Intended as a follow-up to the G7 initiatives, the Policy Summit aims at bringing the GIS/GII discussions to a truly global audience. In 1994, US Vice-President Al Gore addressed the ITU's Buenos Aires World Telecommunication Development Conference, and appealed to legislators, regulators and business people to work together to build and operate the Global Information Infrastructure. Eighteen months later, South-African President Nelson Mandela addressed the Opening Ceremony of TELECOM 95, and warned the industry and the information-rich not to leave the rest of the population behind. Two years after TELECOM 95, the time has come for the international community to report on the progress that has been made, and to show that the political willingness still exists to lead the world in to the information society. The Policy Summit of TELECOM INTERACTIVE 97 will provide the appropriate platform to do so.
For the information age user, interactive and "intelligent" access to information is key: communication patterns have changed as well as informational behaviour. We are moving from a technology-push to a demand-pull market. Ten years ago, the ISDN was branded, jokingly, as Innovations Subscribers Don't Need, and users had no choice but to take for granted what engineers had designed for them. In today's reality, the challenge has been reversed. Today's users are demanding interactivity and intelligent applications. The burden is now on infrastructure and software designers, on applications developers and service providers, on legislators, regulators and standardization bodies: how will the various communities accept the challenge, how will they create the multimedia interactive infrastructure that users demand and make it truly global? The first answers should be provided during the Infrastructure Platform.
In a knowledge- and information-based society and economy where technical barriers are blurring, what matters is content and the use which is made of it. If some voices already claim that the key players will be the content providers and the rights owners, others, noting that content isn't worth anything without an infrastructure to disseminate it, consider that there will be a necessary balance between the two powers.
However, all agree on one point: the end-user will decide. It is therefore the value-added services to the customer which will make the difference, e.g. the services and applications which will be developed and offered. In parallel with the Thematic Pavilions, the Forum@TELECOM INTERACTIVE 97 will present the most promising applications in the fields of Health care, Education and Commerce, today’s fastest growing markets.
Two types of communities are emerging in the information era. On the one hand, geographical communities make use of new infocommunication technologies to improve services: tele-health, services to the elderly and the disabled, public administration, traffic control, distance learning and city information highways are some of the areas in which local and regional initiatives flourish. Mayors and regional governing bodies have a great role to play in the further development of these projects. They will be invited to expose their achievements and present their vision to the Forum's audience. This particular aspect of the Forum is being prepared in collaboration with ANCARA, the Advanced Networked Cities and Regions Association which includes the Stockholm, Eindhoven, Smart Valley, Orlando, Singapore 2000 and Kansai projects.
A number of communities are also being created in "cyberspace". User groups and forums of many kinds, linked by a community of interest, offer a new communication and interaction platform and address social, societal, cultural, educational, and many other issues. They will be present at TELECOM INTERACTIVE 97 and will demonstrate this new aspect of interactive communications. A number of artists, poets, sociologists and philosophers will share with the Forum audience their vision of life in cyberspace.
After the tremendous success of Internet@TELECOM 95 (more than 2,500 delegates attended this weekend session of the Forum), Internet@TELECOM 97 will again give the general public the opportunity to obtain information on the latest developments of the Internet. Application- and user-oriented, Internet@TELECOM 97 will be the climax of the week and promises to be a top-level event with the presence of many leaders in the development of the Internet and of its applications.
To conclude the week, TELECOM INTERACTIVE 97 will host the Computer Animation Festival on Sunday afternoon: a mix of entertainment, virtual reality and computer design which shouldn’t be missed.
Originally known as the Programme for Development, and today entitled the TELECOM Development Symposium, this activity of the TELECOM Forum Division has been growing since its launch at TELECOM 95. The purpose of this fellowship programme is to invite representatives of the developing world to attend TELECOM events, where they can visit the Exhibition, attend the Forum, and participate in a programme (the Symposium) specifically designed for them in collaboration with the Telecommunciation Development Bureau (BDT) of the ITU and with the representatives of the contributing sponsors, to address the particular needs of the fellows’ country of origin.
The Symposium comprises four plenary panel sessions and two half-day workshops. Only the plenary panel sessions are open to the public. The working group sessions remain open solely to the fellow, invited experts and sponsors.
All of us, as a society, are witnessing an extraordinary historical transition between the Industrial Age and the Information - or Digital - Age. When a society s fundamental technologies change and its economy begins to transform, the political and social institutions inevitably follow.
In this new era, nothing will be as important as education. The current educational systems of the developed world - suited to the requirements of the masses of the Industrial Age - is becoming obsolete. We, and our children, need to be prepared. With multimedia personal computers, learning will become interactive and individualized. The man-in-the-street and politicians alike are asking the same questions - where are we and where are we going?
The objective of this Special Session is to make the audience aware of the global implications of the new technology - particularly of the Internet - and to see themselves as part of a much larger whole, where mass democracy will eventually become smaller mosaic democracies where individuals and the communities they form will demonstrate different needs at different times and at differing levels.
In the context of TELECOM Interactive 97, the ITU will examine the impact of the Internet on education, how this will transform the learning process, and the changes required to bring about this qualitatively different system.
The morning session will deal with the main issues - "The Promise - Virtual or Real?" - of the Internet in relation to education. This part of the Special Session will examine the philosophical, economic and social aspects, content regulation, funding, and the dynamics oft he cyberclassroom. A lively debate will be led by "Devil s Advocates" to permit maximum audience participation.
The afternoon session will look at concrete examples of "The Reality" that currently exist in different regions of the world.
TELECOM INTERACTIVE 97 is host to the third annual conference of the Society of Virtual Systems and MultiMedia (VSMM) which was founded in 1995 in Japan by Professor Ojika from the University of Gifu, Japan.
The conference will provide a forum for virtual reality and multimedia, and for academic researchers an opportunity to exchange up-to-date technological knowledge and experience. In addition to the technical sessions, there are plenary and invited sessions.
VSMM’97 is organized by the University of Geneva (MIRALab-CUI) and chaired by Professor Nadia Magnenat Thalmann.
While entering the new information era, we are implementing the new communication paradigm, creating new rules as well as learning them in a single on-going process. This applies to everybody. Facing the future, shaping and exploring it, we need to share our experience with others and to learn from them. This common requirement for permanent interactivity between the players of the information age has pushed us to create a cyberFORUM, an on-line discussion group. First implemented as a simple and unique Internet distribution list, it has recently grown into a website of its own, where you can either react to the contributions of our speakers in an on-line discussion area -- which mirrors the on-site physical conference -- or participate in event-independent discussions, on a list of issues of interest for the broader telecommunications, computer and audiovisual industry, and the citizens of the Global Information Society.
To join the cyberFORUM discussions, simply use your favourite browser and connect to our website at http://cyberforum.itu.int/.
In addition to the corporate stands and thematic pavilions the cyberCAFÉ; will provide a relaxed business atmosphere for people to meet over coffee and croissants, whilst at the same time being able to participate in roundtable discussions, attend the Forum Poster Sessions, access the Internet and surf the Web, contribute to the cyberFORUM, visit the Computer Museum or enjoy other entertaining activities.