Government and Development Partners’ Dialogue Platform Meeting

• Honorable Minister, Nape Nnauye (MP) - Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology
• Ambassador Didier Chassot, Ambassador of Switzerland to Tanzania,
• Michel Toto, Officer in Charge and Representative of UNESCO
• Director of Information Services
• Director of Policy and Planning
• Senior Government Dignitaries
• Esteemed Development Partners
• My UN Colleagues
• Members of the Media
• Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning! Habarini za asubuhi

I am very pleased to participate in this joint Government and Development Partners’ Dialogue Platform Meeting. We thank the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology, UNESCO and the Development Partners’ Media Working Group co-chaired by Switzerland and USAID for their leadership in organizing this event.

Information, Communications and related Technologies (ICTs) are collectively important enablers of sustainable development.

These enablers, including the media, are powerful agents in giving ‘voice’ to the poor and those left furthest behind. Open, participatory information and communication processes contribute to inclusive politics, better governance, a dynamic civil society, and to fairer economic growth. Communication must be put at the service of the poor. There must be mechanism to hear the voices of the poor and those left furthest behind. Any effective system of communication must not just be a top-down system – and crucially – there must be political will to listen to and address the issues of the poor and common people.

ICTs can help innovate business processes and operations and provide faster integration of new technologies into business systems. A free and pluralistic media environment is essential for facilitating public dialogue, as a forum for political debate and accountability, and to help shape social attitudes – for instance towards important Sustainable Development Goals such as gender equality.

Given the importance of information, communications and ICT to society and for positive transformation, communications remains at the heart of the ideas behind the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

The themes of Information, Communications and ICTs are densely woven into the newly minted UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework of Tanzania (2022-27), launched by H.E. Vice President Philip Isdor Mpango on May 17th, 2022.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (or Cooperation Framework) is the most important instrument for planning and implementation of the UN development activities at country level. This is in line with member States' call for a UN development reform to boost coordination to support countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

The Cooperation Framework guides the entire UN programme cycle in country, driving planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of collective UN support for achieving the 2030 Agenda. The Cooperation Framework an agreement between the UN and the host government determines and reflects the UN development system’s contributions in the country and shapes the configuration of UN assets required inside and outside the country.

The new Cooperation Framework, in keeping with the emphases on information, communications and ICTs, highlights the importance of achieving Strengthened capacities to promote and protect access to information. The Cooperation Framework emphasizes: UN agencies in Tanzania will engage in evidence informed policy dialogues, research, and integrated media engagement. Specific emphasis will be placed on systems strengthening – reinforced implementation, monitoring and reporting on national strategies for communication, media development, access to information, safety of journalists, preservation of documentary heritage and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). The overall focus will be on improved national coordination of information and communication on thematic issues (VAWC- Violence Against Women and Children, climate change, access to justice, disasters and emergencies and COVID 19, STI), benchmarking national laws and policies to international standards, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

The UN, through the period of the Cooperation Framework, will undertake community engagement, including social mobilization and social accountability through – civic education, social dialogues, community outreach, media and information literacy, SBCC (Social and Behavior Change Communication), life skills education, digital innovation and open solutions, with the aim of building resilient and cohesive communities. The UN will support the leveraging of financing and resource mobilization, expansion of infrastructure and services, journalism, education and research, technology and digital skills.

Honourable Minister.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to have been part of the workshop that met to develop the government priorities for information, communication and information technology held in May, in Bagamoyo.

I am told that this workshop has resulted in a Media for Sustainable Development Goals Tanzania Programme, aimed to supporting information and communication processes that focus on strengthening the channels used by poor and marginalized people. This programme also aims to establish and realize legal rights to freedom of speech and access to information, supporting media, and developing and leveraging new opportunities offered by ICTs. This programme is a positive step forward in the realization of the vision of the Cooperation Framework.

The United Nations reiterates that considering the challenges ahead of us in the next year and beyond, we must not be complacent. To fully deliver the 2030 Agenda, we have a collective responsibility to bring more scale, ambition and urgency to our action. Utilizing all the tools in the tool-box of information, communications and related technological resources available with us, this is the time to renew our collective commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. The lives of billions of people across the globe depend on keeping the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs remain the world’s best chance for a future of peace, dignity and prosperity. And future peace, dignity, and prosperity can be enabled through improved information, communications and related technologies.

I congratulate each of you for your commitment to this important, common vision and for participating in what I hope will be a continuous cooperation through this important forum. I wish you all much success!

Thank You

Asanteni Sana!