Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
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ITU Telecom World 2012 highlights wealth of opportunities in transformed ICT
market
High-level debate on state of ICT sector focused
on future opportunities
Dubai, UAE, 18 October 2012 – ITU Telecom World 2012 brought
together industry representatives and government leaders at the highest level to
engage in five days of critical dialogue on networking, knowledge-sharing and
the challenges defining the information and communication technology (ICT)
sector as well as the opportunities arising from it.
Participants met in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 14-18 October and included
Heads of State, government ministers, corporate CEOs from across the industry
ecosystem, heads of international agencies, thought-leaders, consultants and
academics. A dynamic agenda examined the impact of new market players and
business models emerging across the ecosystem. Debates centred on the roll out
of broadband connectivity, the challenges of cyberthreats and the need to beef
up cybersecurity as well as the vast opportunities unleashed by smart
applications in such critical sectors as health, education, and government
services and their role in achieving sustainable development.
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré welcomed the diversity of delegates,
themes and solutions at ITU Telecom World 2012, reminding the audience that this
event embraces diversity, and celebrates and learns from that diversity.
“Together we are diverse – but we are stronger as one and will strive together
to meet the challenges of the industry and of the world today," Dr Touré said.
"The word "World" is rightly a part of the name of this event. We were hosted
this year by the magnificent, connected city of the future that is Dubai – and
look forward to celebrating ITU Telecom World 2013 in the ASEAN gateway city of
Bangkok."
The Director General of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Mr
Mohamed Al Ghanim, hailed the many important conclusions reached at ITU Telecom
World 2012 on themes as diverse as universal connectivity, broadband deployment,
cybersecurity, child online protection and privacy – themes which touch upon our
daily lives and work everywhere. "This event represents a sound basis for the
exchange of experience at the national, regional and international levels that
is necessary to deal with these subjects," Mr Al Ghanim said.
ITU Telecom World 2012 was launched by the Leadership Summit, convening
leaders of government and industry to debate the future of the
telecommunications sector, and the ways in which it needs to be protected,
funded and communicated. Innovative features on the dynamic agenda this
year included the Visionary Keynotes series of inspirational addresses from
Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab; Anders Lindblad, Head of Middle East
Region for Ericsson; and Wim Elfrink, Senior Vice President and Global
Technology Officer at Cisco.
ITU and the World Health Organization launched a landmark m-health initiative
aimed at using mobile communications to address the scourge of non-communicable
diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular illnesses. For more
detail, please see
www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/77.aspx
The ITU saving Lives pavilion was also the platform to launch two new ITU
initiatives for m-Powering smart sustainable development and effective disaster
management. See
www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/75.aspx
Big Conversations at ITU Telecom World 2012
The Big Conversations with the BBC and with Telecom TV presented lively and
engaging dialogue on central topics of privacy, trust and the role of over the
top (OTT) players in fully interactive sessions involving participants from all
parts of world, following the live webcast and posing questions by Twitter, text
and email.
The conversations at other forum debates also took place beyond the
conference rooms in Dubai. Social media and live webcasting allowed people from
around the world to interact, pose questions and comment on panel sessions.
Individuals from 98 different countries engaged with the event online in 19
different languages. The discussions on Twitter reached over 8 million people,
and the moderators and panellist were challenged with live questions via SMS and
email from those watching around the world via live webcast.
Young Innovators: tomorrow's leaders, here today
Twelve finalists from the annual Young Innovators Competition were present at
the Forum Closing Conversation to receive their certificates, rounding off a
programme of intensive mentoring, business skills workshops, pitching sessions
and debate. "This conference, the past six days here, have been like an
accelerated programme for innovators, with unparalleled feedback from our
mentors, access to government, to investors and to public policy makers - and to
our peers" said competition finalist Anshul Tewari . The young social
entrepreneurs from all parts of the globe were selected on the base of the
potential business success and social impact of their innovative ICT-based
concepts and projects designed to meet real-world developmental challenges.
Forum Closing Conversation
The event closed with a final forum conversation featuring Stuart Sharrock,
Chairman, Telemates; Laina Raveendran Greene, CEO of green ICT consultancy
Get-IT; and Ross Patterson, Chairman, Akhet Consulting, sharing their
impressions and conclusions drawn from the many panel debates here in Dubai. "We
are going through a period of significant change," said Stuart Sharrock, "But I
am delighted to report that during these sessions here, that change has been
recognized, addressed and confronted – and we are moving forward with
leadership."
In his closing speech, Deputy Secretary-General Houlin Zhao concurred: "There
is tremendous optimism about this change – we can manage, direct and exploit
this change for our good and for the greater good of society."
ITU Telecom World 2012 on show
The event showfloor featured National Pavilions showcasing regional talent
and investment opportunities from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, China, Gabon,
Ghana, Ivory Coast, Republic of Korea, Namibia, Nigeria, Russian Federation,
Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tanzania, UAE, Thailand, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Industry showcases from TRA-UAE, Qtel, Etisalat, Intel, China Telecom, China
Potevio, Datang Telecom, Rohde & Schwarz and others demonstrated the latest
products, applications and services.
The showfloor also featured the unique digital experiences of the Immersive
Box, presenting climate change scenarios, and multi-touch interactive tables
that entertained and informed on the history of ICTs, cybersecurity and
emergency telecommunications.
Actively involved in knowledge-sharing and networking activities were
partners and sponsors such as Alcatel-Lucent, China Mobile, Kaspersky Lab, NTT
Group, McKinsey, American University in Dubai, Huawei, Cisco, Ericsson, Nigerian
Communications Commission, The Cyber Guardian, Ernst & Young, Mitsubishi
Electric, TD Industry Alliance, Uganda Communications Commission, Verizon,
Qualcomm and ZTE.
See you in Bangkok!
Bangkok, Thailand, will host the next ITU Telecom World event in the fourth
quarter of 2013. The venue was selected from among international contenders on
the basis of the facilities and infrastructure offered by the host country.
Bangkok is an attractive destination from both a business and tourist
perspective and lies at the hub of a vibrant and growing Asian economy.
Photos, videos, blogs and Daily Highlights of the event are available
at:
http://world2012.itu.int/newsroom
ITU Telecom World 2012 event activities can be found on Facebook at
www.itu.int/facebook and through the @ITU twitter account hash tag #ITUworld12
Thank you for registering for ITU Telecom World 2012 in Dubai. We hope it
provided you interesting content. To stay in touch with ITU throughout the year,
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www.itu.int/en/newsroom/Pages/videos.aspx
For more information, see
http://world2012.itu.int/
or contact:
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Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Sally Moore
AxiCom
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