Cosmas Zavazava

A pleasure to attend the Presidential Lecture by President @AOuattara_PRCI at @wto in Geneva, sharing Côte d’Ivoire’s experience on trade, investment and partnerships for development.   Great to hear Côte d’Ivoire’s perspective as countries navigate a changing global economy, with digital transformation creating new avenues for growth and innovation.

Great to meet with Roland Mollerus, Managing Director of @UNTechBank on the margins of the Global Review of #Aid4Trade 2026 at the @wto. We discussed opportunities to strengthen our collaboration to support #LDCs, particularly in digital skills, #AI, #SME digitalisation, and translating technology needs into practical solutions. Looking forward to building on our shared efforts to advance inclusive digital development.

#BDT4Impact in Seconds 🎥 In just four years, we have: • Forged 300+ new partnerships • Welcomed 200+ new @ITU-D Sector Members • Mobilised over CHF 80 million for impactful projects

Great to connect with Ray Quintana, Co-Founder and CEO of SettleVIA Inc., and his team to explore opportunities to collaborate in supporting developing countries to leverage #AI by building and scaling their innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities and strengthening sovereign #AI governance. We also discussed how our GENIE AI initiative and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development could support these efforts to. #Innovation4Digital

Wonderful news from Zambia! All five school connectivity sites are now live under our partnership with @SES_Satellites, connecting six schools and providing three years of free internet access: • Longe Day Secondary School and Longe Primary School – Kaoma District, Western Province (one site) • Chikuni Girls High School – Monze District, Southern Province • Kalale Secondary School – Nkeyema District, Western Province • Shimukunami Secondary School – Lufwanyama District • Nambwae Secondary School – Nalolo District, Western Province   With the rollout in Zambia complete, we are getting closer to fulfilling the SES #Partner2Connect pledge, bringing more schools online and creating more opportunities within reach of students and teachers.   @ZictaZM @Medu_Zambia @ITUAfrica

Great momentum in implementing our partnership with @SES_Satellites to connect more schools. Malawi is the latest country, with three schools now online: Mdzobwe Primary School and Mseche Community Day Secondary School in Lilongwe District, and Mphompha Community Day Secondary School in Rumphi district. Two more schools to follow in the coming weeks. Building on progress in Timor-Leste, Zimbabwe and Zambia, we are moving quickly to deliver on the @SES_Satellites #Partner2Connect pledge. Alongside connectivity, we are supporting digital skills development and helping children stay safe online, so they can make the most of digital learning opportunities.

#EarlyWarningsForAll continues to reach more countries. My team was in Basseterre 🇰🇳 for the #EW4All National Consultative and Gap Analysis Workshop for the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, organized with #EW4All pillar co-leads @UNDRR, @WMO and @ifrc, in collaboration with @NemaSKN, the Nevis Disaster Management Department, and supported by @cdemacu. The workshop brought together national stakeholders to assess early warning capacities, identify gaps and priorities, and strengthen coordination across the full early warning value cycle. This work is helping advance a people-centred, multi-hazard early warning system to protect lives and build resilient communities in the country. @ITUAmericas

Another milestone in advancing school connectivity in Zimbabwe! Six more schools are now connected through the @ITUDevelopment-@SES_Satellites partnership, bringing the total to seven and moving us closer to our target of 10 schools in Zimbabwe in 2026. The newly connected schools are Harawe Primary, St. Michaels Secondary, Gungwa Primary, Gababe Primary, St. Boniface Primary and Chesa Primary. This marks further progress in implementing #Partner2Connect pledges. But connectivity is only the beginning. Through our work in @ITUDevelopment, we are also focused on digital skills, #ChildOnlineProtection and enabling policies to help ensure that connectivity delivers meaningful educational opportunities for students and teachers.

