Dr Cosmas Zavazava, PhD
ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)
Curriculum Vitae
Candidate for the post of Director
ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)
and accelerate digital transformation.❞
Dr Cosmas Zavazava, PhD
Candidate for the post of Director
ITU (second term) Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)
I am committed to leverage the Telecommunication Development Bureau’s success under my leadership during the first term, and do more to achieve tangible, meaningful results towards closing the digital divide, digital skills divide, and accelerating digital transformation powered by sustainable partnerships, innovation, and efficiency.
Vision Statement
My focus will mainly be on:
- Creating an enabling environment to encourage industry and private sector investment into resilient infrastructure as a bedrock to global connectivity that builds on the Digital Regulators Network initiative that I launched in 2023, a key global mechanism for regulators to collaborate, share knowledge, and develop common approaches to governing fast-evolving digital technologies;
- Innovation and entrepreneurship in support of digital transformation building and build on the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for digital development that I launched in 2023 that has Acceleration Centres across all the regions, network of experts, and a dynamic Innovation Board;
- Inclusiveness for equal access to open a world of opportunity and choice for the majority of the peole including women, youth, marginal and vulnerable populations, people from lower socio-economic groups, indigenous peoples, older persons, and persons with disabilities while ensuring safety online.
To succeed, the BDT will build on the successful resource mobilization during the past four years that raised a record amount in extra-budgetary resources valued at USD$ 65 million from development partners for the financing of large-scale development projects, the highest since the establishment of the BDT, and the successful campaign that resulted in the recruitment of a record number of Sector Members while retaining current members to increase our engagement with the private sector, industry and academia.
Video on Work Delivered over the past four (4) years as Director, BDT
As Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, I will focus on promoting three key elements as drivers of sustainable development:
1. INVESTMENT in Infrastructure as a bedrock to global connectivity and post-pandemic recovery
During my future tenure as Director of BDT, I will strongly support the creation of an enabling policy and regulatory framework that has a human face and is friendly to quality infrastructure investment for meaningful connectivity, strengthen industry and private sector participation, and foster win-win partnerships with diverse stakeholders to finance impactful connectivity projects. In a rapidly changing global information society, the BDT’s responsibility is to foster the development of broadband access, particularly in developing countries, making it a powerful vehicle for sustainable development while at the same time giving a human face to telecommunications/information and communication technology (ICT) through the safe delivery of new applications that will positively impact people’s lives.
Proven record in this area
Made an immense contribution to the preparation, organization, and successful holding of Connect the World ITU series of Events held in the Africa, Arab Region, Americas, and Asia-Pacific. These events brought together Heads of State and Government, Private Sector, International and Regional Organizations and resulted in the marketing of investment opportunities of over 75 billion dollars in each region. I also organized and ran over 23 Multistakeholder Partnership Roundtables for the LDCs.
Some of the 23 Multistakeholder Partnership Roundtables:
2. INNOVATION in support of the digital transformation of society
Innovation helps build a culture of continuous learning, growth, and personal development for staff in the BDT and our Membership. In these times of increasingly fast technological advancements, BDT will be supporting governments to ensure that no one is left behind in digital development to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
As part of efforts to bridge the skills gap within the BDT and in countries, as well as continuous improvement, BDT will acquire, create more effective processes, products, and ideas that will result in the best use of competencies, skills and knowledge and help the organization and countries to respond better to current and future challenges, and unlock value out of new opportunities. For instance, new approaches to resource mobilization through innovative financing, new approaches to win-win partnerships, and new approaches to co-financing and executing impactful projects for digital transformation.
Proven record in this area
- At the peak of the Ebola pandemic in West Africa, I initiated and launched the first big data project to help track the spread of the pandemic. I also launched an information sharing up based on official sources in order to avoid people falling in the trap of fake news.
- I also designed and managed the first ITU project on measuring the Information Society using big data from the ICT industry to improve and complement existing statistics and methodologies to measure the information society
- As I strongly believe in innovation, I am a member of the Geneva Innovation Movement that brings together a host of United Nations organizations and have applied some of the shared and tested ideas on innovation in my leadership role.
- I participated in several United Nations System Staff College training course on innovation and leadership in times of crisis and have shared this acquired knowledge with colleagues across the BDT. I have also implemented some of the practices in my role as Chief of Department with positive outcomes in terms of introducing innovation was of strengthening engagement with industry and private sector in ITU-D that resulted in a healthy upward growth of the membership, innovative project management practices that resulted in more effective project execution, and innovative resource mobilization practices that saw a new strategy put in place and over USD million dollars being raised within 9 months.
3. INCLUSIVENESS for equal access and opportunities
I envision a BDT that is committed to ensuring that everyone without exception benefits from digital opportunities. BDT will work to close the digital gap through meaningful universal connectivity and for an inclusive digital society and pave way for the provision of broadband access for all, leaving no one behind including the 2.9 billion people that are still off-line.
I will ensure that BDT ensures digital inclusiveness, fosters access to digital opportunities through meaningful accessibility, affordability and use in all countries and regions and for all peoples, including women and girls, youth and marginal and vulnerable populations, people from lower socio-economic groups, indigenous peoples, older persons, and persons with disabilities. BDT will be diverse with active staff engagement, and a true feel of an inclusive environment.
Proven record in this area
- Resource mobilization, project design and implementation for Countries in Special Need (those emerging out of war and natural disasters). Project to reconstruct infrastructure and contribute to sector reform in countries emerging out of war and major disasters (Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, Somalia, Ethiopia, D.R.Congo, Sierra Leone, East Timor and Eritrea) and focusing also on war victims. This project was co-financed by USAID and ITU.
- Design of projects in emergency telecommunications to benefit victims of natural disasters particularly the disabled, women, elderly, and the marginalized.
In Haiti establishing communication centers for officials to document the dead and missing persons as well as coordinating food and medical supplies for the disabled
In Philippines setting up communication and telemedicine facilities for the earthquake victims, the injured, and the disabled