| I.1-1 Intersectoral world conferences, fora, events and platforms for high-level debate (such as World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF), World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), ITU TELECOM). |
I.1-1 Intersectoral world conferences, fora, events and platforms for high-level debate (such as such as WCIT, WTPF, WSIS, WTISD, ITU TELECOM)
ITU 150 Anniversary
ITU celebrated its 150th anniversary throughout the complete year in 2015, from 1 January to 31 December, with 17 May as the key anniversary event. Most of the other ITU events that took place in the course of 2015 also had an anniversary component or side event. On 17 May 2015 ITU celebrated both its 150th Anniversary and World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD 2015) in Geneva. This historic event brought together more than 900 participants from all over the world, representing governments, the private sector, academia, UN agencies, and international organizations. The theme of the day was “Telecommunications and ICTs: Drivers of Innovation.” The event was also an opportunity to review ITU’s history and put its Founding Members and its longstanding members from the ICT industry in the spotlight. The ITU 150 Awards recognized individuals from governments, the ICT industry, academia, and civil society that have contributed to improving the lives of world citizens through ICT innovations developed, promoted or implemented by ITU. Some 50 nominations were received for the ITU 150 Awards, and the ITU 150 Award Laureates were Bill Gates, Robert E. Kahn, Thomas Wiegand, Mark I. Krivocheev, Martin Cooper and Ken Sakamura.
The ITU membership responded in high numbers to the call for national celebrations. A special toolkit and visual guidelines were prepared by ITU to support members with the organization of their events. The mobilization was very successful and more than 140 celebrations around the world were organized throughout the year. In addition to that, more than 30 Member States issued stamps and other philatelic products.
To support ITU’s 150th Anniversary, a Resource Mobilization Campaign was initiated in August 2014. ITU membership contributed generously to the Fund for the Anniversary. A total of thirteen ITU members responded to the Resource Mobilization Campaign by becoming a partner. Some members also provided in-kind support.
The milestone anniversary year was accompanied by a compelling communication campaign to raise awareness about ITU and its role in the advancements of ICTs and innovation. The campaign aimed to engage members as well as non-members in the celebrations. In the framework of the ITU 150 Campaign, the following collateral was produced: visual identity; calendar of thematic months with stories; dedicated ITU 150 website; historical timeline; social media campaign; ITU 150 mobile app; poster competition for children (“Let’s draw the future”); Golden Book; a platform for video greetings; videos; commemorative publication (“Paris 1865: Birth of the Union”); special Issue of ITU News; Press Kit; Souvenirs; and ITU 150 branding of ITU buildings.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD)
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) was celebrated in 2015 on 17 May, as the main event in the year’s 150th anniversary calendar – see above for more information.
For 2016, the Secretary-General issued a circular letter to ITU membership on 6 July 2015 noting that World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD-2016) will focus on the theme: “ICT entrepreneurship for social impact”, in accordance with Resolution 68 and as endorsed by ITU Council 2015. He said: “The theme for WTISD-16 is in line with ITU’s work in unlocking the potential of ICTs for young innovators and entrepreneurs, innovative SMEs, start-ups and technology hubs as drivers of innovative and practical solutions for catalysing progress in achieving international sustainable development goals, with a focus on SMEs from developing countries.”
Subsequently, the Secretary-General issued a Call for Action to showcase and leverage relevant national and regional strategies and initiatives to promote ICT-related SMEs and foster and discover new technological solutions to accelerate sustainable development.
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
The WSIS Forum process engages Governments, Private Sector, Civil Society, International Organizations and the Academic/ Technical Community to strengthen collaboration and partnership in the ICT Ecosystem. In 2015, the WSIS Forum attracted more than 1,800 WSIS Stakeholders from over 150 countries. Several high-level representatives of the wider WSIS Stakeholder community took part, with more than 100 high-level participants (including ministers and deputies, ambassadors, CEOs and Civil Society leaders) contributing passionately to the programme. On–site and remote participation increased tremendously during the WSIS Forum 2015.
The WSIS Forum, hosted by the ITU and co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, and UNCTAD, in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line Facilitators/Co-Facilitators (UNDESA, FAO, UNEP, WHO, UN Women, WIPO, WFP, ILO, WMO, UN, ITC, UPU, UNODC, UNICEF, and UN Regional Commissions) has proven to be an efficient mechanism for coordination of multistakeholder implementation activities, information exchange, creation of knowledge, and sharing of best practices, and continues to provide assistance in developing multistakeholder and public/private partnerships to advance development goals. This year’s forum provided structured opportunities to network, learn and participate in multistakeholder discussions and consultations on WSIS implementation.
