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FINAL EXECUTIVE BRIEFING |
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WSIS FORUM 2010
FINAL EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
DRAFT
(VERSION 1.1)
This document serves as a draft version 1.1 of the Final
Executive Briefing on WSIS Forum 2010. Additions to this
report will be made as and when submissions are received
from session organizers and focal points.
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Table of Contents
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- WSIS Forum 2010: Introduction
- Open Consultation Process
- WSIS Forum 2010 : Participation
- On-site Participation
- Remote Participation
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Opening Ceremony
-
Silver Medal Awards
- High Level Plenary Session : Turning Targets into Action
(WSIS and MDGs)
- High Level Debate No 1, Build on Broadband
- High Level Debate No 2 Broadband Applications for
tomorrow
- High Level Debate No 3 Social Networking
- High Level Debate No 4 ICTs for Disaster Management
- High Level Debate No 5 Cybersecurity and Cyberspace
- Action Line Facilitation Meetings
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IFM Action Line C1-C7-C11 Organized by DESA
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IFM Action Line C2 Infrastructure Organized by
ITU
- IFM Action Line C4: Capacity Building Organized
by ITU
- IFM Action Line C3: Access / C7: e-Science
Organized by UNESCO
- IFM Action Line C3: Access Organized by UNESCO
and Sindbad Mediterranean Without Disabilities.
- IFM Action Line C5: Cybersecurity- Building
Confidence and Security in the Use of ICT Organized by
ITU
- IFM Action Line C6: Enabling Environment
Organized by ITU
- IFM Action Line C7: E-Business and E-Agriculture
Organized by UNCTAD/FAO/ITC
- IFM Action Line C7 : E- Environment: e Waste,
Organized by UNEP
- IFM Action Line C7: E -Environment: Energy
Resources, Organized by ITU
- IFM Action Line C7: e-Health Organized by WHO
- IFM Action Line C7: e-Learning ICTs and
Education, Organized by UNESCO
- IFM Action Line C8: Culture Organized by UNESCO
- IFM Action Line C9: Media Organized by UNESCO
- IFM Action Line C10: Ethical dimensions of the
Information Society, Information Ethics, Organized by
UNESCO
- Interactive sessions
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Partnership On Measuring ICT For Development:
Monitoring The WSIS Targets Organized by ITU/ UNCTAD
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Sustainability Of The WSIS Implementation Through
Stocktaking Process Organized By ITU
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Regional Commissions Organized by CEPAL/ECA/ECE/ESCAP/ESCWA
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Assessing The Impact of ICT on Development - WSIS
And MDGs Organized By ITU / UNU
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Financing Mechanisms for ICT4D Organized by UNGIS
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Update On IGF Organized by IGF Secretariat
- Thematic Workshop
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Indigenous Peoples and the Information Society
Organized by UNESCO / ITU
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ICT And Gender Organized By UNESCO/ITU
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Cybercrime: Strategic Reaction For Member States
Organized by ITU / UNICRI / CYMRU
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Broadband Infrastructure For Development
Organized by ITU
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Cybercrime: Behind The Cyber Threats: Overall
Picture And The Underground Economy Organized By ITU /
UNICRI/ CYMRU
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Child Online Protection: Jointly Organized With
GSM Association, UNICRI, eNASCO, Save the Children and
EBU
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Cybercrime Risk Assessment and Threat Mitigation.
Organized By ITU / UNICRI / CYMRU
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ICT's for Human Rights: Organized by WSIS
Secretariat
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eMDGs Portal: Organized By
GAID
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Getting It Right: Going Beyond The Hype On Icts
For Crisis Management Organized By ICT4peace Foundation
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Creating A Harmonized Legal Framework To Counter Cybercrime Organized By World Federation Of Scientists
(WFS)
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Expert Group Meeting On E-Government And New
Technologies: Towards Better Citizen Engagement For
Development Organized By UNDESA And ITU
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ICTD Activities and Civil Society Organized By
CoNGO
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Community Media Organized by Video Volunteers
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Making ICT Work For Rural Farmers And
Entrepreneurs: Bangladesh Innovation And Experiences
Organised by Amader Gram ICT for development Project,
BFES-Bangladesh in collaboration with ITU
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WSIS +5/ The Role Of African Civil Society On
Promoting ICT, Organized by African Civil Society On
Promoting ICT
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Partnership Task Group on E Government
Indicators: Organized by ECA
- Publication Releases
- WSIS Forum 2010 Exhibition
- Knowledge Exchange
- Kick Off Meetings
- UNGIS
- WSIS Action Line Facilitators Meeting
- Closing Ceremony and Way Forward
Annex:
- Annex 1: List of Participants
- Annex 2: Submission of Inputs for Open Consultation
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WSIS Forum 2010: Introduction
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WSIS Forum 2010 was held
from 10th to 14th of May 2010 at the ITU Headquarters,
Geneva, Switzerland. This event built upon the tradition of
annual WSIS May meetings, and its new format was the result
of open consultations with all WSIS Stakeholders. The host
ITU and the co organizers ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP would
like to thank all participants of the WSIS Forum 2010 for
their enthusiastic, meaningful and engaged participation. The Forum offered participants a series of diverse
interactions, including opening ceremony, high level plenary
session, five high-level debates addressing critical issues
to the WSIS implementation and follow-up in
multi-stakeholder set-ups, fifteen WSIS Action Line
facilitation meetings, six interactive sessions,
twenty
thematic workshops, six kick-off meetings for new
initiatives and projects, six knowledge exchanges
facilitating networking among the participants, and others.
