By Brian Yatich
Kenya will once again be in the global spotlight as it becomes the first African country to host the Global ICT Capacity Building Symposium (CBS-2016).
Themed “Embracing Capacity Building Opportunities in the Digital Era,” the forum will bring together world leaders to deliberate on how education and training in the field of ICTs will contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across all sectors.
Coming just days after TICAD forum, the three-day international conference which kicked off Tuesday is expected to attract Governments, industry stakeholders, universities and other higher education institutions looking to invest in, and develop a range of ICT skills at various levels of adoption.
“The CBS-2016 is taking place at a significantly crucial time as the world embarks on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. ICTs have an extraordinary potential to accelerate the attainment of the SDGs and it is important to provide opportunities for all, to acquire the specialized skills needed to engage in and benefit from the telecommunication/ICT sector,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, ahead of the summit which ends on Thursday.
The outcomes of the Symposium are expected to provide strategic guidance to the national and international community, including ITU, on capacity building in the field of ICT, and on strengthening collaboration among the global ICT capacity building community.
The forum is further expected to directly contribute to the achievement of the SDGs across all development sectors and will also provide platform to gauge the needs of the market in terms of training and capacity building in the field of ICT, and helps them shape their training and delivery programmes.
The conference is being organised by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Kenya’s government through Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
