments have adopted policies aimed at supporting the transition towards a digital economy. The World Trade Report 2020 looks at these policy trends and at how trade and the WTO fit with them.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation and underscored its importance for mitigating the economic slowdown, sustaining wellbeing, and speeding up recovery. Governments, smart policymaking, as well as regional cooperation play an essential role in helping to both enable digital transformation to occur and in facilitating access to technology.
As the novel coronavirus has undertaken its deadly migration across the globe, most attention has understandably focused on its immediate public health consequences, as well as the downstream economic consequences of the lockdown measures needed to contain it.
A less remarked development, however, has been the changes to everyday life that have resulted from the contagion. In particular, a new report reveals the extent to which COVID-19 has driven a dramatic uptake of digital technologies across Southeast Asia, accelerating a profound shift that was already underway.
