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UNESCO hosts workshops on Internet Universality in South Pacific Islands
These workshops were part of UNESCO’s broader efforts in the region, aimed at providing support in overcoming challenges related to limited Internet access, with key barriers including infrastructure, capacity, local content and affordability. They covered the following countries:
Fiji (15 April),
Solomon Islands (10 May),
Tonga (17 April),
Tuvalu (19 April), and
Vanuatu (11 April).
Despite some progress achieved in recent years, Internet penetration in the South Pacific remained at around 60% as of 2023. To address this challenge in a holistic way through a comprehensive diagnosis of the national Internet environments, these five countries have started the implementation of UNESCO’s Internet Universality ROAM-X Framework, following the principles of Rights, Openness, Access and Multistakeholder Governance, with Cross-cutting dimensions.
The workshops, organized locally and hosted in cooperation with UNESCO, brought together the national research teams along with various national multistakeholder participants, key policy makers and major regulatory bodies to validate the results of the ROAM-X assessments. They also served as a platform to foster discussions among participants of the potential implementation processes that could follow the recommendations, with the UNESCO support.
UNESCO’s efforts are part of a broader joint initiative, Advancing the SDGs by Improving Livelihoods and Resilience via Economic Diversification and Digital Transformation, which is being implemented in cooperation with OHCHR, ITU, UNOPS and UNDC, and led by ILO. The aim of this joint project is to foster the digital transformation in the Pacific to accelerate growth and development. It is estimated that this could potentially add more than $5 billion to the regional GDP of Pacific Island States by 2040 and create close to 300,000 jobs.
In the Pacific context, the Internet serves as a lifeline, connecting us to the world and amplifying our voices on critical issues, such as climate change and cultural preservation. The validation of this assessment is, therefore, not just a technical exercise but a crucial step towards empowering our communities, and shaping a sustainable and inclusive future.
Furthermore, participants stressed the importance of the Internet for future economic and social development, as well as the challenges that the region faces in increasing investment and combating climate change.
The findings from the assessments will also serve as the basis for the elaboration of a regional report, structured around the UNESCO ROAM-X Framework. It will examine the place of the Internet development in the Pacific with the view of allowing isolated islands to take part in global debates and directly engage with global markets. Additionally, the report will recognize the need for scaling solutions to meet the demands of SIDS in delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through fintech and e-governance applications.
