| |
Strategic Goal Three |
|
Widening the Union's membership, extending participation and facilitating cooperation of an
increasing number of administrations and organizations, as well as new actors, such as relevant WSIS stakeholders.
|
|
ITU attaches great importance to its Members and Associate
organizations, which represent the true strength of any collaborative institution. Uniquely among UN specialized
agencies, ITU's membership comprises Member States (represented by government administrations) and Sector Members,
including private and public sector entities (such as operators, manufacturers, regulators and research and training
institutes). At the end of December 2007, the Union enjoyed the support of 191 Member States, 609 Sector Members and 139
Associates.
The Union is undertaking various initiatives to broaden its membership base and ensure that its work remains relevant to
a wider group of stakeholders. In response, the numbers of Sector Members and Associates have risen steadily over time. After a long period of steady growth reflecting the growth in
the telecommunication sector, Sector Membership has declined slightly since 2002, due to fall-out, mergers and
consolidation within the industry following the burst of the Internet bubble. As the sector recovers, however,
membership is expected to grow again. Interest and participation by the private sector continues to strengthen,
following ITU's engagement in a growing number of multi- stakeholder partnerships and the introduction of new,
collaborative working methods.
ITU is engaged in a number of initiatives to widen its membership and attract new stakeholders. A regular magazine,
ITU News, gives an overview of activities in all the Union's sectors, as well as in the ICT industry.
Published both in hard copy and online, it highlights recent topical issues and features in-depth research and analysis,
with interviews of leading industry figures.
ITU News boasts a high-quality readership of over 17 000 from among the ITU membership, including senior
government officials, presidents and CEOs of telecommunication companies, senior executives from the broadcasting and
information technology industries, technical experts, regulatory and legal specialists, consultants and academics around
the world.
ITU has also initiated outreach programmes to collaborate with new partners. Examples include ITU-T's consultation
meetings with universities and research centres and the Kaleidoscope academic conference to be held in May 2008
to boost awareness and knowledge of ITU among the next generation of tomorrow's telecommunication and radiocommunication
engineers. These initiatives will help ensure that ITU's work remains targeted to the needs of its membership, in a
fast-changing ICT environment.
