Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Remarks at FerMUN 2025
[As prepared for delivery]
Good afternoon, everyone.
Happy New Year!
It's great to be here to mark the 15th anniversary of the Model UN of the Lycée International de Ferney-Voltaire. During the very same year ITU celebrates its 160th birthday.
And I would really like to recognize my friend and colleague Florence Baudry for her continued leadership as the visionary director of this programme.
And of course, all those that have worked tirelessly to make FerMUN what it is today — a big round of applause.
15 editions! Representing almost a lifetime for many in this room.
If we think back to 2010 only 30 per cent of the world was connected to the Internet.
Less than 10 per cent of the global population had a smartphone back then.
Instagram was just created and snap chat and TikTok followed years later.
There was no generative AI.
Today it's a different world.
You are digital natives. And the future of work that you will encounter will offer both tech opportunities and tech challenges.
Hundreds of students like you have participated in FerMUN. Coming from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries.
But what brought them together − what truly united them − were the enduring values of the United Nations: peace, equality, justice, sustainability, and cooperation.
Jeremy, your first Secretary-General and a Ferney local, said it best when he encouraged his fellow delegates to find consensus — reminding them that “a small step in consensus can have huge consequences."
Today, Jeremy is the Technology Development Lead at a cutting-edge company working on building the first universal quantum computer.
FerMUN participants go on to do big things in the world of work — a theme tackling some of the biggest and most challenging questions of our time.
And many careers of past participants involve technology in some form.
But they tested their ideas first right here at FerMUN.
This is where policy innovation takes shape, and where tomorrow's leaders find ways to ensure technology is a tool for positive change.
My organization, the ITU, has believed in that vision from the start.
As the UN agency for digital technologies, we saw the promise of the first FerMUN, which tackled cyberthreats, the Internet and human rights, the rise of artificial intelligence − topics that have only grown in relevance and urgency over time.
We have been privileged to support and host a number of FerMUN events with focuses on SDGs and tech for development.
At our last hosting in 2020, little did we know that just two months later, a global pandemic would put everything we had been discussing to the test.
The young people here today — and millions like you across the world — were on the front lines.
Your generation has never known a world without digital.
You've grown up in a decade that has seen: The population using the Internet nearly double; social media influence explode; and artificial intelligence (AI) go mainstream.
You are the most connected generation of all — the first to come of age in an era of unprecedented digital opportunities, and some formidable challenges.
Today we are living in a world with global conflict, a climate crisis, security concerns, growing inequalities − and the list goes on.
But when I look around this room, I am filled with hope that each of you will make a difference. As Jeremy said, a small step can have huge positive consequences.
As you get into the deliberations of Committees, reflect on the kind of future you want to build and the actions you can take…
In September, world leaders gathered in New York for the Summit of the Future and adopted: the Pact for the Future, The Global Digital Compact, and especially The Declaration on Future Generations, that recognizes young people as agents of change.
That change starts with bringing more young people to the table.
Not just to be present but to lead discussions and build consensus on key decisions that shape our future.
This is one of my priorities — from ITU's first-ever Young Professionals Programme to our internal Youth Task Force — at a time when ITU is about to celebrate its 160th anniversary.
As we look to the future, let's follow the advice of Gessienne, another former FerMUN Secretary-General, who said:
"The issues we're facing can seem like a huge mountain, and maybe you can't make it to the top, or even see that far. But take one step, and the view will already be clearer."
Jeremy, Gessienne, and all FerMUN participants are showing us the way.
To the young people in this room, I say: Be open to what inspires you, be curious, and explore. Be fearless — dare to dream big and never give up.
How many of you saw the movie Wicked over the holidays? A great movie with some important messages, and I will borrow two: and say: defy gravity, defy gravity, and have the courage to stand for what you believe in.
To those of us that are less young.
Let's work to build a future with the audacity of youth.
A future full of hope, possibility, and ambition.
