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Connect Americas Summit set to open in Panama City
Key announcements slated for rollout of ICT and
broadband
ACCREDIT NOW
Panama City, 16 July 2012 – The Connect Americas Summit
is set to open its doors to push broadband connectivity in the region, enlisting
the support of Heads of State and Government and Ministers along with Chief
Executives and top-level management from the ICT industry, heads of United
Nations and international development bodies, financial institutions as well as
academics, media and industry analysts.
The Summit will commence on 18 July with an opening address by the President
of the Republic of Panama, H.E. Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, which will be
followed by a review of the important contribution that broadband connectivity
is going to make to the continent’s future development.
The President of Costa Rica H.E. Laura Chinchilla Miranda, patron of ITU’s on
Child Online Protection initiative, will deliver a keynote address.
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré called for political and financial
commitment to strengthen ICT connectivity in the Americas. “The dynamic
potential of the Americas region is ripe for a leap forward towards a
knowledge-based information society,” Dr Touré said. “The Connect Americas
Summit in Panama City offers a unique opportunity for leaders from the public
and private sectors as well as financial institutions to accelerate the roll out
of broadband and ICT connectivity throughout the Americas region.”
A ministerial meeting on 17 July will finalize the draft Summit communiqué.
Earlier, a multi-stakeholder group will review the projects and partnership
agreements in light of priorities and themes identified for the region. These
projects and partnership agreements will be announced at the closure of the
Summit on 19 July.
The Connect Americas Summit, hosted by the Government of Panama, is
organized by ITU in close collaboration with the Inter-American
Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), the Comisión Técnica Regional de
Telecomunicaciones (COMTELCA) and the Caribbean Telecommunication Union (CTU).
The Connect Americas Summit is the culmination of a series of
high-level events, such as the recent Rio+20 Earth Summit that draw attention to
the power of information and communication technologies (ICT) and broadband
connectivity in meeting future goals of sustainable development. The Summit aims
to mobilize the required resources to accelerate the roll out of broadband
infrastructure and the adoption of ICT applications.
The Connect Americas Summit will create the opportunities to attract
commitments and investments in human, financial and technical resources required
to connect everyone in the region to information and communication technologies
(ICT). The Summit offers a venue for leaders from the public and private sectors
as well as international and regional financing and development agencies to
network face-to-face and forge new partnerships for the accelerated roll out of
broadband connectivity.
The programme is at
www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/americas/programme.asp?Language=en
Information for Press:
A press conference on the
Connect Americas Summit will be held on 18 July at 12:00 pm at the Summit venue:
ATLAPA Convention Centre, Avenida Israel, Panama City.
The Connect Americas Summit is open to media. Accreditation is
compulsory.
For accreditation procedures, please see:
www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/americas/display.asp?QID=9794&Language=en
Please read the procedure carefully before completing the online
accreditation form. Pre-registered journalists will be requested to present
their confirmation letter, together with their passport or ID card to receive an
official Connect Americas Summit Media badge.
UN Press accreditation is valid. Please confirm your attendance to
pressreg@itu.int
For more information, see
www.itu.int/net/newsroom/connect/americas/2012/ or contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations
and Public Information, ITU
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