Moreover, according to Dr. Touré's vision, Safer Internet Day should not be a one-day celebration. Indeed, as the Secretary-General of the ITU, Dr. Hamadoun Touré firmly expressed his commitment to make 2012 a year-long celebration – ensuring that by working together, the international community can build a really effective global framework to protect children and young people online.

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Last year was an event filled year with regards to ITU’s climate change activities. Here is a rundown of the 6 top stories of 2011. Click on each heading to find out more about each activity:

1.The 6th ITU symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change
ITU organized the Sixth Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change in Accra (Ghana), on 7-8 July. The event was hosted by the Ministry of Communications (MOC) of Ghana and brought together leading specialists in the field, from top policy-makers to engineers, designers, planners, government officials, regulators, standards experts among others.

2.ITU Green Standards Week
From 5 to 9 September in Rome (Italy) ITU organized its first Green Standards Week. The focus of the event was to raise awareness of the importance of using ICT standards to build a green economy and combat climate change. A High-Level Segment provided Ministers and senior representatives from the ICT industry with an opportunity to exchange views on how ICTs can help in the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the run-up to Durban (COP-17) and in preparation for Rio +20 summit.

3.Study Group 5, Universal Charger made greener/leaner
ITU’s one-size fits all universal charging solution was further improved to maximize the benefits for end users by extending its use to a wider variety of devices and making it even more energy efficient. The standard now also allows the charger cable to be used for data transfer, avoiding an unnecessary duplicate cables and thus further reducing costs and e-waste.

4.ITU Green Application Challenge
Throughout 2011 organized the Green ICT Application Challenge, a global competition for developers, aimed at finding the best and most innovative idea for a climate change focused application (app). The winner of the competition, Ms. Lis Lugo Colls from Spain, received a USD 10,000 prize for her app concept “Smart Recycling”. This application helps mobile phone users locate recycling and garbage bins in their area, and aims to contribute to the reduction of pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by waste.

Click here to read our series of interviews with the winner and shortlisted developers

•  Lis Lugo Colls – winner
• Euphraith Muthoni Masinde
• Stephan Reiter and Ms. Simone Ferlin
• Maria Dolores Rodriguez De Azero
• Praneel Raja  
  

ITU is moving the climate change agenda forward.

Against a backdrop of the multiple crises of the past four years -- financial, economic, food and energy -- the United Nations launched this week a report that offers UN agencies and its member states guidance for coordinating the transition to a Green Economy at the international and country levels.

In the first-ever inter-agency report on the Green Economy, the Environment Management Group (EMG), representing the work of UN agencies, the Bretton Woods Institutions and other intergovernmental bodies outlines steps and policies for pursuing a green economic transformation that generates new sources of sustainable and equitable economic growth that will assist in a global economic recovery.

Such action will require investing in natural capital, clean-technologies, such as information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as in in human and social capital, including education, health care, cultural development and social protection.

The report, Working towards a Balanced and Inclusive Green Economy, reflects a growing recognition of the shortcomings of business-as-usual practiced by both the public and private sector institutions over the last two decades and assesses how the UN system can coherently support countries in transitioning to a Green Economy. The report highlights the need for more integrated approaches between different international agencies and government departments, as well as more targeted investments across the environmental, economic and social domains.

Urging both agencies and governments to use the forthcoming 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (or Rio+20 Summit) to turn their commitments into reality, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said:

“United Nations entities are keenly aware of the resource challenges that countries face in meeting the needs of a growing and urbanizing world population. The human and economic toll of natural disasters and the volatility of commodity prices reflect worrying trends in global climate change, the growing scarcity of some natural resources and the decline of many ecosystems.

“This report highlights how these challenges can and must be addressed as part of integrated development models that focus on poverty and human well-being.”

The first ITU Green ICT Application Challenge, supported by RIM and Telefonica, sought to uncover innovative concept papers for climate change related ICT applications. ITU announced the Challenge’s winner and papers deserving special mention at the Green Standards Week held in Rome, 5-9 September 2011.

The Challenge’s Winner, Ms. Lis Lugo Colls from Spain, developed a concept for an application entitled “Smart Recycling.” This innovative application helps mobile users locate recycling and garbage bins in their area, and aims to contribute to the reduction of pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by waste. The application will benefit citizens, government recycling programs and private recycling companies by creating a more sustainable and resource-efficient future through community engagement and eco-design.

We approached Lis to discuss the inspiration for her concept and her experience with the challenge. Here is what she had to say.

[Question] Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.

[Answer] I am a 27 year-old woman with a strong passion for life and our planet. My view is that a strong work ethic leads to a high quality of life, and so I believe in working hard to get what you want. I was born in Venezuela, but have since lived in several countries. This has given me a broad cultural vision of how the world works. At the same time, I have dedicated my life to computers and technology, and studied Systems Engineering with a specialization in ICT Management and e-Business. I am currently taking a masters degree and working for a telecommunication company in Spain, where I have lived for the past 2 years. I have been working on city automation, with projects related to Smart Metering, Machine-to-Machine, Smart Cities, and Data Grids, and this has proven an incredible opportunity to combine my knowledge of computers, technology and telecommunication.

[Q] How did you find out about the ITU Green ICT Application Challenge?

Every day I spend some time reading the news, and have found that social networks are very useful tools in following companies, groups or people that interest you. To keep up-to-date on telecommunication and energy efficiency standards, I have been following @ITU_News on twitter and Telefonica’s “RC and sustainability” blog. This is where I found out about the challenge.

