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  • 14 May 2016
    ITU’s GSR-16 highlights need for inclusive and collaborative dialogue to accelerate socio-economic development

    ​More than 500 participants from some 70 countries, including government ministers and top international policy makers from the world's information and communication technology (ICT) regulatory authorities and leading technology companies, met from 11 to 14 May in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the 16th edition of the ITU Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-16).

    Under the theme "Be Empowered, Be Included! Building Blocks for Smart Societies in a Connected World" participants discussed the enormous opportunities ICTs offer for accelerating global socio-economic development. The symposium focused on a wide range of issues, including artificial intelligence; the 'Internet of Things' and M2M communications; new digital platforms; privacy, trust and cybersecurity; and digital entrepreneurship.

    In his opening statement, Mr Brahima Sanou highlighted the need to establish an inclusive dialogue across all sectors in order to tap into the unlimited potential unleashed by ICTs for sustainable development.

    He said, "now more than ever, we all need to come together for an inclusive dialogue across all sectors and develop innovative solutions to leverage new opportunities. We need to define the framework for collaborative policy and regulation to benefit from the opportunities the digital economy can bring to all people around the world."

    The conference Pre-event Programme on 11 May featured a Global Dialogue on Digital Financial Inclusion organized by ITU in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), the Government of Egypt and other partners. The event centred on driving a political dialogue between telecoms and financial services regulators from around the world on digital financial services (DFS) for financial inclusion.

    Also taking place was the meeting of private sector Chief Regulatory Officers from the ICT industry, designed to facilitate discussion and information sharing among telecommunication service and technology companies, and frame debate during the symposium.

    ITU also hosted a special meeting of Regulatory Associations, where delegates had the opportunity to discuss, share information network with regulatory colleagues from different national agencies to promote closer, more effective cooperation between Regulatory Associations around the world.

    Outputs from GSR-16 will be incorporated into ITU's annual regulators report, Trends in Telecommunication Reform.

    The next Global Symposium for Regulators will be held in the Bahamas from 11 to 14 July 2017.