The WSIS Forum 2010 provided structured opportunities to
network, learn and to participate in multi-stakeholder
discussions and consultations on WSIS implementation. This
year, an Exhibition space was made available for
stakeholders to exhibit and display their efforts towards
WSIS implementation. Twenty One exhibition stalls were set
up in total. Facilities were made available to ensure inclusiveness and
participation during the WSIS Forum 2010. Several sessions
were conducted in debate style to encourage participation
from the participants. Translation was offered in 6 languages for various sessions.
Sessions were webcast and diverse ways of social networking
were used to reach the last mile. |
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Open Consultation Process
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Following the outcomes
of the 2009 WSIS Action Line Facilitators meeting as well as
following the exchange of views among several WSIS
stakeholders, the organizers of the WSIS Forum, ITU, UNESCO,
UNCTAD and UNDP called for an Open Consultation Process
regarding the thematic focus of the Forum in the year 2010.
In order to ensure the
participatory and inclusive spirit of the WSIS Forum 2010,
scheduled to be held from 10 to 14 May in Geneva, the
organizers i.e. ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, UNCTAD announced an open
consultation process on the thematic focus of the forum. The
open consultation aimed at engaging Governments,
international organizations, civil society and the private
sector in the preparations of the WSIS Forum 2010.
The consultation was
announced on 5 January 2010 and was structured in three
steps as follows
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Online discussions
(5 January - 5 February 2010 )
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Submission of
official contributions (5 February 2010 )
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Final review meeting
(10 February 2010)
The open consultation
process, consisting of three phases was well received and
appreciated by all. Multiple stakeholders from 48 countries
world wide participated in the open consultation process,
first proactively discussing the Forum on the WSIS community
platform and in the second phase, submitting over 110
contributions. Consequently in the last stage the final
review meeting of the WSIS Forum 2010 Open Consultations was
held on 10th February 2010. To view the web-cast of the
final review meeting, please click on the following link.
https://www.itu.int/ibs/WSIS/201002consultation/index.html
All stakeholders
participated with deep enthusiasm and strong commitment to
the WSIS Forum 2010 open consultative process. Final review
meeting agreed that the comments and suggestions received
during the meeting would serve as inputs for the Draft WSIS
Forum 2010 Agenda. The preliminary Draft WSIS Forum 2010
Agenda was made available for further comments and
suggestions for 10 days i.e. till the 10th of March 2010.
The WSIS Secretariat
received several workshop requests and additional comments/
suggestions. The final version of the WSIS Forum 2010
agenda reflected the inputs and suggestions submitted by
WSIS Stakeholders during the Open consultation.
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On-site Participation
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Over 600 participants
from different parts of the world attended the WSIS Forum
2010. The WSIS secretariat issued 601 badges (225 -
Governments, 125 - UN and/or International Organizations,
123 - NGO/Civil Society, 66 - Private Sector, 62 - others).
It is estimated that in addition around 70 participants used
their official UN badge in order to join the event. 167
participants were females. One of the successes of the forum
was a marked increase in representation of Civil Society
organizations and implementers of the WSIS outcomes.
Among the participants
there were several high level representatives, including 4
Ministers (Albania, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Pakistan, Tunisia), 2 Deputy Ministers
(Afghanistan and Namibia), and more than 10 Ambassadors. In
addition the agenda of event profited from the contributions
of several c-level representatives of administrations,
private sector and civil society.
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Remote Participation
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Promoting remote
participation
A key principle of the
WSIS process is to promote the engagement of all
stakeholders, in particular of those who come from the civil
society, least developed countries, rural areas and remote
locations. To achieve this, the coordination team of the
WSIS Forum 2010 has put special emphasis in implementing
social media tools that promote a more dynamic remote
participation The added value of these tools is double, as
they also allow every participant in the Forum (remote and
physical) to replay each session and have access to every
discussion.
