PANDEMIC PIVOT

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the connectedness of the globe on everything from public health to financial markets, misinformation to entertainment. Even with travel limited and borders shut down, movement restricted and self-isolation observed, the internet has, quite literally, kept the world connected – as it was designed to, in the face of unprecedented catastrophe – and the products, services, applications and initiatives of the TMT sector have kept economies and societies running. In many ways life sped up as the crisis took hold. Daily developments were enough to fill a month of news. Rapid massive scale adjustments occurred around telehealth, remote working, government service delivery, online education, home-schooling, ecommerce and social interaction. Disruption hit hard and fast, a body blow for sectors already struggling to adapt to digitisation and a startling opening for players primed for the moment. But life also slowed down. There have been postponements and cancellations, shutdowns and hibernations from which
the IIC, as a global meeting platform, is not immune. Our planned events in Thailand (March) and Mongolia (July) were postponed while others have evolved into virtual meetings and webinars: Bogota with the Inter-American Development Bank, and the UK Chapter meeting, both taking place in April. The IIC website now features a COVID-19 section highlighting the key work our members have put in place during this difficult time. This crisis brings new dimensions and urgency to issues and industries that were already undergoing deep transformation and raises the complexity of policy questions by an order of magnitude. The need for informed dialogue is now greater than ever, and the IIC is here to help its members stay connected to the global conversation. Chris Chapman, president, IIC