Description :

In this perspective, the Inclusive City Centre (ICC) of the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) aims to organize an International Webinar on ‘Building Inclusive Digital Infrastructure for Resilient and Sustainable Cities’. The webinar aims to bring national/international experts and thought leaders to present best practices on leveraging digital technologies for the benefit of marginalised and vulnerable communities, especially the urban poor, informal workers and persons with disabilities. Acknowledging the urban plurality in India and ensuring that no one is left behind, panelists will be invited to deliberate on three key topics: 1. How to bridge the digital divide for integration of informal sector in the city value chain? 2. How do we use ODPs to help integrate informal settlements in city development? 3. What are the ways to address inclusion of persons with disabilities through accessible IT and assistive technologies? Objectives: The international webinar aims to: Identify the existing vulnerabilities of marginalized communities regarding digital infrastructure. Bridge the digital divide by mainstreaming the needs of the marginalized communities. Leverage existing digital technologies for the inclusion of the informal sector workers and settlements Identify best case studies and scenarios that can be implemented in cities through participatory methods and contextualization Building the capacities to adopt an inclusive approach to creating a robust and accessible digital infrastructure Facilitating cities to invest in digital infrastructure so that everyone including the most marginalized can access digital services with ease Expected Outcomes: Creating a robust city digital infrastructure that is driven by the needs of the people. Especially the urban poor, the informal workers/families and persons with disabilities Aligning the city’s digital governance with the Sustainable Development Goals. Increase the knowledge and capacities of cities on inclusive digital governance Understanding the key issues and challenges that people from the lower strata of the society, with disabilities and informal sector