[Q] Why did you decide to take part in the challenge?

I have had many innovative ideas, most with a focus on increasing social welfare. Often these ideas remain as dreams, because becoming a social entrepreneur is far from simple. When I heard of the challenge, I thought it a perfect opportunity to test one of these socially-oriented ideas, and improving recycling systems really appealed to me. My idea also fitted the challenge’s goals very well, and this secured my motivation to enter. Only after entering did some real work and frustration come. Turning an idea into a real, feasible concept takes months of long working hours and no shortage of courage. This is the first competition I have entered, and at times I did question why I was putting so much time and effort into something with such an uncertain result. But, as the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs’ mantra goes, “don’t be afraid to fail, because the more times you fail, the closer you are to success.”

[Q] Have you developed an app before or was this experience new to you?

I have been  developing software and websites since I was young, and I wanted to step up to smartphone application development. It is not a drastic change as the programming logic is the same, but its methodologies and tools have evolved in a way that makes the task of developing apps easier and more intuitive.

[Q] Was the application that you presented something you’ve been working on for a long time or did you develop the app for this challenge?

I had the idea many months before the challenge appeared. It was therefore a great boost to hear about the challenge, as it was a perfect opportunity to turn the idea into a reality.

[Q] What was your biggest challenge when designing the application?

The biggest challenge was to create a smartphone application that would be useful to citizens, and require only minimal technological know-how to use. Behind these easy-to-use applications there is a great infrastructure that integrates high-technology tools like databases, geo-positioning, RSS feeds, and so on. It is a big challenge for a computer scientist to understand the issues of usability and user-centered design.

[Q] What was your motivation behind developing an app to combat climate change/promote sustainability?

Everyone should be committed to caring for the environment and reducing climate change – these are global issues. We take for granted the resources we use, and live in a consumer-oriented society where people buy, consume and dispose of goods carelessly. Sustainability should be a goal to all human-beings, and I believe recycling is a way for individuals to contribute meaningfully to the environment.

[Q] Where did your inspiration for this application come from?

I was born in Venezuela, a developing country without national recycling policies. When you are aware of the  world’s environmental problems, this causes a feeling of helplessness. When I came to live in Europe, I became curious as to how municipal solid waste was treated, how the system was implemented and how people worked together to help the system. This is how I came up with the idea of building a tool that could reach individual citizens, helping them better recycle their waste. Smartphones are widespread and the Internet is accessible to everyone, so I believed my app could even help create awareness about recycling in countries without national recycling policies.

[Q] What other activities are you involved in to help fight climate change and promote environmental sustainability?

I have assembled a group of motivated entrepreneurs with different skills to work on this subject of Smart Applications for the City. We are working on a web site called www.smartapps.es, which will provide information on sustainability applications. We are currently working on the Smart Recycling application but, at the same time, we are connecting with more communities and people interested in these issues.

[Q] What do you expect from this application in the future? Are you planning to further develop it?

This application’s objective is to create a technological platform merging the recycling efforts of citizens, recycling centers and local waste collection systems. With local people’s help, this application could be available to several countries in the coming year.

[Q] What is your advice to developers wishing to create apps to help combat climate change/promote sustainability?

You don’t need to be a genius or invent the wheel! You need only be altruistic, and think in big actions to improve society’s systems and help planet earth.

[Q] Any last thoughts?

Thanks to the sponsors for supporting this challenge. I believe private enterprises and industries should be the first to fulfill social responsibility initiatives, and this competition is a fine example of what can be achieved when they do.

To find out more about Ms. Colls and her activities, contact her via ITU by sending an email to climate@itu.int. Meet the rest of the winners and relive the ITU Green Application Challenge by accessing http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/greenict/index.html. This interview was featured in the recent special edition of ITU News "Climate change, green technology, greener plannet". Click here to access an edited version of this interview.

For more information about the ITU’s activities on climate change visit www.itu.int/climate.  

At the end of an intense two weeks in Durban, South Africa, the UNFCCC has announced that the countries meeting at the 2011 UN Conference on Climate Change (COP17/CMP7) have delivered a breakthrough, on the future of the response from the international community to causes and effects of climate change. The package of decisions adopted by the conference include the following key outcomes:

• Definition of a road map for the adoption of a new universal legal agreement on climate change to be adopted as soon as possible, but not later than 2015, and that should enter into force by 2020;
  
• Agreement on a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to enter into force on January 1, 2013. Parties to this second period, which includes 35 industrialized countries, will turn their economy-wide targets into quantified emission limitation or reduction objectives and submit them for review by May 2012;
  
• Agreement on an advanced framework for the reporting of emission reductions for both developed and developing countries;
  
• Decisions on the full implementation of several of the Cancun agreements, including the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund, the Technology Mechanism and the Adaptation Committee.
  

ITU News magazine has just published its November 2011 issue, dedicated to ICTs, climate change and green ICTs. Published with the theme “Tackling climate change: Green technology, greener planet”, this special issue of ITU News presents an update on the progress achieved by ITU and the ICT sector in promoting the use of ICTs as an enabler of sustainable development and a solution to climate change.

