Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava and Dr. Liang Hua
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has launched the Generation Connect Youth Leadership Programme in collaboration with its ITU Development Sector member – Huawei Technologies.
The programme, which aims to guide young people on their digital journey and to encourage them to take up digital leadership, aligns with ITU’s commitment to youth empowerment through ICT and the United Nations Youth 2030 initiative.
Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, who launched the programme at the 2023 Huawei Corporate Sustainability Development Forum said the initial three years of the programme will provide young people with comprehensive support, including mentorship, resources, and training.
“Our future digital leaders need tools and knowledge, as well as real project experience. Youth-led projects are poised to have significant impact, not merely for them, but for their communities. This ITU-Huawei project has been carefully planned to deliver significant outcomes,” he said.
Dr. Zavazava further noted that the programme involves a structured mentorship to nurture leadership potential and turn innovative ideas into real projects.
“Secondly, it involves promoting digital inclusion and delivering technology enablers to support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he added.
Chairman of Huawei Technologies, Dr. Liang Hua, said today’s youth are true digital natives adding that a powerful digital ecosystem is a prerequisite for accelerating the achievement of SDGs.
“They carry new perspectives and new ideas. We want the youth to dismantle barriers, build bridges, and set audacious goals for themselves and for others.
Through the ITU and Huawei joint effort, they will learn, contribute, and lead in the digital-first world,” he said.
He added that the programme is to equip the youth to push the envelope on the evolving global digital ecosystem and make their contributions.
He opined that over the past four years, the tech company has joined hands with global partners to bridge the digital divide and promote sustainable development around four areas: equitable and quality education, protecting the fragile environment, promoting health and well-being, and promoting balanced development.
“In 2019, Huawei launched the TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Project, which promotes the integration of digital technologies, such as broadband connectivity, the Internet of Things, and cloud, with innovative applications and content to help the world develop inclusively and sustainably and bring tangible and long-term changes to vulnerable groups and environmental protection in remote areas,” he said.
He expressed Huawei’s commitment to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, and intelligent world.
“In practice, we are deeply aware that bridging the digital divide and promoting sustainable development requires not only the wide application of digital technologies, but also the close cooperation of partners.
Let’s join hands to make the best use of digital technology, promote digital inclusion, and make the digital world more equal and sustainable,” he added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri