GDDF 2022 Keynote: Embracing Today's Digital Age to Advance Inclusive Development

As we mark the two-year anniversary of the launch of USAID’s Digital Strategy, the Agency is at an infdlection point. The rapid race to digitize services of public and private sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the growing dependency of development and humanitarian assistance programs on digital technology and exposed and, in some cases, exacerbated existing digital divides. At the same time, there has been a rise in digital authoritarianism, loss of personal freedoms, threats to national security, and disruption of economic growth models across the globe. While acknowledging these challenges and threats, Administrator Samantha Power reflects on the growing importance of digital development in achieving USAID’s new vision for inclusive development. She is then joined by Temie Giwa-Tubosun, Founder and CEO of LifeBank, for a fireside chat discussion on the critical role of locally-led organizations and technology startups in helping to upend existing business models to address difficult development challenges and empower marginalized and underserved communities.

The 2022 Global Digital Development Forum was co-organized by USAID, Chemonics, Deloitte, Care, DAI, Palladium, DIAL, and TechChange around 3 major themes important to international development: Climate Change, Locally-Led Development, and Emerging Technologies.

The Global Digital Development Forum was inspired by the ICTworks post, Coronavirus Canceled Your Conference – Let’s Organize a Virtual Event, which led to a vibrant discussion on how we could develop a virtual ICT4D conference.

From that conversation emerged the desire to build on previous USAID Digital Development Forums in Ghana, India, El Salvador, Zambia, and the United States and expand both the focus and participation beyond any specific donor or country, to include a global audience of LMIC practitioners.

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