The articles in this special issue cover a broad range of topics, from initiatives on the use of ICTs to the transition to a low-carbon economy and to the approval of the new ITU standardized methodologies to assess the environmental impacts of ICTs. The special issue features a foreword from Ms Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Secretariat, on the role of ICTs in the UNFCCC process. It also features representatives from the private sector including Kevin Tao of Huawei Europe and Ray Pinto of TechAmerica Europe on the industry’s commitment to act on climate change through technology.

The issue also features contributions by ITU staff and Study Group 5 members. Read the special issue online at https://itunews.itu.int/en/.

ITU News is the official communication channel between ITU and its membership. Issued ten times a year, ITU News provides an up-to-date view of the Union’s activities and global events, as well as the ICT environment that they help to shape.

1 December 2011 will be the “ICT Day” at the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference in South Africa (COP-17). Hosted by the UNFCCC, and organized by the Coalition on ICTs and Climate Change (an initiative originated by ITU and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative), the “ICT day @ COP17 will feature side events on the role of ICTs as a transformative solution to move the climate change agenda forward.

Activities on the day include a side event on ICTs and adaptation, organized by the UNFCCC, a side event on the role of ICTs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, organized by TechAmerica Europe and a full day of webconferences on climate-related ICT applications, featured at the Digital Media Lounge of the conference.

Participants in these activities will include among others, representatives from the public sector, including the participation of the South African Minister of Communications, representatives from private sector organizations, such as Microsoft, Deutsche Telecom, INTEL or France Telecom, as well as high-level officials of key international organizations, such as the UNFCCC secretariat of ITU.

The “ICT Day” will be opened at 13:00 (Durban time) by H.E. Dina Pule, Minister of Communications of South Africa and by Mr Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU Standardization Bureau.

If you are on-site in Durban please join us at these events in the Digital Media lounge and the Hex River side event room. Follow also the event remotely by following these instructions:

• Go to https://cop17.webex.com
• Enter your name and email address
• Enter the meeting password: TechAmerica
• Click “Join Now”. 
• Meeting Number: 841 748 360
  

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Toure will be delivering keynote remarks and chairing an international panel on policies and programmes for ICT accessibility at the M-Enabling Summit being held in Washington DC on 5 December. This multi-stakeholder Summit will bring together key players from industry, government and regulatory agencies, civil society, international and regional organizations and funding partners among others to share experiences and showcase the latest mobile applications and services for seniors and persons with disabilities.

• Standards and accessibility
  
• Development and accessibility

The first ITU Green ICT Application Challenge sought to uncover  innovative concept papers for climate change related ICT applications. ITU announced the Challenge’s winner and papers deserving special mention at the Green Standards Week held in Rome, 5-9 September 2011. The event was supported by BlackBerrry and Telefonica.

One of the challenge’s finalists, Mr. Praneel Raja from India, developed a concept for an application entitled, “Mobile App to Use a Vehicle to its Fullest Capacity.” The goal of this mobile application is to improve efficiency in the transportation sector by making sure that vehicles are used to their full capacity. The app provides a forum where users can request a ride in a vehicle with vacancy, travelling the same route as the driver. The overall result of the application would be a reduction of GHG emission by decreasing the number of vehicles on the road. 

We approached Praneel to discuss the inspiration for his concept and his experience with the challenge. Here is what he had to say.

[Question] Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.

I am a student at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, pursuing a post-graduate degree in Computer Science.

[Q] How did you find out about the ITU Green ICT Application Challenge?

I came to know about it when the Research Affairs Secretary of our institute forwarded the email about the challenge to the institute’s students.

[Q] Why did you decide to take part in the challenge?

I have always been interested in issues related to climate change. The contest was also during my summer vacation, which gave me the time I needed to begin developing my application.

[Q] Have you developed an app before or was this experience new to you?

No, it is the first time I have done anything like this.

[Q] Was the application that you presented something you’ve been working on for a long time or did you develop the app for this challenge?

This app had been an idea of mine for some time. This is however the first time I’ve taken action and brought all the pieces together to create a functional, useful app.

[Q] How did the development of the app take place?

I am developing the app as a part of my Course Project in IIT Madras.

[Q] What was your biggest challenge when designing the application?

The safety and security of the app’s users was definitely the biggest challenge in its design. Without trustworthy safety mechanisms, people would be reluctant to use the service.

[Q] What was your motivation behind developing an app to combat climate change/promote sustainability?

The motivation was to help build a transport system where people could get from A to B carrying only their mobile phones. Where did your inspiration for this application come from? I have noticed that most vehicles on the road are more than half-empty. More efficient use of the world’s vehicles could both increase the number of people able to access automobile transport and reduce the number of cars on the road. This is a win-win scenario for social welfare, as access to transport rises while carbon emissions decline.

[Q] What other activities are you involved in to help fight climate change and promote environmental sustainability?

I am an ambassador for S-NET (Sustainable Network development), a student initiative at the institute, and I am responsible for promoting sustainable development on the institute’s campus.

[Q] What do you expect from this application in the future? Are you planning to further develop it?

Yes, I plan to develop it further. I think this app has great potential and I would like it to become a viable, trustworthy transport alternative.

[Q] What is your advice to developers wishing to create apps to help combat climate change/promote sustainability?

y advice is to be as practical as possible – make sure that the solution is actionable, and that it can be of real value to the majority of the population.

To find out more about Mr. Raja and his activities, contact him via ITU by sending an email to climate@itu.int. Meet the rest of the winners and relive the ITU Green Application Challenge by accessing http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/greenict/index.html.

