 Welcome to the World's Telecommunication Development Conference, WTDC, here in Kigali, Rwanda. We're very pleased to be joined in the studio today by the Honourable Paula Ingebiri, who is the Minister of Information and Communication Technology and Innovation for the Government of Rwanda. Minister, welcome to the studio. Thank you. Now I'd like to start off by asking you a little bit about this WTDC. The first WTDC happening in Africa since the establishment of ITU's telecommunication development sector in 1992. What does it mean for Rwanda as the host country? Thank you. And as you rightly said, yes, it's the first time it's happening on the African continent. It's a big win for Africa and also being part of the ITUD sector members. And very particularly for Rwanda, it's truly been a privilege for us to host the very first WTDC in Africa. What it also means is that we're also going to be part and parcel of shaping what the next four years agenda is going to look like. And that's not something that's just unique to Rwanda, I guess also for the rest of the continent. But what's also more important is the ability to host and give all the delegates, all the visitors, a test of Africa, a test of Rwanda, which in many ways we've been able to achieve outside the conference facilities. And how's it been going? It's been going great. I think we're now almost halfway into the second week of WTDC 2022. The very first week had a number of events, including the Youth Generation Connect Global Youth Summit that really brought together youth representatives from about 115 countries. It was highly energised and a powerful summit where the youth were keen and very engaged in being part and parcel of shaping the telecommunication agenda going forward. But also at the same time really listening to their asks and how they really wanted to contribute, which was very exciting. So being the very first Generation Connect Youth Summit, also happening here in Rwanda, I believe it's created the right momentum in really bringing together everyone that is going to be part and parcel of this agenda. It was also followed by the Partner to Connect Summit, which has been an amazing one with over 300 pledges that have been put forward by different partners, countries. And you can see a resolve to really work together to build the right partnerships to bring in the right resources so that we can collectively close on the digital divide in the different parts of the world. And obviously now we're coming to WTDC where we had the opening ceremony, but also at the same time the sessions that continue to happen as we look at the resolutions, the Kigali declaration, the action plan. And all of this has been quite exciting, but outside all these forums and sessions, it's also been great, which I think you've also been part of, whether it's the Walk to Connect, which is really a great cause in really raising awareness to have more women in decision making positions to have more women engaged in the telecommunication development agenda. And by that, before I forget, that also brings us to the network of women, which has also had a series of discussions and roundtables, really, that is targeted to understand what more can be done to empower more women to join the various leadership positions, but also the work that the ITUD is seeking to push forward. Great, and we'll come back to that in a moment because I think it's a very important topic. Now, your gracing is here in the studio previously, we've chatted as you as minister, but here you're here as a chair of this conference, which of course has brought its own particular challenges. I wanted to ask you, you've been here a chair of the conference for the last week and a half, perhaps you could give us some insights into the WTDC agenda. What are the key outcomes that you hope to see from this landmark development conference? So, a couple of things that I see when starting with, I did mention the partner to connective and looking at the different pages that have been put forward as we collectively and individually work towards, you know, closing the digital divide, but also even picking up from some of the recent resolutions that have been adopted during the plenary session, including the school connectivity project or GIGA, which in many ways as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the sectors that has been heavily affected is education. And so realising that one, you know, school connectivity is essential as we bridge the digital divide, but at the same time going forward as we recover better and stronger, this becomes a priority initiative for all of us going forward. The other thing is really, as I said, setting the agenda for the next four years. As we think about the 2.9 billion people that still remain unconnected, what is it that we're going to do differently over the next four years to connect them and bring them on board? And so all the way from thinking about infrastructure, what are some of those affordable and innovative ways of deploying infrastructure in a fast manner? How do we equip them with the right skills and devices and the right content that will also push on the usage gap, which when you look at the statistics where we look at the unconnected, there's so many people that live in areas of coverage but still haven't been able to benefit from that. And so these are some of the things as we go forward out of WTDC that will be priorities on what we do for the next four years ahead of the upcoming WTDC, which will happen in four years. You mentioned some of these but I just wanted to perhaps delve a little bit deeper. What do you think will be the major opportunities and challenges for the digital development sector over the current decade? In terms of opportunities, one, it's the understanding of the challenge at hand. I think everyone has a better sense of what it's going to take