This new "layer" of
participation tools (Figure 1) included: a) broadcasting all
the panels and workshop globally via audio and video webcast;
b) covering the high-level debates with a live blog that
added information to the webcast; and c) using Twitter as an
additional communication channel that promotes a more active
engagement of the remote participants during the event.
Figure 1. Adding a new
layer of remote participation to WSIS Forum
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Preliminary results
The following paragraphs
include some more analytics regarding the use of each tool
during WSIS Forum 2010. At the moment of this executive
report the data from the webcast was not available. This
information will be included in the final report.
Use of Twitter
Twitter, a microblogging
platform, was used throughout the event by the organizers as
well as by the participants of the Forum. ITU shared key
information of all the sessions through the official ITU
official account (@ITU_News), and promoted that participants
with a Twitter account shared their thoughts, ideas and
suggestions regarding the discussions taking place during
the Forum. To facility accessing this information,
participants were requested to use the term #WSIS in their
messages.
In total more than 875
short messages were shared by 142 users of Twitter during
the 5 days of the Forum. It is important to note these
messages were shared by attendants to the Forum as well as
by many individuals of the wider WSIS stakeholder community.
Some of the links shared by the official ITU account, such
the link to the webcast page or to the agenda of the Forum,
were clicked by more than 100 people coming from 52
different countries, what gives an idea of the potential of
Twitter as a tool to share information. Figure 2 presents
the daily coverage of WSIS Forum using the keyword #WSIS.
The biggest interest was obtained in days 1, 2 and 4 of the
Forum.
A final consideration
worth noting is that for the first time, some of the
contents shared in Twitter were use in one of the sessions.
During the High-Level Debate on social Networking one of the
panellists projected a live "Twitter wall" to the audience
with the feedback that his intervention was generating in
Twitter. This interactive tool provided the speaker with an
argument on the value of social media to encourage knowledge
sharing and promote the participation of a wider audience in
this type of event. This experience may be replicated in
future events.
Figure 2. Daily coverage of WSIS Forum through Twitter
Use of live blogging
Live blogging was used
for seven of the sessions of the Forum (see Figure 3). A
total of 185 people followed these sessions remotely, being
the opening ceremony the session most followed. 101 comments
were received through the platform, some of which were
shared with the panellist as part of the interventions from
the audience, enabling remote participants to take active
part in the discussions.
Figure 2. Daily coverage of WSIS Forum through Twitter
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Conclusions
The preliminary results
obtained from this experience are promising. According to
the first analytics available, and despite not having
advertised that these tools were going to be implemented
during the Forum, 185 people followed the Forum through the
live blog and 142 contributed to the conversation through
Twitter, providing comments and questions that were included
in some of the panels. These remote participants came from
52 different countries, what proves the value that ICTs can
have to promote a truly global discussion. These encouraging
results clearly indicate that this is the right direction to
follow for next events and that more participation can be
obtained through raising awareness among WSIS stakeholders
of the tools that they have available to participate.
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Opening Ceremony
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The year 2010 marks the halfway point between the
successful conclusion of the WSIS in 2005 and 2015, the
year by which world leaders committed to achieve the UN
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and WSIS targets.
The Opening Ceremony
of WSIS Forum 2010 was held on 10th May 2010. The
Opening was moderated by Mr Adrian Finighan, CNN
Correspondent. The ceremony consisted of the release of
a
written message
to the 2010 WSIS Forum by H.E. Ban Ki Moon,
Secretary-General, United Nations. The UN Secretary
General welcomed the inclusiveness with which UN
agencies are working with each other and with the
private sector, civil society, academia, Governments and
others to leverage their capacities and know-how. He
encouraged all WSIS Forum 2010 participants to focus
more attention on the new and emerging issues of the
information age, including risks to privacy, identity
theft and the abuse of ICTs for acts motivated by racism
and xenophobia, or for child abuse and child
pornography.
The panel of the Opening
Ceremony consisted of representatives from Government, Civil
Society, Private Sector and UN Agencies. The main message of
all the speakers was that ICTs have considerably advanced
since the World Summit on Information Society held in Geneva
and Tunis however, now we are half way and there is a need
to analyse, take stock and plan to work in close
collaboration by way of win-win partnerships to accelerate
the achievement of WSIS goals by 2015.
Find below quotes from
the panellists in sequential order of participation:
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Dr Hamadoun Toure,
Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union
(ITU), Geneva
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"Together we have been able to build an annual
global inclusive, open and dynamic event which has its
own identity. WSIS 2010 is an opportunity for a mid-term
review, looking at the challenges ahead. To roll out the
necessary infrastructure and partnerships for broadband
essential for building an information society."