For more information about the ITU’s activities on climate change visit www.itu.int/climate.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD 2012 or Rio+20) is taking place in Brazil on 20-22 June 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), in Johannesburg.

It is envisioned that Rio+20 Conference will result in a focused political document, while the process strives to embrace and bring together the three pillars of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental. The conference will also address implementation, emerging challenges, as well as new opportunities for accelerating the transition towards sustainable development pathways.

ITU has promptly submitted its input for the compilation document to serve as basis for the preparation of a zero draft of the outcome document of the conference. Through its submission, ITU comments on the progress to date, underlines the potential key role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the transition to a greener and fairer development model, and shares its expectations for the outcomes of the Conference and the future sustainable development agenda. 

Drawing lessons from the outcomes of the major conferences on sustainable development, ITU notes the need for concrete and measurable targets to be defined at the Rio+20 Summit. In addition, ITU emphasizes the need  for greater coordination of actions at all levels, and deeper integration of policies, in particular cross-sectoral national strategies.

With regards to the theme of the Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, ITU highlights the transformational potential and positive impact of ICTs in multiple areas such as measuring and monitoring;  regulations and standards; capacity building and technology access; engagement of industry and ICT sector; communication dynamics; and social dimension dynamics. 

ICTs are a unique cost-effective, environmentally friendly and inclusive instrument to spur green growth and create jobs, promote social progress and the MDGs, and ensure environmental protection and a sustainable future. Thus, ITU reiterates that ICTs should be recognized as one of the major cross-cutting drivers of sustainable development. ICTs help reinforce, converge and integrate all three pillars of sustainable development, and they also support and facilitate attainment of its fundamental underlying principles of efficiency, effectiveness and equity.  

Among concrete outcomes expected from the Conference, ITU supports the development of a Roadmap, a conceptual and action-oriented framework setting specific goals and a set of “green economy” tools to achieve them. ITU advocates for inclusion in the text of two such Sustainable Development Goals relating to ICTs: (a) ICTs as key vehicles and basic infrastructure driving the transition to green economy and sustainable development patterns, to reflect their new multifold role and potential as described above; (b) Access to ICTs and to broadband, as a goal itself with direct impact on other basic services and sectors.  

ITU believes the time is right to make the best use of all the opportunities at our hands to move together the sustainable development agenda forward, with and through ICTs. You may access the full text of ITU’s input to the compilation document for the Rio+20 Conference here.

For more information on the work of ITU in relation to the themes of the Conference please click here.

For more information on the Rio+20 Conference, please click here

The first ITU Green ICT Application Challenge, supported by RIM and Telefonica, sought to uncover innovative concept papers for climate change related ICT applications. ITU announced the Challenge’s winner and papers deserving special mention at the Green Standards Week held in Rome, 5-9 September 2011.

One of the challenge’s finalists, Ms. Maria Dolores Rodriguez De Azero from Spain, developed a concept for an application entitled, “Effi-e Play Green.” This application aims to reduce GHG emissions in the tourist industry by monitoring energy and water consumption in hotels. Through the app, “Effi-e Play Green” promotes sustainable behavior throughout hotels, offering rewards to sustainable customers through eco-points. We approached Maria Dolores to discuss the inspiration for her concept and her experience with the challenge. Here is what she had to say.

[Question] Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.

I am CEO of PUEBLOCHICO (www.pueblochico.com), a leisure park in La Orotava, a town in Tenerife. This park, which celebrates its 10th anniversary next July, reproduces in a 1:25 scale the most emblematic buildings on the island. In addition, the park offers walks in a garden setting with a great landscape, all below the mount Teide. A ride in PUEBLOCHICO educates our visitors on the Canary Islands’ history and customs, and also on its current situation from different perspectives.

In addition, I am the chairwoman of the IAMP (International Association of Miniature Parks). Finally, I am also the chairwoman of Turisfera (Tenerife Cluster Association of Tourism Innovation), a workspace composed of tourism businesses, public institutions, associations, and knowledge centers from all parts of the island. The aim of this cluster is to encourage and support innovative projects undertaken on the island. Alongside all this activity, I am a mother of four children, and so I am very busy!

[Q] How did you find about the Challenge, and why did you decide to take part?

Sustainability is one of Turisfera´s strategic lines of action. The Canary Islands will most likely be affected by climate change, so we are truly committed to working on solutions dealing with the causes and effects of environmental change. We are looking at developing the island’s tourism industry, while keeping a strong commitment to sustainable development and a respect for the environment.

Our first project to this effect was Effi-e Play Green, and it has become Turisfera’s flagship sustainability initiative. The Turisfera Management Team has worked incredibly hard in developing this project, to ensure it receives the credit it deserves. In this regard, I know that ITU is an organization actively promoting innovations and initiatives like this one. It was actually a member of the Board of Turisfera, someone deeply involved in sustainability issues, who told me about the ITU contest. We are really lucky to have a highly motivated team, with people that work very well together. As soon as we heard of the competition, we decided to take part. We strongly believe in the potential of Effi-e, and we saw this contest as an ideal platform to promote it.

[Q] Have you developed an app before or was this experience new to you?

