Preparatory meetings for national dialogue in Uganda

In the week of 11 – 15 June 2018, the GSMA was in Uganda to meet with stakeholders and kick-start a series of activities towards a National Dialogue. The visit also coincided with a stakeholder engagement on Policy issues.

The GSMA met with local operators and, in collaboration with our development partner, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), hosted the National Dialogue Technical Working Group meeting with representation from about Twenty (20) agencies and local operators, including the Ministries of ICT and Health, the Central Bank and local governments. The visit has afforded the GSMA a platform to deliver invaluable support and interventions to local members, and for the launch and delivery of a successful National Dialogue.

National dialogues are a key GSMA initiative to help countries achieve their SDG commitments. It brings together key government ministries, mobile industry leadership and consumer insights to demonstrate how mobile can be a positive force for societal change and build a collective vision to deliver on this opportunity. It also maps mobile’s current and potential impact on national development plans and SDG progress

The objectives of the national dialogue are to:
• Provide country-level recommendations to industry and government
• Create fora for national policy makers and operator leadership to agree collaborative next steps to improve social and economic progress towards digital transformation through mobile
• For each country of engagement, an agreed commitment and action plan for government and private sector to work together to create new social and commercial value and deliver on the SDGs through mobile