The outcomes of the WSIS Forum are submitted annually to the Commission on Science and Technology (CSTD), the UN General Assembly and ITU Council 2015; the 2015 outcomes were presented on the last day of the Forum, 29 May 2015.
A high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society was held in New York on 15 and 16 December 2015, and ITU contributed substantively to the meeting, which reaffirmed global commitment to the WSIS vision to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society. The outcome was a Draft Resolution from the President of the General Assembly, which recognized the importance of the WSIS Forum and recommended that it should continue to be held annually. The WSIS Forum builds upon the outcomes of the UN General Assembly Overall Review of the implementation of the WSIS outcomes (UNGA Resolution 70/125), which recognized the necessity of holding this Forum on an annual basis and called for a close alignment between WSIS and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) processes. Beyond 2015, the WSIS Forum will therefore serve as a key forum for discussing the role of ICTs as a means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, with due regard to the global mechanism for follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UNGA Resolution A/70/1).
The WSIS-SDG Matrix developed by UN WSIS Action Line Facilitators serves as the mechanism to map, analyse and coordinate the implementation of WSIS Action Lines, and more specifically, ICTs as enablers and accelerators of the SDGs. The format, agenda, and the thematic focus of the Forum are the result of an open consultation process with the involvement of all WSIS Stakeholders. The Forum builds on two tracks, the High-Level Track, and the Forum Track. All relevant documentation and the agenda for the next meeting are updated constantly and are available at
www.wsis.org/forum.
ITU Telecom World 2015 took place from 12 to 15 October in Budapest, Hungary.
It was hosted by the Government of Hungary, represented by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and contributed to objective 1.1 in a number of ways. Following consultation with Member States, the vital role of SMEs in accelerating innovation and driving growth through the ICT ecosystem was the new focus for the event, in light of their key role in improving the efficiency of the ICT environment. It was first event in the history of ITU Telecom to have this focus. The event welcomed participants at the highest level including H.E. János Áder, President of Hungary and H.E. Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister, Hungary, plus Ministers, Regulators, leading representatives of international organizations and UN agencies, C-level executives from the Host Country and the global ICT industry, including SMEs.
ITU Telecom World 2015 combined an exhibition for digital solutions, a forum for sharing knowledge and a networking hub between nations, organizations and individuals. Over 50 countries and their SMEs participated in the Exhibition, including emerging markets, plus key ICT players from across the industry. The three ITU sectors were heavily involved in all aspects of the event, from holding high-level meetings, organizing the BDT Pavilion or helping develop and curate the Leadership Summit and Forum programme to create a meaningful dialogue for government, SMEs and the industry. Targeted networking opportunities throughout also helped increase collaboration among stakeholders, and a new Awards programme gave global recognition for participating SMEs and initiatives with socio-economic impact. ITU Telecom World 2016 will take place in November in Bangkok, Thailand and will build on successful new elements from 2015.
A full report on ITU Telecom World events is available in document
C16/19.
Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development
The ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission was created in 2010 by ITU and UNESCO, and was renamed and refreshed during the year as the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, bringing its mandate in line with the newly-adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Commission advocates the importance of broadband for achieving the SDGs and its work benefits from the active participation and engagement of the community of more than sixty Commissioners and their organizations, which includes top industry executives, heads of UN agencies, academics and policy-makers. The Broadband Commission is entirely self-funded, and continues to elicit considerable media interest. The Commission meets twice each year; in 2015 this included a meeting hosted by UNESCO at its headquarters in Paris, France, in February, and the Commission’s annual meeting in New York in September, ahead of UN GA week and the Sustainable Development Summit.
In terms of research and analysis, the Commission has published a number of reports since its inception, including the annual State of Broadband report, which are increasingly widely referenced, as well as a number of country case studies, in collaboration with BDT. During 2015, the Commission’s Working Group on Broadband and Gender, co-chaired by UNDP and UN Women, published a discussion paper on Cyber-related Violence Against Women and Girls. The Broadband Commission continues to engage in diverse advocacy and outreach activities. The Broadband Commission’s work was referred to in several UN GA Resolutions on ICT for Development. The Commission’s social media presence continues to gain momentum.