Congratulations to the 26 participants from 13 countries who graduated from the 7th global edition of our #AI Governance in Practice: Developing Secure and Innovative Frameworks, held in New Delhi 🇮🇳 this October.  Building capacity in #AI governance is essential to equipping countries with the knowledge and skills to develop responsible, secure and inclusive governance frameworks. @EU_Partnerships @ITUAsiaPacific

Pleased to share continued progress in connecting schools through the @ITUDevelopment–@SES_Satellites partnership! The Longe Day Secondary School and Longe Primary School in Kaoma District, and Chikuni Girls High School in Monze District in Zambia are now benefiting from internet connectivity. Though this initiative, which is also a P2C pledge, we are expanding digital learning opportunities for students and teachers, providing access to online educational resources and supporting digital inclusion in underserved communities. Our efforts also extend beyond connectivity to strengthening digital skills and promoting #ChildOnlineProtection, helping students make safe and meaningful use of the internet. #BDT4Impact @ZictaZM @Medu_Zambia @ITUAfrica

Last week, I briefed the #Partner2Connect Global Advisory Board on the great work the @ITUDevelopment is doing to match needs and solutions and advance the implementation of pledges. 2026 has been a productive year for P2C matchmaking, connecting countries’ digital development priorities with partners’ commitments, expertise and resources through our Regional Development Forums #ITURDF. We are also seeing successful implementation of pledges. Most recently, in partnership with @SES_Satellites, several schools were connected in Timor-Leste and Zimbabwe as part of the pledge to connect 100 rural and remote schools across Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. More updates to come as we accelerate implementation in other countries where preparations are ongoing. We must build on this progress, moving from commitments to delivery and ensuring meaningful impact for communities.

On #UNDay, I celebrate the partnerships and collective efforts that make our work possible. Through cooperation, we can advance digital development, connect communities, and create opportunities for people everywhere.

Digital transformation is not an end in itself. It must be grounded in the realities and needs of countries and communities. On #WorldDevelopmentInformationDay, we must use information and digital technologies to better understand development challenges, respond to countries' priorities, and deliver lasting benefits for all.

The first Rapporteur Group meetings of ITU-D Study Groups 1 and 2 for the 2026–2029 study period brought together experts and stakeholders to exchange knowledge, share experiences and address key challenges and opportunities for inclusive and sustainable digital development. Read the communiqué: itu.int/itu-d/sites/studygro…

Great to meet with H.E. Clara Delgado Jesus, Ambassador, Permanent Mission Cape Verde. We spoke about the country’s work in advancing digital transformation and discussed our ongoing partnership with Lusophone countries, including the recent 16th Lusophone Communications Forum hosted by Cabo Verde, and opportunities to strengthen cooperation on universal and meaningful connectivity, digital skills and resilient digital infrastructure.

Read my blog on GENIE AI, our open-source platform helping countries develop AI-powered public services tailored to their priorities, strengthen local capacities and shape their own #AI future. itu.int/hub/2026/10/genie-ai…

Excellent meeting with @SoniaJorgeICT4D, CEO of @GDInclusion, an active @ITU-D member. We discussed our shared commitment to advancing universal and meaningful connectivity and digital inclusion, and explored opportunities to deepen collaboration on capacity building and connectivity measurement to support countries in their digital transformation journeys.

#BDT4Impact in seconds 🎥 Our goal is to connect everyone, everywhere. To bridge the rural-urban digital divide, we must go beyond network coverage and address barriers such as affordability and digital skills. Together with governments, regulators and the private sector, we can make meaningful connectivity a reality for all.

Our partnership with @FCDODigital is supporting countries to strengthen digital regulation, promote investment, and expand school connectivity. Explore the research and training resources from our work in Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa: itu.int/en/ITU-D/Pages/FCDO/…

Had a productive discussion with @GraceWang_UN, the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan, @UN_Turkmenistan. I congratulated her on her appointment and discussed opportunities to strengthen collaboration with the @UN Country Team to advance digital transformation and capacity development in 🇹🇲