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Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General, United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), Paris -
Video Message
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"From the very beginning of the WSIS
process, UNESCO has focused on technology as a means
to human development, based on the four key
principles of freedom of expression, universal
access to information and knowledge, respect for
cultural and linguistic diversity and quality
education for all"
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Mr Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director-General for
Communication and Information and Director a.i.,
Information Society Division, UNESCO, Paris
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"UNESCO remains committed to the WSIS goals to
bridging the knowledge divides through a holistic
vision and strong political will by enhancing
individual and institutional capacities"
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Mr Petko Draganov, Deputy Secretary-General, United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
Geneva
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"Five years after the Tunis phase of the World
Summit on the Information Society, a range of new
opportunities for growth, trade and development are
emerging on the back of more widespread diffusion of
ICTs"
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Ambassador Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General,
United Nations - Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UN-DESA) -
Video Message
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"Since the first WSIS the world has
witnessed a phenomenal growth in ICTs yet the
digital divide continues to provide serious
challenges"
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Mr Johannes Christian Wichard, Deputy
Director-General, Global IP Issues, World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva
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"Information Society is build on innovation, it is
important to ensure that Information Society and
Intellectual Property do not block each other but
they are mutually supportive"
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H.E. Mohamed Naceur Ammar, Minister of Communication
Technologies, Tunisia
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"To Bridge the Digital Divide we must try
for more solidarity between nations and people at
global level"
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Ms Cécile Molinier, Director, United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), Geneva
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"UNDP has explicitly recognized the key role that
ICT can play in the fight against global poverty and
as an effective tool in helping to achieve the MDGs."
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Mr Art Reilly, International Chamber of Commerce,
Business Action to Support the Information Society (ICC-BASIS),
Chair of the ICT Policy
Committee of the USCIB, Paris (Read out by Mr. John
Davis from Intel)
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"There is a need to increase infrastructure
to reach the next billions of people"
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Mr Richard Amalvy, Vice-Chairman of the Conference
of Non Governmental Organisations in consultative
relationships with the United Nations (CoNGO)
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"Is humanity as a whole invited to this opportunity?
The digital divide increases as the internet speed
increases"
Links for further information:
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Silver Medal Awards: Recognition of Continuous Contribution to the
WSIS Process
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At the end of the
Opening Ceremony two Honorary Guests of WSIS Forum 2010,
H.E. Adama Samassékou, Former President of
PrepCom of the Geneva Phase of the WSIS, and H.E.
Janis Karklins, Former President of PrepCom of the
Tunis Phase of the WSIS were awarded ITU Silver
Medals for special efforts and continuing commitment
towards implementation of the WSIS outcomes.
Honorary Guests
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H.E. Adama
Samassékou, Former
President of PrepCom of the Geneva Phase of the WSIS
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H.E. Janis Karklins, Former
President of PrepCom of the Tunis Phase of the WSIS
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High
Level Plenary Session:
Turning Targets into Action (WSIS and MDGs)
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"There has been much
progress. However the ICT divide is still significant,
particularly between rural and urban areas"
H.E. Adama
Samassékou,
Former President of
PrepCom of the Geneva Phase of the WSIS
The year 2010 marks the
halfway point between the successful conclusion of the WSIS
in 2005 and 2015, the year by which world leaders committed
to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
WSIS targets.
The opening High-Level
Plenary Session of the WSIS Forum 2010 profited from views
and feedback from eminent panellists, including honourable
Ministers from several countries, on how far the WSIS
Stakeholders have come in turning targets into action. The
debate highlighted that access to ICTs, and broadband in
particular, could help facilitate the achievement of many of
the education and public health goals contained in the MDGs.
The high level debate in
the plenary session sparked an interesting discussion on
whether the WSIS targets are on track to be achieved by
2015, and whether the WSIS targets can facilitate progress
towards the MDGs, especially in view of the severe
repercussions and detrimental impact of the recent financial
crisis on developed and developing countries alike.
Interactive Moderator:
Mr Adrian Finnegan, CNN Correspondent
Introductory Remarks:
Mr Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director,
Telecommunication Development Bureau, International
Telecommunication Union, Geneva
Guests of honour:
Panellists:
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H.E. Genc
Pollo, Minister of State for Reforms and Relation
with Parliament, Albania
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H.E. Ivo
Ivanovski, Minister of Information Society, FYR of
Macedonia
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H.E.
Hassam Baryalai, Deputy Minister, Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology, Afghanistan
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H.E. Hoda
Baraka, Deputy to the Minister, Ministry of
Information Technologies and Communications, Egypt
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H.E.
Stanley Simataa, Deputy Minister, Ministry of
Information and Communications Technology, Namibia
Closing Remarks:
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Ms
Khédija Hamouda Ghariani, Secretary-General of the
Arab Information and Communication Technology
Organization, Tunisia
Links for further information:
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High
Level Debate No 1:
Build on Broadband
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"Broadband will have
many drivers. These include man to machine, man to man, home
appliances and availability of IPV6."
