ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 Officially Opens for Business

Highest-level participants present for dynamic Event Opening Ceremony

Hong Kong, 3 December 2006 - The doors of ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006, the leading international ICT tradeshow and networking platform were thrown open today, 04 December 2006, for a throng of visitors. The event was launched with a glittering opening ceremony on 03 December which featured H.E Mr Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People’s Republic of China, the Honourable Mr Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Mr Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of the ITU along with Nobel peace prize winner Professor Muhammed Yunus, founder and Managing Director of the Grameen Bank, and a host of other top ICT names.

Yoshio Utsumi, ITU Secretary-General opened the proceedings to a packed auditorium, welcoming participants to Hong Kong, China for the event and thanking the three other VVIPs for their support. The ITU Secretary-General used the occasion to urge participants at WORLD 2006 to “take up the collective challenge, not only of growing our vibrant and exciting ICT sector, but also of working together to extend their benefits to the millions of people currently left behind.” Reaching out to those present he called for the WORLD event to mark “A new era of shared progress, harnessing the power of ICTs for people all over the world.”

During his Opening Remarks, Professor Yunus outlined his plans for a new dynamic new partnership between Grameen and ITU, together with Cisco Systems, QUALCOMM and a newly formed consortium, Enclusion to form a virtual, global ICT Empowerment Network. In a separate announcement, Cisco Systems announced a pledge of US$1million to support ICT related micro-financing initiatives within this Empowerment Network. For more information on this announcement, click here.

Speeches followed from Mr Donald Tsang and H.E Mr Wu Bangguo, at which they underlined their support for the event, and reiterated Hong Kong’s position as a global ICT hub and a gateway to Asia. The event was then declared officially open.

Under this year’s theme, "Living the Digital World", the event, which runs from 04-08 December at AsiaWorld-Expo will explore of the concept of shared digital resources for access to the vast wealth of the world's knowledge, culture, education and learning. ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 will focus on the technologies, companies and organizations that are driving this concept forward.

The event encompasses a dynamic Exhibition; a business-centered TELECOM VILLAGE; a content-rich Forum, including a Youth Forum; a Telecommunication Development Symposium; plus a host of networking opportunities and events. Mirroring the theme of the event is the "Digital Life Theatre", a dedicated stage where futuristic visions of the digital world will be presented.

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