ITU, Busan City Unveil Busan Initiative for Youth

A high-level commitment between ITU and the Busan Metropolitan City addressing issues related to greater participation of youth in the digital economy, including tackling youth unemployment and access to ICTs, was signed yesterday.

It acts on the need for stronger international collaboration to realize the full potential of ICTs in youth development.

Defined by three purposes – promoting the engagement of youth in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT); decreasing the digital divide; and promoting research on emerging ICT technologies, particularly Internet of Things (IoT) – the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recognizes the role of ICTs in effectively addressing the concerns of young people around the world.

75 million young people (15 – 24 year olds) are unemployed globally (ILO, 2012) and 64 per cent of under 25 year olds – a total of 1.73 billion – are not yet online. ICTs are proven to enhance access to information, knowledge, and skills development, and are critical if young people are to succeed in the modern workplace.

Activities to facilitate this will include educational outreach programmes, capacity building and knowledge sharing, and the crowdsourcing of the views of youth to international ICT forums, including the facilitation of participation in IoT activities organized by ITU.

Signing the MoU, ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré said, “ICTs play an integral role in addressing the problems that youth face today and they have the power to create a more stable and prosperous world for our children. As both a father and Secretary-General of ITU, I am excited about the future that we are committing to here in Busan.”

The MOU also builds on Busan City’s active championship of engaging young people in the ICT sector. In addition to funding the Young ICT Policy Leaders programme at PP-14, Busan City promotes technical programmes and academic institutions specializing in technology skills.

Busan City Mayor Byung-soo SUH said, “This commitment will ensure that the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference has a positive and lasting impact on Busan City, and by extension, the youth of the Republic of Korea.”