Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
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ITU supporting broadband development in the Americas
Meetings in Mexico City will bring together key
actors to address the digital divide
Mexico City, 19 April 2012 – ITU’s Regional Development
Forum for the Americas region is meeting in Mexico City this week to discuss the
latest developments in broadband with CEOs and other board-level officials
representing many of the world’s most dynamic ICT companies.
Government ministers and senior officials representing countries from across
the Americas will address the implications of the latest developments in
broadband infrastructure, policies and strategies in the Americas.
The Forum will also focus on the agenda for the
Connect Americas Summit,
which will be held in Panama City, 17-19 July, and which has the objective of
mobilizing the human, financial and technical resources required to bridge
information and communication technology (ICT) gaps in the region.
In a message to the Forum, ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said, “The
Americas exemplifies innovation and excellence, and this is what we are here to
tap into so that everyone in this vast geographical area can benefit from the
potential unleashed by ICTs.”
“We are in Mexico City to carefully examine national and regional policies to
facilitate the roll out of broadband in order to connect people everywhere
within the region,” said Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication
Development Bureau. “The discussions here will pave the way for significant
commitments in Panama City at the upcoming Connect Americas Summit in July.”
Representatives of ITU Sector Members, including leading ICT companies and
international and regional organizations working in partnership with ITU, are
meeting today to review how public-private partnerships could be better used to
implement national ICT strategies.
Participants from both of these meetings will participate tomorrow in the
first Preparatory Meeting for the Connect Americas Summit, an ambitious
initiative aimed at connecting the unconnected across the region by the year
2015. The Summit seeks to mobilize the human, financial and technical resources
required to close ICT gaps and promote region-wide digital inclusion. It will
feature discussion panels and round table discussions focusing on the challenges
posed to emerging and transition economies in harnessing the full potential of
ICTs. Bold decisions and commitments are expected to meet these challenges.
The meetings in Mexico City are taking place at the Hotel Presidente
Intercontinental, and are being organized by ITU in close collaboration with the
Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes.
For more information, please contact:
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Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations
and Public Information
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Sergio Scarabino
Head, ITU Area Office, Santiago, Chile
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