Turisfera was launched last year and, as I have mentioned, Effi-e is the first project we have developed. We could not have started out better: not only is this project very exciting, but it has also been very well received by the sector as hotels’ efforts to improve their environmental management are made very visible to their guests. Indeed, Effi-e has turned out to be a more powerful communication tool than any environmental statement or sustainability report. In the development of Effi-e, Turisfera opted for collaboration with other companies and clusters; clusters such as RICAM (Cluster of Renewable Energy, Environment and Water Resources of the Canary Islands), Dobon Technologies, Proyectran, and Brandia - entities enriching the project with their experience. Although beginnings are always difficult, and even more so for such a young cluster, our experience has been both successful and very rewarding.

[Q] Was the application that you presented something you’ve been working on for a long time or did you develop the app for this challenge?

Turisfera conceived the Effi-e project a year ago. Since then, we have worked hard to turn the concept into a reality. The prototype is currently being tested at Hotel Tigaiga in Tenerife, a hotel known worldwide for its environmental awareness. The special mention from ITU has been a finishing touch to our work, and we are very proud of this achievement.

[Q] How did the development of the app take place?

The project was reflected in our Strategic Plan. With the support of Tenerife’s local government, we obtained a grant to launch the project’s pilot phase through the TF Innova program.

Effi-e’s main value is to demonstrate a hotel’s commitment to the environment by involving its guests. Guests are personally involved in caring for the environment in a friendly, positive, fun way that consequently improves their experience of the island. This technological tool provides real-time information about guests’ energy and water consumption, as well as possible actions they can take to reduce their environmental impact. The guest is then actively involved in the process of optimizing the use of natural resources. It is a fun, competitive process and their degrees of environmental awareness are rewarded with bonuses (like discounts in leisure centers, donations to carbon offset programs or to environmental awareness projects, etc.).

Moreover, Effi-e’s real-time energy and water consumption information is also received by a hotel’s management. This picture of a hotel’s load on the environment helps its management not only with environmental concerns, but also with cost-benefit analyses of new processes or procedures.

As I have mentioned, we sought the cooperation of other clusters and entities from the very beginning of the project. Right after Hotel Tigaiga showed its interest in participating, RICAM cluster performed an environmental audit that included monitoring the hotel’s energy and water consumption. At the same time, Proyectran worked out the development of the technological applications, and Brandia took charge of graphic design and communication strategies for the project.

[Q] What was your biggest challenge when designing the application?

I must say that, besides the usual difficulties in a project´s development, our biggest challenge has been the sheer scale of the initiative. Effi-e is a project with great potential to heighten Tenerife’s reputation as a sustainable destination, truly committed to caring for the environment. It has been very hard to adapt the prototype to our limited budget, as our team is continually producing good ideas which make the project even bigger and more valuable.

[Q] What was your motivation behind developing an app to combat climate change/promote sustainability?

The environment and environmental management have become resources of great importance in attracting tourists. It is a highly-weighted factor in the decisions of tourists considering Spanish destinations. However, compared to our direct competitors, we are not in the best position when it comes to environmental sustainability. This challenge is however not without complexity. Policies to combat climate change and new international energy scenarios may have important indirect impacts on the tourism sector. Energy is the basis of multiple tourism processes and products, especially in tourist mobility and HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning).

In this sense, the competitiveness and attractiveness of tourist destinations seem increasingly vulnerable to the greenhouse gas mitigation policies and rising energy prices. Therefore, stakeholders must anticipate the impacts on the tourism sector likely to be made by such GHG reduction policies.

In any case, we must share the responsibility. It is crucial that the tourism industry - transportation and accommodation industry, tour operators, travel agencies, and tourist guides - encourages the use of technologies and logistics procedures that minimize the industry’s impact on the environment. We thus encourage the use of renewable energy and sustainable mobility projects by providing technical assistance and tax incentives, and also develop communication campaigns to increase the environmental awareness of both local people and tourists.

[Q] Where did your inspiration for this application come from?

We realized that eco-efficiency improvements performed by hotels are usually seen simply as part of business management, and are not adequately communicated to the customer. We wanted to develop Effi-e as a tool that could communicate the real value of these hotels’ commitment to the environment.

[Q] What other activities are you involved in to help fight climate change and promote environmental sustainability?

My “green” commitment is reflected primarily in my private life. There are many examples of energy saving efforts, responsible consumption, reusing or recycling in my family environment. For me, an attitude of environmental awareness is of utmost importance to my family. Also, I participate in an investment company on a photovoltaic power plant of 14 MGW. In my opinion, this is one of the most promising future energy sources as it is clean, sustainable, and very successful in a place like Tenerife, where sunshine is guaranteed.

[Q] What do you expect from this application in the future? Are you planning to further develop it?

Yes, indeed. We have identified the possible weaknesses of the Effi-e prototype, and this has allowed us to better define our goal. At the moment, we are launching a second phase of development that includes all the improvements made to the prototype. Effi-e aims to become a brand signifying eco-efficiency and responsible energy use, in many tourism-intensive regions. We hope to promote Effi-e with hotels yielding net zero carbon footprints, by working with a network of companies and their eco-conscious clients, proud to collaborate in the name of environmental preservation.

[Q] What is your advice to developers wishing to create apps to help combat climate change/promote sustainability?

I would suggest they opt for a cooperative work approach in the development of their apps, and that they never lose courage in pursuing their goals. Our future cannot be separated from the battle against climate change. It is essential that all contribute towards a greener society.

[Q] Any last thoughts?

I just want to give my most sincere congratulations to ITU for the organization of this contest. I wish there were more initiatives like this one!