Dr Hamadoun Toure,
Secretary-General,
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva
The plenary debate was
followed by the first high level debate entitled "Build on
Broadband". This debate examined the importance of broadband
networks in facilitating progress towards achieving the MDGs.
Speakers highlighted that high-speed broadband networks
carrying advanced applications can enrich education and
boost basic hygiene and health awareness while delivering
real results in achieving public health goals, a top
priority for many developing countries. It can also provide
new opportunities for economic growth and international
trade and investment.
This High-Level Debate
examined the evidence and issues as to how the roll-out of
broadband networks could help achieve the MDGs. Panellists
highlighted 5 years of achievements and the challenges for
the 5 years ahead.
The panellists for the
High Level Debate No 1, Build on Broadband, are listed
below:
Interactive Moderator:
Mr Adrian Finnegan, CNN Correspondent
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Dr Hamadoun Toure, Secretary-General,
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva
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Mr Edouard Dayan, Director-General, Universal
Postal Union, Bern
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Mr Abdul Waheel Khan, Assistant Director General
of Communication & Information, UNESCO
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Mr John E. Davies, Vice President, Sales and
Marketing Group, General Manager, Intel World Ahead
Program, Intel Corporation
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Ms Gabrielle Gauthey, Senior Vice President, in
charge of Public Affairs and member of the Managing
committee of Alcatel-Lucent
Links for further information:
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High
Level Debate No 2:
Broadband Applications for tomorrow
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"As the basis for ICT,
broadband is a uniquely powerful means of delivering the
development goals that we aim to achieve by 2015"
Mr Houlin Zhao,
Deputy Secretary-General,
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva
The promise of broadband
infrastructure lies not just in rolling out national
high-speed networks accessible for all citizens for boosting
economic growth, but also in delivering tailored
applications fulfilling the targeted needs of specific
communities in education, healthcare, government, energy and
the environment. This High-Level Debate considered the
potential of broadband ICT networks for delivering real and
tangible benefits in people's everyday lives. As the panel
highlighted, high-speed, always-on, real-time communications
not only offer efficiency and productivity savings, they
also save lives.
Moderator: Dr
Reinhard Scholl, Deputy Director, Telecommunication
Standardization Bureau, International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), Geneva
Opening Remarks: Mr
Houlin Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General, International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva
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H.E. Dr Hoda Baraka, Deputy Minister, Ministry of
Communications, Egypt
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Mr Fréderic Hemmer, Head of the Information
Technology Department, CERN, Switzerland
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Mr Pierpaolo Saporito, Presidente, OCCAM, Italy
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Mr Gabriel Solomon, Senior Vice President, GSMA
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Mr Peter H. Hellmonds, Chief of Public &
International Affairs, Nokia Siemens Networks
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Mr John E. Davies, Vice President, Sales and
Marketing Group, General Manager, Intel World Ahead
Program, Intel Corporation
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Mr Bohyun Seo, Executive Director, Korea
Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), Korea
ITU Deputy Secretary-General, Mr Houlin Zhao, highlighted
that the Internet has become one of the foundations of our
modern economy, a feature of our daily life. This makes of
broadband a fundamental infrastructure, such as electricity
and roads, which can promote social and economic development
and enable the achievement of the MDGs by 2015. This fact
has been recognized by ITU through the "Build on Broadband"
initiative and the recently launched "Broadband Commission
for Digital Development", an effort that will be conducted
in collaboration with UNESCO.
During his introductory speech, Mr. Zhao reminded that the
power of broadband is that it makes all kinds of cooperation
much easier and more effective. In this sense, a wider
availability of broadband will allow us to share more
information locally and around the globe, and to build
applications that share computing power, making a more
efficient and flexible use of computing resources. It will
also allow "smart grid" applications, and provide new tools
for small and medium enterprises, even in remote parts of
developing countries. These are the broadband applications
for tomorrow, a future that will be all the brighter because
of the opportunities they bring.
The panellists highlighted that we are at the beginning of a
broadband revolution. What we understood about the Internet
and broadband 10 years ago is not what we understand today.
Data traffic is growing exponentially, together with the
demand for higher bandwidths. Some countries are already
looking for 50, 100 and even 200 Mbps to offer enough
capacity for the future applications, such as 3D video,
which may be used in several sectors, such as health or
education.
There was an agreement that the "broadband revolution" also
means "always on" devices. These devices demand narrower
bandwidths, but require permanent connections. This
introduces new challenges for areas in which coverage cannot
be guaranteed, such as rural areas or developing countries.
To achieve universal broadband service the panellists
emphasized that each country will have to follow its own
plan, learning from best international practices. While some
countries may be able to deploy massively fiber to the home
(FTTH), other countries may need to focus in more affordable
technologies, such as WiMax or LTE and define better ways of
using spectrum.
