Committed to connecting the world

Girls in ICT

Programme

 

Eighth ITU Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change
Turin, Italy, 6-7 May 2013

Contact: Ms. Cristina Bueti

Day 1 - Monday, 06 MaY 2013

 

08:30 - 09:30​ Registration
​09:30 - 10:15
Opening ceremony and opening remarks
 
​10:15 - 10:30
Overview of ITU-T activities on ICTs, the environment and climate change
10:30 - 11:00​ ​Coffee break
​11:00 - 12:30 Session 1 – Energy efficiency, clean power and the smart grid as engine for urban sustainable growth
Efficient energy is the engine of sustainable growth and development. Providing access to clean energy supplies is a top priority for smart sustainable cities and is essential in achieving the goals of sustainability, low energy consumption and a reduced carbon footprint in urban areas. ICTs can help energy-hungry urban centres to become low-carbon smart sustainable cities.
This session will address the need to integrate the strategies in reducing energy use, increasing distributed renewable energy generation, and increasing the intelligence of the grid, including the smart grid. The session will also address how integrated ICT solutions can help play a role in developing a more sustainable, energy-efficient future.
 
Moderator: Gianluca  Griffa, Co-Chairman of the ETNO CORE Energy Task Force [Presentation]
Speakers:
Questions and answers
​12:30 - 14:00 Lunch
​14:00 - 15:30 Session 2 -   Assessing the environmental impact in cities
City mayors, other urban leaders, businesses and civil society all recognize the need to act to reduce the impacts of climate change on cities. While measurement should not delay action, a critical requirement to support policy and access to finances is the establishment of an open, global and harmonized protocol for quantifying the GHG emissions attributable to cities and local regions. This session will discuss the role of standardized methodologies for the ICT sector in order to provide an accurate, reliable tool for assessing its environmental impact in cities and the gains in social and economic welfare that green ICTs can achieve in cities.
 
Moderator: Beniamino  Gorini, Chairman of ETSI EE [Presentation]
Speakers:
Questions and answers
​15:30 - 16:00 Coffee break
​16:00 - 17:30 Session 3 – Integrated ICT solutions for smart sustainable cities and empowered citizens
A smart city is one that uses technology to transform its basic infrastructure and optimize energy and resource usage. A holistic smart city development strategy should rest on three interlinked components: leadership, integrated urban ICT solutions and behavioural change. ICTs can support the holistic development of smart sustainable cities by providing solutions to many of environmental challenges faced by cities; such as management of urban water, energy supply, solid waste, public transport, traffic, urban planning, buildings and infrastructure. This can also open new ICT job opportunities addressing other social issues such as youth unemployment and the need to attract more women to ICT and technical careers. This session will present some global initiatives and examples of how ICT based solutions can drive green and sustainable growth of cities.
 
Moderator: Danilo Riva, Global e-Sustainability Initiative, GeSI [Presentation]
Speakers:
 Questions and answers

Day 2 - TUESDAY, 07 may 2013


​09:30 - 10:30
Session 4 – Tackling e-waste and solid waste issues in cities 
There have been alarming reports of e-waste mismanagement in many countries, particularly in less developed nations and countries with economies in transition. E-waste is a significant contributor to the ICT industry’s impact on the environment, and urgent global action to address this issue is essential if the industry is to fulfill its commitment to a sustainable future.
This session will provide a platform to discuss possible next steps on e-waste.
 
Moderator: Guy-Michel Kouakou, Ivory Coast
Speakers:
Questions and answers
​10:30 - 11:00 Coffee break
​11:00 - 13:00 Session 5 – ICTs to monitor the climate
ICTs are a key to monitoring systems for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and predicting, detecting and mitigating the effects of natural disasters. Adapting to extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, is a critical issue.
 
Moderator: Vadim  Nozdrin, Counsellor of ITU-R SG 7, ITU
Speakers:
Questions and answers
​13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 15:45​ Session 6 – Climate change adaptation and emergency telecommunications in urban areas
As threats of natural disasters have increased due to environmental degradation and climate change impacts, ICTs have become the key source to prevent, detect and mitigate natural events, making public safety a priority in all countries. This session will provide an overview on the use of ICTs for climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and disaster management; policy, legal and regulatory frameworks; early warning systems; international cooperation for disaster management in urban contexts.
 
Moderator: Fuatai  Purcell, Head of LSE Division, ITU/BDT
Speakers:
 Questions and answers
​15:45 - 16:00 Coffee break
16:00 - 18:00​ Session 7 – Smart sustainable cities
This session will give an overview of how the strategic application of ICT goods networks and services can help cities to be smart and sustainable, meeting their challenges in providing services to citizens and managing their infrastructure in a sustainable manner that secures economic viability for the present and future, as well as reduces their impact on the environment.
 
Moderator: Flavio Cucchietti, Telecom Italia
Speakers:
Questions and answers
​18:00 - 18:30
​Wrap up and close of the Symposium
The Symposium will conclude with a Roadmap which will identify the main steps to be taken to help cities reduce their GHG emissions and energy consumption.