To find out more about Ms. Rodriguez De Azero and her activities in Turisfera, contact her via ITU by sending an email to climate@itu.int. Meet the rest of the winners and relive the ITU Green Application Challenge by accessing http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/greenict/index.html.

For more information about the ITU’s activities on climate change visit www.itu.int/climate.

The first ITU Green ICT Application Challenge, supported by Blackberry and Telefonica, sought to uncover innovative concept papers for climate change related ICT applications. ITU announced the Challenge’s winner and papers deserving special mention at the Green Standards Week held in Rome, 5-9 September 2011.

One of the challenge’s finalist entries comes from Stephan Reiter and Simone Ferlin, both from Germany, who developed a concept for an application entitled “Make Me Green – Delivering Context-Specific Suggestions for a Green Lifestyle.” The goal of the application is to raise awareness of the impacts made by different lifestyles on the environment and climate change. Through the implementation of a tracking system, the application provides questions and suggestions about the lifestyle of the user, generating a greenness rating that can be used to establish a comparison with other users.

We approached Stephan and Simone to discuss the inspiration for their concept and their experiences with the challenge. Here is what they had to say.

[Question] Tell us a little about yourselves and what you do.

Simone: I am originally from Brazil, but came to Germany in 2004 to study information technology in Erlangen. I was always very enthusiastic about communications and took part in a few competitions during university. Before coming to Germany, I had thought my German was good enough. I realized quite quickly however that my greatest challenges were not with engineering, but with language, as dealing with the different regional dialects proved problematic.

Stephan, with whom I share an office at LMU, where we are both working on our Ph.D., talks even more peculiarly as he’s from Austria. Besides jokes about vocabulary and grammar, we enjoy working and spending time together.   Stephan: Simone has already spilled the beans: I am from Austria. I studied computer science in Linz, then came to Munich in 2009 to work as a graphic software engineer. I however quickly decided to go back to university, to have more time for my personal interests, and to experience the academic environment from a researcher’s perspective. I also wanted to change my focus from graphics to communication networks. Simone and I are working on our Ph.D. at LMU, and also find time to participate in challenges like this one. Simone is a veteran when it comes to competitions, and she was kind enough to let me join her in this one.  

[Q] How did you find out about the ITU Green ICT Application Challenge?  

Simone, Stephan: We often receive information through our research group about the activities of other research communities. We both received an invitation to participate in the ITU Green ICT Application Challenge, and immediately saw that the topic was well suited to an idea we had discussed before.

[Q] Why did you decide to take part in the challenge?

Stephan: We had discussed this idea of an environmental awareness application before we actually knew about this challenge. So, when Simone saw the challenge announced and told me about it, we just knew that we had to present our idea. Not only because it gave us an opportunity to present our idea and make a lasting contribution to the environment, but also because competitions are always fun and challenges like these appeal to our not-so-serious-researcher hearts.  

Simone: At our university, I have volunteered in many projects related to the environment and environmental awareness. Through these projects, it became clear to me that people do not have enough information on environmental awareness, and typically don’t know where to find such information. Stephan and I figured out an idea to solve this problem. And yes, I have always been motivated to participate in competitions: It is always very interesting, and gives one the freedom to explore new ideas.

[Q] Have you developed an app before, or was this experience new to you?

Simone: Not professionally, but we had something similar to this during my time at university.  

Stephan: I  developed a few applications for smartphones during my time at university, but never professionally and usually just for coursework.

[Q] Was the application that you presented something you’ve been working on for a long time or did you develop the app for this challenge?

Simone: I had an idea that we had taken through many drafts in our discussions. It was however only when we heard about the ITU Application Challenge that we decided to present it.

[Q] How did the development of the concept for the app take place? What was your biggest challenge when designing the application?

Simone: We did it partly during our working hours. Then, as soon as we had committed to submitting the paper, we went to the basement and used the white board to synchronize our ideas. With regards to the design, we wanted to “keep it simple, stupid!” (KISS approach). We knew it was something to be implemented in the near future, and we thus had to make a few compromises to ensure we met the deadline. We also found it challenging to accommodate environmental literature and state of the art technology in the type of application required by the Challenge.

Stephan: From my point of view, the biggest challenge was to narrow our many ideas down to an acceptable and, very importantly, realistic set of features for such an application. The first draft of our application was massive and had a host of cool ideas we planned to include. We then realized how difficult this would have been to implement, and so paused to determine exactly which of these ideas we needed to focus on. The result was an app that could be easily implemented, while still remaining a high-quality, useful tool in combating climate change.

[Q] What was your motivation behind developing an app to combat climate change/promote sustainability?

Simone: I had a few ideas about how IT could relate to the environment and, since mobile technologies are becoming increasingly widespread, a mobile application seemed a good testing ground for these ideas.  

Stephan: Our approach was also a very pragmatic one: On our way home from work each day, we see people playing with their mobile phones. It's no secret that people take their mobiles wherever they go, and that they use them for entertainment as much they do for communication. The idea that mobiles could educate their users on environmental issues was very appealing to us.

[Q] Where did your inspiration for this application come from?  

Simone: I was confronted with these issues while volunteering on environmental projects, where we found that information on environmental awareness rarely reached the people needing it most. We were having to repeat much of our work, as people did not know how and where to find information on environmentally-friendly behavior.

[Q] What other activities are you involved in to help fight climate change and promote environmental sustainability?