Regarding specific applications already being used, H.E.
Hoda Baraka presented Egypt's national plan to train
teachers through remote on-line training programs. This
successful program, which managed to train over 60,000
teachers in 2008, has been a key contribution to drive the
national education reform, teaching the international
community that ICTs in schools are no longer a luxury, but a
basic tool to promote a better education and reduce the
digital divide. Similar experiences were presented by Intel
in Tanzania, where the biggest challenge was not the lack of
technology but the lack of human capacity. Broadband is an
enabler that requires all society to get organized to put
build the right skills.
Content was also an important topic during the debate. There
was consensus regarding the importance of promoting local
content that is relevant for each country and society, in
particular for under-represented regions, such as Arab
countries, where there are several programs going on to
promote the production of local content. In this line Mr.
Davies, from INTEL, explained that the private sector can
develop tools to help local authorities in this task.
As a conclusion to this panel, the speakers from the private
sector (Nokia Siemens, Intel and GSMA) highlighted the role
of the public sector to create an enabling regulatory
environment and to remove bottlenecks. They also highlighted
the need to create multi-stakeholder partnerships to promote
broadband deployment, in particular to promote universal
access to the Information Society. In these partnerships
governments should be in the driver seat setting
expectations and being an early adopter.
Links for further information:
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High
Level Debate No 3:
Social Networking
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"Social Networking
responsibilities include knowing your own rights and
respecting
others rights, this requires media education and media
literacy"
Panellists
High Level Debate No 3:
Social Networking
Given increasing popularity of the Internet social networking including blog,
wiki, as new tools, media and platforms based on Web2.0
application, UNESCO took an initiative to organize a High
Level Debate on Social Networking at WSIS forum 2010 on 11
May 2010 in Geneva, which has triggered lively and fruitful
discussions on political and social implications of social
networking for knowledge societies.
The High Level debate brought around 70 participants and
panellists representing governments, legislator, policy
makers, industry, civil society and users to exchange their
visions on the opportunities and threats of these tools for
the future. The debate focused on social networking's
potential to promote freedom of expression and political and
civic participation and also its challenge to privacy and
existing media and journalism ecology. Given youth's active
usage of social networking, special attention was given to
the issue how to empower young people through social
networking and ensure their security online.
Five panellists shared the view that social networking tools
have tremendous potentials to promote freedom of expression
and political and social cohesion. Social media are indeed
unique tools to foster all forms of human rights. Meanwhile,
participants are concerned about online slander and criminal
information generated by social media, and their challenge
to privacy and data protection..
Newly developed legal and regulatory instruments for social
networking were presented by panellists including the Guiding
Principles for social networking drafted by the Council of
Europe's applied to governments and industries, "Resolution
on Privacy protection in Social Network Services" adopted by
the International Conference of Data protection and Privacy
Commissioners, the Article 29 on online social networking
recommended by European Data Protection Supervisor, etc.
The challenge of applying these instruments exists in the
discrepancy of the legal framework between online territory
and the real one given social networking's transnational
diffusion. As participants called upon, to address these
concern and challenges, there is a need to foster
collaboration of private sector, government and civil
society, and the intergovernmental organization like UNESCO
should play an important role in social media governance.
Regarding the youth issue, participants highlighted that
social networking greatly benefits young people to publish
their views, and there is a need to be cautious of possible
self censorship and filtering while taking measures to
ensure their privacy and safety. Other emerging issues
addressed include mobile phone social networking in
developing countries, ethical standards for social media,
how social media changes mass media and main stream media,
how social networking can be used for development and
reducing poverty, etc.
In conclusion, the real task is to fully exploit the
potential of social networking while not compromising civil
rights and liberties, including the right to privacy and
right to freedom of expression and freedom of association.
Panellists
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Mr Jānis Kārkliņš, Ambassador of
Latvia to France and Permanent Representative to UNESCO
and newly appointed Assistant Director-General for
Communication and Information at UNESCO
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Mr Thomas Schneider, Coordinator international
Information Society International Affairs, Federal
Office of Communications OFCOM, Switzerland
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Ms Msiska Kenneth, Executive Director, Young
Advocates for the Advancement of ICT-related Development
(Y.A.A.ICT-D), Malawi
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Mr Michaël Vanfleteren, Legal Adviser, European
Data Protection Supervisor(EDPS), Belgium
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Mr Anand Giridharadass, Columnist, The New York
Times / International Herald Tribune, U.S.
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Mr Bertrand De La Chapelle, Special Envoy for the
Information Society, France
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High
Level Debate No 4:
ICTs for Disaster Management
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"Disasters reinforce
that we are a global village"
H.E. Mr Sardar
Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa,
Ministry of Information Technology,
Pakistan
Panellists shared their experiences of the role of ICTs,
particularly in recent disasters e.g. Haiti. During disasters
ICTs also used to warn populations and to coordinate relief.
