In response to the growing speed and power of new technologies, the United Nations Development Programme set out on a journey of digital transformation. When UNDP launched its digital strategy in 2019, we never expected just how important digital technologies would be to the world in 2020.
Virtual became the new normal. To cope with the crisis, digital transformation was urgently needed, and accelerated rapidly. UNDP rose to the challenge. First, we digitized ourselves. We moved the entire workforce online within 6 days. Then, we helped governments digitize.
We supported over 60 countries with critical technologies, video conferencing services, and hardware supplies. We assisted governments as they moved their critical services online.
Across UNDP’s global network of country offices, over 250 digital responses to COVID-19 emerge. The use of digital helped countries rise to meet new challenges posed by the pandemic.
An inclusive digital transformation means providing access to affordable internet, helping citizens with digital literacy, and raising awareness of challenges such as data privacy and misinformation.
Digital has an impact on all of us: governments, businesses, and citizens. Digital can not only improve the lives of people impacted by the pandemic, but also presents a new way and a better future.
We envision a future where everyone has access to affordable internet. We strive to help countries be inclusive digital nations. We pursue a whole-of-society approach, where everyone benefits from digital transformation building a better future that leaves no one behind.
