ITU
was named as one of the world’s top ten most enduring institutions by a panel of
distinguished scholars from universities across the United States. The awards
were announced by Booz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy consulting firm, in
order to celebrate institutions that "have reinvented themselves time and again
— and remained market leaders — as the unique circumstances of the their
founding have given way to changing conditions."
The award to ITU, in the category of Government Institution, was shared with
the American Constitution. ITU was cited by the panel of scholars as "notable
for its effective information flow". The ITU, founded in 1865, brings together
government and the private sector and "exemplifies internally what it represents
externally — a facilitator of information and communication infrastructure." The
panel noted that without a strong flow of information ITU "would have long ago
lost the adaptability that has enabled it to respond effectively to changing
political and economic conditions that characterize its environment and
ever-changing technologies."
Dr Ralph Shrader, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Booz Allen Hamilton
describes an enduring institution as one "that has changed and grown in
unswerving success and relevance — yet remained true through time to its
founding principles."
ITU has been ‘Helping the World Communicate’ for nearly 140 years. It was
founded on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union and has been
instrumental in building global telecommunication networks through the advent of
telephone, radio, television, satellite communications and Internet
technologies. It became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1947 and
most recently held the first World Summit on the Information Society, at which
175 countries pledged to bring the benefits of information and communication
technologies to all of humanity by 2015.
Two institutions were named in each of the following categories: Academic
Institutions, Arts and Entertainment, Business and Commerce, Government and
Non-profit Organizations. The winners include Oxford University, the Modern
Olympics, Sony and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Each institution was selected according to its innovative capabilities,
governance and leadership, information flow, culture and values, adaptive
response, risk structure and legitimacy.
More information about the awards can be found
here.
About ITU
