Global connectivity gaps still exclude billions from the AI-driven digital economy, particularly women, young people, and persons with disabilities. Speaking from the Tech Cares forum at MWC in Barcelona, this video explores Huawei’s work under the ITU Partner2Connect framework to ensure equitable access to networks, devices, and digital skills. The initiative focuses on practical, measurable results, helping communities worldwide move beyond basic connectivity and meaningfully participate in digital opportunities.
The session highlighted partnerships with governments, private sector players, NGOs, and UN agencies, including GSMA, UN Women, and the International Trade Centre, all working together to close the gender digital divide. Through initiatives like the Equal Partnership, Huawei and its collaborators have empowered women and youth with access to connectivity, skills training, and devices, while also scaling programs to influence policy change.
The discussion with Sylvia Poll, Senior Gender and Youth Advisor to the ITU Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union, emphasizes that meaningful connectivity is the foundation for AI inclusion, reminding stakeholders that access alone is not enough—skills, affordability, and usability are essential to prevent the digital divide from turning into an AI divide.
Steve Saunders:
We're talking a lot here about the importance of sharing connectivity with everybody around the world. In a practical sense, what have you seen work in terms of ensuring that women and young people are able to share equally in those connectivity opportunities and in that new digital economy?
Sylvia Poll:
ITU has a capacity to be a convening platform, and we are built around our members, which is governments, private sector, and academia. And some of the successes that we had is through building coalitions like the EQUALS [Global] Partnership [for Gender Equality in the Digital Age], which has helped over the last 11 years, so very specific programs and projects underground to close the gender digital divide. Precisely here in two days, we will be announcing the EQUALS in Tech Awards where we're having winners from every continent, from grassroots organizations who are helping women to be better connected and have more access to connectivity, skills, and also devices.
Steve Saunders:
Who are the partners in those coalition ecosystems then? Are they the service providers, people like MTN [Group] or government agencies?
Sylvia Poll:
We have everything. It was founded 11 years ago. EQUALS partnership was founded by ITU, GSMA, UN Women, ITC, the International Trade Center, another UN agency, and the UNU. And so it's a combination where we have prompt partners who are smaller organizations, NGOs who do underground work. We have research organizations and we also have private sector and governments. And they all work together to see how we can get women and also young people connected and have better access to connectivity, skills, and devices.
Steve Saunders:
Have the results been demonstrable? Have you been able to quantify them?
Sylvia Poll:
Well, we have been trying to measure it as much as we can through different initiatives, but we also see the success and the collaboration with other countries where we are trying and also with the examples that we're doing, how they can scale it up and create also policy changes so that women can and youth can benefit in their countries across the whole country.
Steve Saunders:
It's not just about connectivity now, is it?
Sylvia Poll:
No.
Steve Saunders:
It's about intelligence as well in particular. Most of the MWC show here in Barcelona is about artificial intelligence now. Is that an important part of your work and what are your concerns in that space?
Sylvia Poll:
I mean, there are many opportunities, but if there's not even basic connectivity, we have said that still 2.2 billion people are not even connected. But then the other ones that are connected, not all of them have the right connectivity to benefit from AI. So, we are also advocating to the understanding that young people and also women and persons with disabilities require the right connectivity needs and we have been doing those efforts.
Steve Saunders:
Most of the power and the money and the authority still reside in North America. How do we overcome that and ensure that there really is an equal opportunity for everybody to participate in technology and communications?
Sylvia Poll:
Well, based on ITU facts and figures, which is a very important and renowned source of statistics that is being used by the whole UN system and many organizations, the divide is getting smaller. We have now from the total population still 2.2 billion people who are not connected. But every year, every time we measure, it's getting smaller.
Steve Saunders:
Yeah.
Sylvia Poll:
But we are also emphasizing that we have to be careful that the current divides. Because it's about not just what we call meaningful connectivity, it's not just about access, but it's also the use, having the devices, having the skills, making it affordable. And that's something that every government and every country has to be very conscious about.
Steve Saunders:
Yeah. It's everybody's responsibility.
Sylvia Poll:
Everybody's responsibility. And we are saying, let's be careful that the current digital divide doesn't become also an AI divide.
Steve Saunders:
Okay. Yes. That's a great note to leave it on. Thank you so much.
Sylvia Poll:
Thank you very much.
Steve Saunders:
Great, nice to meet you.
Sylvia Poll:
Yeah. Thank you very much.