Simone: At the moment,  I am very busy with university-related work, and have almost no time to volunteer.  I simply try to consciously accommodate the environment in my everyday life, taking the environmentally-friendly option whenever it is available (e.g. riding a bicycle to work, or properly recycling garbage).  

Stephan: I was raised as a “good citizen” who separates garbage for recycling purposes, uses public transportation and consciously considers the environment when making choices in the supermarket. However, unlike Simone, who has been active in the Bund Naturschutz in Germany, I have never been a member of an environmental organization.

[Q] What do you expect from this application in the future? Are you planning to develop it further?

Simone: From our point of view, it is a very promising concept. We are however very involved in work related to our PhDs, and I think our concept might have to wait in the drawer for some time!  

Stephan: The idea is now visible and, as we do not have the time, we sincerely hope someone else will develop it further. It would be very cool to discover a commercially successful application based on our idea.  I would definitely use it, and Simone and  I would probably have several ideas to improve it.

[Q] What is your advice to developers wishing to create apps to help combat climate change/promote sustainability?

Simone: Just do it! But before you set out, ensure that your concept is realistic, and that you know exactly what your targets are.  

Stephan: Apps can be anything from small programs to full-blown services. Even if you don't have a lot of time to invest, you can still create popular apps that provide real value to the people who use them.

[Q] Any last thoughts?  

Simone and Stephan: Where is the cake ?!  

To find out more about Ms. Ferlin and Mr. Reiter and their activities, contact them via ITU by sending an email to climate@itu.int. Meet the rest of the winners and relive the ITU Green Application Challenge by accessing http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/greenict/index.html.

For more information about the ITU’s activities on climate change visit www.itu.int/climate.

The first ITU Green ICT Application Challenge sought to uncover innovative concept papers for climate change related ICT applications. ITU announced the Challenge’s winner and papers deserving special mention at the Green Standards Week held in Rome, 5-9 September 2011. The event was supported by BlackBerrry and Telefonica.

One of the challenge’s finalists, Ms. Euphraith Muthoni Masinde from Kenya, developed a concept for an application entitled, “A Community-Based System for Biodiversity Degradation.” This application aims to tackle climate change through community engagement and knowledge sharing. The app proposes a system harnessing traditional and indigenous knowledge on biodiversity and conservation. This information will be brought to light through community-based focus groups, and then disseminated to users through a database feeding data directly to mobile phones. Users would then build on this knowledge to create their own conservation practices.

We approached Euphraith to discuss the inspiration for her concept and her experience with the challenge. Here is what she had to say.

[Question] Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.

I am a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. I am a member of the HPI Research School in ICT for development (ICT4D), as well as a member of the Intelligent Systems and Advanced Telecommunication Laboratory. I am currently on study-leave from the School of Computing and Informatics at the University of Nairobi, where I am a lecturer.

I hold an MSc. in Computer Science from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, and a BSc. in Computer Science from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. My research objective is to come up with a drought and climate change monitoring/warning solution based on wireless sensor networks and mobile phones. This research also seeks to determine how these two technologies can complement indigenous African knowledge on droughts.

[Q] How did you find about the Challenge, and why did you decide to take part?

I am registered with the ITU’s Academic database,and it was through this network that I became aware of the Challenge and received an invitation to take part.. I decided to take part in the competition because my current area of research revolves around a number of topics on ITU’s list of activities. For instance, I am piggybacking the design of my wireless sensor networks on the ITU’s schematic layers of a ubiquitous sensor network proposal. In short, I am just fascinated by the activities of ITU, and this made me quickly submit my application to the Challenge.

[Q] Have you developed an app before or was this experience new to you?

Yes, I have developed a number of applications over the last 15 years. My first job assignment at the University of Nairobi was as a computer software analyst/developer. To give an example of my work in this role, I designed and developed the students’ management information system that is currently in use at the university. As a lecturer, I specialize in teaching courses with a software development emphasis, and I develop software as a hobby.

[Q] Was the application that you presented something you’ve been working on for a long time, or did you develop the app for this challenge? How did the development of the app take place?

My application is something I have been working on for the last 18 months, and I intend to complete it by the end of 2012. The development of my app is still under way.I have completed the template for collecting the indigenous knowledge on biodiversity degradation, and this takes the form of an Android-based mobile application. The website to disseminate this information is also complete, and it is a PHP-Apache-MySQL application.

[Q] What is the biggest challenge you are expecting upon completion of the application?

My biggest challenge lies in collecting this elusive indigenous knowledge on biodiversity degradation. It is an enormous volume of information and the task of collecting it is one requiring more resources than I currently have at my disposal.

[Q] What was your motivation behind developing an app to combat climate change/promote sustainability?

I viewed the competion as an avenue through which to publish what I consider a very innovative idea of compacting climate change information. I also entered hoping to win the prize and use the prize-money to fund the completion of my application.

[Q] Where did your inspiration for this application come from?

It came from my personal encounters with the devastating effects of climate change on biodiversity. I was born and brought up in a semi-arid area of the Eastern region of Kenya. In this remote village called Rugogwe, the formerly semi-arid area is now on the verge of becoming arid.

