United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, says access to information and communications technology is necessary to address the challenges of poverty and climate change.
Ban stated this in his message to the ongoing 11th session of the Internet Governance Forum in Jalisco, Mexico, delivered by Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development.
“I welcome the theme of this session: ‘Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth’.
“Indeed, the Internet and information and communication technologies can play an important enabling role in our efforts to fulfill the great promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“They can deliver smart solutions to address climate change, hunger, poverty and other global challenges.
“They are tools for providing digital and mobile health care and wider access to education to those in rural areas.
“They can also help to empower women, generate efficiencies in industrial and agricultural production, and safeguard the environment,” he said.
The Secretary-General said the 2016 gathering was the first since its 10-year renewal by the General Assembly, which reaffirmed the importance of the Internet Governance Forum multi-stakeholder platform for public policy dialogue.
“Your efforts have made profound impacts as we strive together to create an equitable, human rights-based knowledge society,” Ban said.
The UN chief urged the forum to keep working to ensure universal access to a more open information society.
“Let us address the challenges we face by empowering people everywhere with these transformative technologies so that they can help build a better future for all,” he said.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