The discussion highlighted the critical role of satellite
services in disaster relief operations.
A continued need for capacity development in use of ICT for
disaster management was emphasized. Speakers shared that
during emergency disaster situations community radio
stations are critical in providing information to local
communities.
Moderator: Dr Cosmas
Zavazava, Emergency Telecommunications-
Telecommunication Development Bureau, International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva
Opening Remarks: Mr
Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of
Telecommunication Development Bureau, International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva
Panellists
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H.E. Mr Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa,
Ministry of Information Technology, Pakistan
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Mr Sony Esteus, Director, Société d'Animation et
de Communication Sociale (SAKS), Haiti
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Mr Steve Buckley, President of the World
Association of Community Radio AMARC, Quebec
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Dr Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman, ICT4Peace
Foundation, Geneva
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Mr Thomas Wasilewski, Senior Director for
Government Affairs, QUALCOMM
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Mr Mark Moore, President, Collabria LLC
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Mr Emanuele Gennai, Global Affairs
Account Executive, EMEA, ESRI Europe, Nyon, Switzerland
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Dr Seppo Sisatto, Chairman, Organizing Committee
GAREC, Finland
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Ms. Kelly O'Keefe, Rapporteur, Q.22/2, ITU-D
Study Groups Access Partnerships
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High
Level Debate No 5:
Cybersecurity and Cyberspace
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"Cooperation
is a key component to address cybersecurity, not only at the
national level, but in particular, at the international
level"
Panellists
High Level Debate No 5:
Cybersecurity and Cyberspace
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been
widely adopted throughout our society, but these very same
ICT systems are at severe risk from growing cyberthreats.
The moderator of the session, Mr Arkadiy Kremer, Chairman of
Russian Association for Networks and Services (RANS) and
Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 17, Russian Federation, set
out a framework of the session requesting the panellists and
participants to keep in mind the following questions:
-
How to use ITU's
organizational and cultural advantages to achieve
international collaboration for ICT security and
confidence implementation?
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How to follow global
trends in ICT technology and the security choices being
made?
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The question on the
connection between the technologist and decisions made
on security..
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How to formulate
security and collaboration strategies for the future,
where we are and what are the next steps ?
Mr Houlin Zhao,
Deputy Secretary-General, International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), Geneva stated that protecting cyberspace is a
joint responsibility, it is not just about protection but
also about enabling a more sophisticated use of the digital
environment. He informed that under the Action line C5, in
2007, ITU Secretary-General launched the Global
Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) to provide a framework within
which an international response to the growing threats and
challenges can be coordinated and addressed. He informed
that the GCA strives to engage all relevant stakeholders in
a concerted effort to build confidence and security in the
information society.
2008, ITU launched the
child online protection initiative, to protect children
online, this initiative was supported with full commitment
globally. Another successful project of ITU was in
collaboration with Malaysia, called IMPACT; he announced
that 60 countries are already part of IMPACT. Mr Zhao shared
the activities of all three ITU sectors and General
Secretariat in the area of Cybersecurity. He emphasized that
this high-level debate could provide a forum to discuss how
best to promote international cooperation in the area of
Cybersecurity.
Mr Endri Hasa,
Director of Albanian National Agency for Information
Society, Albania, emphasized on the fact that cyberspace
touches everyone now a days starting from government, to
business and citizens. Government has the responsibility to
address strategic vulnerability towards protection of
cybercrime but ICT networks are operated by the private
sector both nationally and internationally hence he stated
that the responsibility for Cybersecurity is distributed
amongst wide range of stakeholders and actors. He emphasized
that Public Private Partnerships and Cooperation is crucial
in an international and national space. Mr Hasa informed
about an Albanian programme called "Digital Albania" that
aims to bring Broadband connection to every citizen, aims at
bringing the benefits of ICTs to all citizens.
Today, new and
sophisticated cyber threats, cyber attacks and, more
recently, cyber warfare pose strong challenges to the
safety, integrity, reliability and confidentiality of modern
communications and the networks over which these are
transmitted. He also emphasized that growing cyber attacks
can also be a challenge to national security and
international peace.
Mr Andrea Rigoni,
Director General of the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence,
Italy, began his intervention by highlighting the need for
International Cooperation, stating that the nature of
Internet is global it interconnects all the countries. He
stressed that there is a need for developing additional
tools to take decisions on Cybersecurity, it is also
important that the decision makers are provided with enough
awareness and skills on cybersecurity to take proper
decisions. Mr Rigoni emphasized that evolution of
cybercrime, cyberwar demonstrate that the power of internet
is being leveraged in a negative way, thus he highlighted
that that international cyber rules are required to protect
the internet.
