Why did ITU fix 'Connect 2030' as this year's theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day?

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the specialized United Nations agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), driving innovation in ICTs together with 193 Member States and a membership of over 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations.

The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) marks the anniversary of the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 17 May 1865, when the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris.

The theme of this year's World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)". 

It reaffirms ITU's commitment to connecting all the world's people while showing how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can contribute to accelerating the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development across its 17 goals. With just 10 years to go, UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched a 'Decade of Action' last January to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

As the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems, ITU and its membership are united in connecting the world.

To enable this vision, and to contribute to the UN Decade of Action to achieve the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ITU and its members have a common strategy – the Connect 2030 Agenda.

The ITU statement says, "In the months since the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the fundamental importance of ICTs to economies and societies everywhere, showing the world that nobody is safe until we are all safe – and that we will not be able to use the full potential of ICTs until we are all connected.

This year, ITU will hold a high-level virtual event to address the importance of enhancing collaboration and cooperation among countries, companies, the UN family and others to strengthen the role of ICTs as we embark on the 'Decade of Action' to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and at the same time advance the role of ICTs in the global response to COVID-19."