The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) marked its 159th birthday on 17 May with a fast-paced online event celebrating the power of technologies to build a better future for humanity.

This latest World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (#WTISD) highlighted the promise of digital innovation to advance sustainable development for all.

“ITU has been instrumental in shaping technologies that have transformed the world in ways unimaginable when we started 159 years ago,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, connecting from Washington, DC.

“The glue between these technologies is innovation.” But she warned about the dangers of the persistent global digital divide, underscoring that innovation and inclusion must go hand in hand.

“Innovation is nothing without inclusion,” Bogdan-Martin said. “At a time of incredible technological innovation, 2.6 billion people are still offline around the world”.

Regulators and companies from across the industry reiterated the value of digital innovation to empower people and communities.