The 2020 UN Summer Academy took place from 24 to 28 August and discussed conceptual approaches to sustainable development and the role of multilateralism with regard to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Using this platform, GDL member Elsa D’Silva, together with other professionals from the public sector, called for action to bridge the digital divide. They appealed to world leaders to establish access to digital technologies as a human right. You can watch for yourself in the video below ( to see Elsa and her colleagues tune in at minute 4:35).

This topic is of particular relevance to Elsa because in her home country of India many young students – especially girls – do not have access to the internet or lack the education needed to make use of it. Thus they often find themselves left behind in a world more and more connected digitally.

About the author:

Elsa Marie D’Silva is a social entrepreneur with interests in the fields of social and personal development, peace, aviation and mental health, and she is also the founder of the Red Dot Foundation (Safecity), a platform that crowdsources personal experiences of sexual violence and abuse in public spaces. 

Published on November 6, 2020.

Photo credit: Deutsche Welle