UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guterres has appointed a Nigerian Gbenga Sesan to serve on his first internet Governance forum (IGF). Appointed alongside Gbenga, were nine other high-level and eminent persons to serve on the IGF Panel for two-year term during the 2022 to 2023 IGF cycles.
Basic Facts
- This is the inaugural IGF appointed by the UN Secretary.
- The Internet Governance Forum is an outcome of the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WISS) that took place in 2005.
What We Know
The Internet Governance Forum is a product of the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WISS), 2005. The first phase was held in Geneva in December 2003.
In the Tunis Agenda, Governments asked the UN Secretary-General to convene a “new forum for policy dialogue” to discuss issues related to key elements of Internet governance.
The Forum’s mandate was extended for 10 years in December 2015, during the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of WISS outcomes.
The 17th edition of the IGF will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2
Notable Quotes
Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Mr Stéphane Dujarric while announcing this at a news conference on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York said:
“Panel members will address strategic and urgent issues and highlight Forum discussions, as well as possible follow-up actions, to promote greater impact and dissemination of IGF discussions, according to its Terms of Reference.
“They were appointed by the Secretary-General following an open call for nominations, and in line with “an equitably distributed, multi-stakeholder configuration” of representatives from Government, the private sector, civil society and the technical community, as well as prominent persons in the field of digital policy.’’
Catch-up
Gbenga Sesan, born 27 July 1977, in Akure, Ondo State Nigeria. Gbenga is a social entrepreneur who delivers Information and communications technology to the under served.
Gbenga had a career in the application of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) for individuals, institutions, nation-states, regional entities and the international community.
Mr. Gbenga Sesan read Electronic and Electrical engineering at the
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Osun State. Gbenga he graduated in 2002. He then went on to complete an Executive Education programs at Lagos Business School, before going on to attend New York Group for Technology Transfer, Oxford University, Harvard University, Stanford University, Santa Clara University and University of the Pacific.
Gbenga Sesan is a former member of the United Nations Committee of eLeaders on Youth and ICT. Amongst other things, Gbenga served as a member of the Presidential committees on Harmonization of Information Technology, Telecommunications and Broadcasting Sectors (2006), and Roadmap for the Achievement of Accelerated Universal Broadband Infrastructure and Services Provision (2013). Gbenga is married and lives in Lagos.
Takeaway
Gbenga Sesan appointment is a further indication of the talents that abound in Nigeria, only waiting for the right environment to be harnessed.
The Nigerian government can indeed take advantage of her emerging ICT sector and youth interest in the ICT to unleash an ICT revolution that could lead to mass job creations for the youth
This will no doubt, in turn be a foreign exchange earner that has the capacity to help our downward sliding Naira recover.