I grew up and lived in this village for over 20 years, and I have witnessed phenomenal degradation of its biodiversity. Crops such as sweet potatoes and bananas, which thrived in the late 1970’s and early 80’s, have no chance of flourishing in the now hostile climate. Seasonal rivers and streams that retained water throughout the year now struggle to retain water for a day. The size of maize crops and finger millet bunches produced by the area’s farms have shrunk drastically, and many musical birds that sang joyful songs during rainy seasons are now extinct. The bulls, cows, goats, sheep and chicken are no longer as big as we knew them in years past, rains do not fall when we expect them to and, when they do, they cause floods and carry away the little soil and sand left from sand harvesting!

Biodiversity here has been turned upside-down. I am determined to use my doctoral level education to contribute a solution for this degradation.

[Q] What other activities are you involved in to help fight climate change and promote environmental sustainability?

I have developed a novel solution for down-scaling the collection and dissemination of weather information to a local level. My solution makes use of the prevalence of mobile phones and versatile wireless sensor networks.

[Q] What do you expect from this application in the future? Are you planning to further develop it? What is your advice to developers wishing to create apps to help combat climate change/promote sustainability?

I am determined to see the full realization of my application. I will first pilot it in three selected areas in Kenya, and then hopefully scale it up to the rest of Kenya and the Horn of Africa in general. To my fellow developers, I would encourage people to create community-driven applications. It is difficult to go wrong with such initiatives, because one ends up with a solution ‘for people-by-the-people’.

[Q] Any last thoughts?

I am completely thrilled that the prominent judges deemed my application worthy of a special mention. This has really boosted my morale and encouraged me to move even faster in implementing my application. Thank you very much to the ITU team that came up with this noble idea.


To find out more about Ms. Muthoni and her activities, visit her website at http://www.muthonimasinde.net/, or contact her via ITU by sending an email to climate@itu.int. Meet the rest of the winners and relive the ITU Green Application Challenge by accessing http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/greenict/index.html.

For more information about the ITU’s activities on climate change visit www.itu.int/climate

Telecompaper is reporting that Germany may have dropped its universal service plan, which sought to add a universal broadband service to the German telecom law change has been dropped. The plan had received a lot of criticism from network operators. German federal broadband operators association Breko welcomes the decision to drop the universal broadband service proposal and claims that a lot of regional network operators, who would not have survived the introduction of such service, will justify the trust they received.

Read the hfull article at http://www.telecompaper.com/news/german-universal-broadband-service-plan-is-dropped

African governments should utilise unused digital frequencies to propel the growth of mobile internet across the continent. This was among the various keynote observations made at a High Level Ministerial Forum on information technology held in Nairobi on Monday that was convened by the Kenyan Government in partnership with the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

The gathering that was a preamble of the three-day Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that will run from Tuesday to Friday at United Nations Office in Nairobi heard that the continent had the potential to be a global leader in economic empowerment via mobile internet. “Africa should take advantage of the availability of digital frequencies to make mobile internet accessible to rural areas even before broadcasters making the digital migration,” Joseph Alhadeff, the vice-president of Global Public Policy said.

Read the full article at http://www.kictanet.or.ke/?p=3320

In its latest September edition, the ITU News magazine of the ITU examines the need for national broadband plans, their aims and relationship with national targets and goals.

A national broadband plan is as much a social contract as a plan of action to develop the industry base. It can be understood as bringing about a stronger foundation for effective governance, private investment and more active citizenship, leading to a desirable social and economic future.

The article draws on a discussion paper entitled “Setting national broadband policies, strategies and plans: A practical step-by-step approach”, written by Dr Bob Horton, consultant for the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU–D), and prepared for the 11th ITU Global Symposium for Regulators 2011, to be held in Armenia City, Colombia, on 21–23 September 2011.

For more information, please read here.

A new study by Wireless Intelligence looks into the price elasticity of mobile pricing around the world, and has modelled price sensitivity across global mobile markets. The study found that, between 2001-2009, each US cent decrease in EPPM resulted in an average increase of 5.6 minutes calling time per month for every mobile user in the world. Total global voice minutes reached 1.6 trillion in 2010.

"While the last ten years have seen the number of global mobile connections grow fivefold, the actual usage of mobile devices has grown at a much faster rate," said Wireless Intelligence analyst and report author Calum Dewar. "The most significant factor in this relationship is the simultaneous decrease in call prices." The report highlights a number of other factors behind rising levels of mobile usage, including increasing competition between operators, new pricing strategies, and fixed-to-mobile migration.

The decline in prices was found to be more of a factor in rising mobile usage in the developing world, where MoU has more than doubled since 2001 to 295 minutes per user per month in Q4 2010 – now almost at the same level as the developed world (298 minutes).

For more detail, see here.

The 4th meeting of the Dynamic Coalition on Internet and Climate Change (DCICC) will be held on the 30 of September in Nairobi, Kenya during the 6th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The DCICC meeting will be opened by Chairman H.E. Hasanual Haq Inu, MP of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of Post and Telecommunication.

The meeting will be held in conjunction with a workshop on Green ICTs and Innovation, moderated by Ms. Nevine Tewfik, Deputy Director of International Relations, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Egypt. The meeting will be the latest of a series of events to promote knowledge sharing on environmental impacts associated with the Internet.

The meeting will bring together key specialists in the field, from government officials to private sector specialists, such as Microsoft, to public sector specialists, such as the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and European Broadcasting Union (EBU), to international organization experts, such as UNEP, among others.

For more information, including the full program of the meeting refer to http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/dc/index.html

Find out more:

• ITU’s activities in climate change (www.itu.int/climate)
• Email climate@itu.int to request further information about future ITU events