to close on the gap. In terms of challenges, you have different maturity levels of the digital landscape. And so finding a one-size-fits-all set of strategies that will close on the gap in different parts of the world may be quite a challenge. And I think it's also an opportunity in one way. I like to look at challenges as an opportunity to find innovative ways to address those challenges. And I think what we have, whether it's the declaration, the action plan or the resolutions, they give you a broad framework under which respective countries are going to be deploying resources to close the digital divide. What will be different though is the how because of the varying maturity levels of the digital landscape, which is very important. And maybe the other thing is that eventually, even as we deploy resources, build the right partnerships to close on the digital divide is figuring out how we measure that, which is still a sticky point, but then aligning on a set of criteria on how we measure readiness, maturity and growth towards closing the digital divide. The telecommunications sector has not historically been a sector where women have been heavily involved, where gender parity has been a priority. However, things are changing now. And I wanted to ask you, should any specific efforts be pursued to expand women's access to and the use of information communication technologies, which you're the minister of, as well as to enable women to take up leadership positions in the field? Because it's not just following things along, but actually taking, being there, having a seat at the table and starting specifically with digital development and the ITU development sector. And what do you think are the ingredients needed to ensure full mainstreaming of a gender perspective for ICTs? You're right, things are changing. And it's already good that we're starting from a common ground of understanding that it's urgent, it's important that we all think about gender mainstreaming and the different initiatives that we're taking forward. So that's already a good starting point, because there's a lot of consensus, a lot of excitement and commitment to do that. But going forward again, so it's one thing, and I think when you look at the WTDC22 summit that is happening this year, you also see a lot of participation of women from different countries. And so you could see there's been a deliberate effort from the different countries, one to include women as part of the delegation so that they are part of the decisions that are going to be made last week and this week. But also beyond that, I think we need to be thinking going forward, because yes, there are women who are capable today, women who can be given an opportunity to serve and contribute to the telecommunication development agenda. But as we look forward, what we need to be thinking about is how do we create a critical mass of women that are capable and are able to contribute. And that is going to start all the way from the education system, primary school, secondary school, how do we encourage more women and girls to take up STEM programs and careers. And then as you follow them through, you know, exposing them to leadership opportunities, training them, upskilling them throughout the way so that they have the right skills, that when they're given that opportunity, when they're part of that, they are really contributing in a significant manner. And so I think we're at a good place where that is already happening and women are really taking their place. And so that means we'll have very balanced decisions, discussions that are taking into consideration what would be the uniqueness of the needs as we bridge the digital divide. I mean, you are a living and breathing example of this. I just wanted to ask you, what got you to where you are today? How did you get to where you are today? So for me it was first of all the leadership, even believing in one, the opportunity to empower women and the right to empower women and young people of the youth. And so for us in Rwanda, that has not been a problem because the leadership has been soaking on that, on youth empowerment, on women empowerment. So it was natural to be able to, and not just for myself by the way, it's many young women and girls that have really been empowered and given the opportunity to contribute. The second thing is also being able to, you know, expose being given the right tools, the right capacity building programs that allow you to really serve adequately in the capacities that you've been provided. But it all starts with the belief, the faith, but also the dedication to feel that it's going to be a continuous job to empower women at any given time. And this is where we are at today. So I am one of, you know, the many that have been privileged to be given the opportunity to serve today. Our cabinet has over 51% of women representation. Our parliament is over 62%. And we're seeing a lot of that also happening in the private sector as well. Obviously when you think about the tech sector, just like the statistics globally, we still have fewer women in the sector. And so there's a deliberate focus on empowering young girls to take up STEM subjects. And so over the next few years, we'll start to see a critical mass of young women and leaders that are really at the helm of this transformational work that will be happening, not just in Rwanda, but across the continent. Well, we've been extremely grateful to have you here as a chair of the WTDC conference. So thank you very much for taking on that role. And we wish you all the very best with the rest of the conference and of course to your career as a minister. And we look forward to catching up with you again very soon at another ITU event, I'm sure. And thank you very much indeed again for hosting us here in the wonderful Kigali Rwanda. Thank you. Thank you for having me today.