Ms Theresa Hitchens,
Director, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
(UNIDIR), Geneva, stressed on the fact that the issue of
cybersecurity is very complex. She highlighted that both,
outer space and computer network tools are primarily used by
Civil Society for communication and economic development.
She added that space assets and computer networks are
vulnerable and in most cases it is difficult to distinguish
between the accidental and deliberate attacks. She spoke
about the challenge that cybersecurity provides to national
governments adding that fighting cybersecurity might lead to
secrecy to protect National data rather than leading towards
international cooperation. Ms Hitchens shared the idea of
liaison with militaries all over the world for cybersecurity
solutions within voluntary agreed or legally agreed codes of
conduct.
Mr John Carr,
Chairman of Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet
Safety (CHIS), United Kingdom, focused his remarks on
building international security and confidence in the
Internet. He stressed that the challenge is to develop good
policies and procedures for Child online protection however
he emphasized that the bigger challenge is to build
Confidence and trust on the medium of the Internet itself.
He also highlighted the positive aspects of the internet
stating that it has expanded the opportunities for children
all over the world. He commended the role of ITU in the area
of Child Online Protection policy. He shared examples of
activities and projects initiated in area of child online
protection.
Ms Solange
Ghernouti-Hélie, Professor, University of Lausanne,
Switzerland, highlighted our dependence on ICT
infrastructure, at the same time she reminded that digital
world is fragile. She spoke about the misuse of personal
data and the need for protection of personal data. Ms
Ghernouti-Hélie emphasized on the need for International
collaboration and public private partnerships while working
towards a solution for cyber security. As the fifth space
the first four being, land, sea, air and outer space,
cyperspace needs collaboration amongst all countries. She
stressed on the need for a Global United Nations Network to
work towards a Global Cyberspace treaty that would serve as
an International Agreement for a global strategy to work
against cybercrime. She emphasized on bridging of the gap in
the common understanding of Cybersecurity between the
developing and developed world and to work towards
developing an appropriate cybersecurity culture. Developing
a Global Protocol reference on cyber security and cyber
crime.
Mr Ilias Chantzos,
Director EMEA & APJ Government Relations, Symantec, provided
a private sector perspective to the debate on Cybersecurity.
Mr Chantzos warned that we are confronted with a very well
organized cybercriminal environment. He shared that crime on
internet is more than crimes on streets today, mainly aiming
at stealing data, credit cards numbers, personal data and so
on. Different kinds of attacks, in particular targeted
attacks enabled at the information that is online are moslty
personalized attacks. Sharing statistics, he said that many
of these attacks come from people we trust and not
outsiders, at times they are also accidental due to lack of
awareness.
He highlighted that
while talking about Broadband, every country must also build
security solutions along side.
ITU has been promoting
awareness and education in the area of Cybersecurity and
should continue doing that. Historically communications and
security have been interlinked. He emphasized that
governments have to work with the private sector to build
secure environments for cyberspace together. He added that
industry is keen to collaborate with governments as long as
there are mutually benefit goals.
The moderator opened the
floor for discussions:
The panel sparked a
discussion on making the internet infrastructure more secure
and on sharing of security information on the internet.
Participants strongly
emphasized on the need for international cooperation in the
area of Cybersecurity, stating that creating Cybersecurity
partnerships is essential at a national and international
level and also between different stakeholders like the
governments, private sector and civil society.
There were mixed views
from the audience on the issue of creating a protocol or
treaty for fighting Cybersecurity issues together, some
participants felt that this was absolutely essential while
others felt that the creation and ratification of a treaty
might delay the fight against cybercrime.
Participants voiced that
analysis of each threat and issue in the area of
cybersecurity would be important to fight cyber crime. There
was a discussion on jurisdiction and difference of culture
in the Private Sector and Governments.
The discussion led to
the costs and resource assessment of Cybersecurity
especially in developing countries.
All the participants
recognized that cybercrime is increasingly evolving and
concluded the session saying that there is a need to raise
awareness about cybersecurity and emphasized the need for
international cooperation.
Moderator: Mr Arkadiy
Kremer, Chairman of Russian Association for Networks and
Services (RANS) and Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 17,
Russian Federation
Panellists
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Mr Houlin Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General,
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva
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Mr Endri Hasa, Director of Albanian National
Agency for Information Society, Albania
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Ms Theresa Hitchens, Director, United Nations
Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), Geneva
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Mr John Carr, Chairman of Children's Charities'
Coalition on Internet Safety (CHIS), United Kingdom
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Ms Solange Ghernouti-Hélie, Professor, University
of Lausanne, Switzerland
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Mr Ilias Chantzos, Director EMEA & APJ Government
Relations, Symantec
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Mr Andrea Rigoni, Director General of the
Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, Italy
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