Prime Minister, Sato Kilman, has announced that Vanuatu will receive a major award from the United Nations for its achievements in information, communications and technology (ICT).
The Prime Minister stated that, “I am very pleased today to reveal that the United Nations and its ICT agency, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), have decided to honor Vanuatu with the UN/ITU ‘Award for ICTs in Sustainable Development.’
“This award was given for using ICTs to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
The PM said that the award reflects Vanuatu’s many achievements in ICTs in engineering, policy, market structure and regulation. He stated that, “Vanuatu has built its first submarine cable, created a competitive ICT market structure, set up an independent and effective telecom regulator, built the Vanuatu Internet Exchange, dramatically increased mobile penetration, and launched and run an effective government-wide communications network.”
The Prime Minister continued: “ICTs allowed us to give adequate warning to our citizens about the threat of the terrible Cyclone Pam. After the cyclone passed, our government ICT staff and private Vanuatu firms responded rapidly to rebuild damaged or destroyed ICT infrastructure, so that government operations and private business could return to normal.”
PM Kilman also stated that, “Our biggest recent achievement was to design a plan and sign an agreement among all relevant parties that Vanuatu will reach 98 percent penetration of broadband ICTs by January 1, 2018. We are well on our way toward reaching that goal, which will place us in a position of regional leadership among the Pacific island nations.”
The ITU Secretary-General said in his award letter that Vanuatu had successfully linked its ICT achievements to the UN “Sustainable Development Goals,” which are targets for the year 2030.
These 17 goals include reducing poverty, increasing education and life-long learning, improving health care, empowering women, providing needed employment, and addressing climate change and reducing its impacts, among others.
The 17 goals replace the previous “Millennium Development Goals” developed in the year 2000, which expire at the end of 2015.
The Prime Minister emphasized that, “This major UN award assures us that our on-going commitment to ICTs is correct and appropriate. ICTs support every sector and Ministry, and help all civil servants and private citizens be more productive.
“To continue our progress in ICTs, we are in the process of applying to the World Bank for a major loan and grant package in ICTs, focused on e-government development, in addition to the larger loan that will help us re-build the infrastructure damaged by Cyclone Pam across many sectors.”
The PM thanked the many organizations that helped Vanuatu win this award, calling out and praising the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), the Telecommunications and Radiocommunications Regulator (TRR), and the major operators Digicel, TVL, Wantok, SPIM and Telsat, Submarine cable operator Interchange including major Development partners, Australian Government and World Bank and various other organisations.
He said, “All these organizations and their people have pulled together to make the ICT sector deserve this important award.
“I call on all persons involved in ICTs to re-double their efforts to work together harmoniously to achieve even greater heights, and receive even more awards in the future.”
The UN award to Vanuatu will be presented at United Nations Headquarters in New York City in late September, 2015, in the famous General Assembly Hall. The Prime Minister and Chief Information Officer will be honored at a ceremony celebrating Vanuatu, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the ITU in 1865 in Paris, and the ITU theme of “Connecting the World”.