The International Telecommunication Union and the Republic of Korea signed a Cooperation Agreement on 18 May 2015 to launch the Innovation Platform project which will help develop ICT innovation and governance in converged ecosystems.
The Project will contain guidelines and best practices for the development of vibrant innovation ecosystems. It aims to help strengthen ITU Member countries' capabilities to integrate ICT innovation in their national agenda and enhance public- private partnerships in the development of telecommunications and ICTs.
Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, said the partnership with the Republic of Korea "will go a long way towards advancing ITU's innovation agenda." We are committed to nurturing a culture of innovation within the Bureau as well as fostering ICT-led innovation among our Members," he said. "Development cannot happen without innovation, but the right environment must be created for innovation to blossom."
"This project is in line with ITU's 150th anniversary theme of innovating together," said Mr Sanghun Lee, Director of the Multilateral Cooperation Division in the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of the Republic of Korea. "We emphasize the importance of innovation and creativity in today's world," he stressed. "We hope other partners will join this project and help to widen the scope of innovation."
In the Dubai Declaration adopted at the last ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference in Dubai (WTDC14), ITU Members acknowledged that the "new and innovative opportunities that the telecommunication/ICT eco-system can bring to development should empower youth for employment or self-employment", and "that public and private partnerships need to be further strengthened in order to explore new and innovative ways of investing and financing development initiatives and projects."
Acknowledging its transformative impact in the telecommunication/ICT environment, Innovation has been embraced as one of the values to guide ITU in its programs and activities.
The Korea Ministry pf Science, ICT and Future Planning will contribute 150,000,000 Korean Won (approximately US$ 140,000) to the project.
