Discussion held on Digital DNA as part of GSMA M360 Eurasia 2024 conference
On 15–16 May, Azerbaijan hosted the conference GSMA M360 Eurasia of the World GSM Association (GSMA) for second time. The conference took place with the support of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport (MDDT) and general sponsorship of Azercell Telecom LLC.
The event was opened with the participation of Samir Mammadov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Natalia Mochu, Regional Director of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Alexey Borodin, Director General of the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC), John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer and President of the Mobile for Development Foundation at GSMA.
Deputy Minister Samir Mammadov informed the participants about the current status of the digitalization process in the country and noted that the event will contribute to this process.
The first day of the conference, which brought together leading representatives from the fields of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digitalization and green technologies from the CIS and other countries in the region, also included a discussion on Digital DNA. The results of the project “Digital Literacy Assessment in Azerbaijan”, implemented under the joint initiative of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport and the International Telecommunication Union, were also presented as part of the discussion.
Ceyhun Huseynzade, Head of the Strategic Analysis, Innovation and Digitalization Department at MDDT, spoke about the main goal of the project. He said that the project aims to measure the level of digital literacy in the country, identify gaps in this area and take measures to address them.
It should be noted that the project is based on the assessment of digital knowledge and skills of about 35 thousand people in 13 economic regions of the country through surveys. The individuals who took part in the surveys were concentrated in 4 different categories: employees of government agencies and private institutions, students and university teaching staff.
Riina Vuorikari, ITU independent expert and lead author of the project, then gave a detailed presentation on the results of the project. The presentation showed the results for different categories of digital skills (ability to create digital content, security, etc.). Among the highest indicators: 88% of the country’s population is able to make mobile calls over the Internet, 77% use social networks, 87% of women have basic and higher skills in the category “competence in communication and cooperation”.
The report published by ITU in May this year, which details the results of the project, also has useful proposals that can be implemented across the country. The implementation of these proposals will have a positive impact on further improving the digital literacy of the population.
