Digital cooperation ought to go beyond ensuring access to broadband to close the gap in aspects such as the adoption of affordable devices and services, accessible content and digital literacy, President Paul Kagame has said. President Kagame was speaking while chairing the Annual Meeting of Broadband Commission alongside co-chair Carlos Slim and co-vice chairs Audrey Azoulay (Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and Houlin Zhao (Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union). This year’s meeting is themed “People-centred Approaches to Universal Broadband”. Kagame said that cooperation and efforts should go beyond broadband access to close gaps in the adoption and use of affordable devices and services, in accessible content and in digital literacy. Kagame also noted the value of multi-stakeholder platforms that complement the work of the Broadband Commission. “Harmonising the initiatives would create useful synergies,” he said. The Head of State also commented on the importance of diversity of perspectives of the commission” “The strength of the Broadband Commission lies in the diversity of the perspectives that our commissioners bring to the table,” he noted. He called on the commission to continue serving as a forum to find consensus and speed up progress towards digital transformation.
