On the occasion of the Safer Internet Day (SID) 2012, the ITU Secretary-General, Dr. Hamadoun Touré in a video message, emphasized how in the Internet era – where life without the Internet is not only unimaginable for us, but for our children too, the international community must do everything in our power to ensure child online protection.

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.

Video

ITU has launched a new web portal focused on helping girls and women access training, job opportunities and career information in the fast-growing information and communication (ICT) sector.

The portal is designed to help girls and young women aged 11-25 prepare for and pursue a technology career, providing links to scholarships, training and internships, ICT contests and awards, tech camps, online girls’ networks and other programmes that will give them a boost in entering what has become a largely male-dominated sector.

It’s a little-known fact that women were the original programmers of ENIAC, the US government’s first ever computer. But while teenage girls now use computers and the Internet at rates similar to boys, they are five times less likely to consider a technology-related career.

It wasn’t always so. In the US in the 1980s, for example, young women were earning 37% of computer science degrees; today, that number has fallen to below 20%.

The lack of trained female professionals means that in OECD countries, women now account for under 20% of ICT specialists. It also means that most developed countries are forecasting an alarming shortfall in the number of skilled staff to fill upcoming ICT jobs. The European Union calculates that in 10 years’ time there will be 700,000 more ICT jobs than there are professionals to fill them; globally, that shortfall is estimated to be closer to two million. Learn more...

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 report promotes a UN system-wide understanding of the Green Economy approach to achieve sustainable development and offers a range of instruments that governments can use to impact investment choices and consumer behavior.  These include mobilizing financial resources, full cost pricing, regulatory instruments, sustainable trade and green markets, innovation and technology, and indicators for measuring progress towards transition.    

The report calls specifically for public spending to target green infrastructure and research and development that can spur green technologies and innovation, as well as better health care and education. In addition, governments need to align their laws, regulations, green standards, taxes, labeling and reporting requirements to reinforce the incentives for the private sector to direct their finance and investments towards green, responsible business and a Green Economy.  

The report notes numerous UN-backed initiatives, including ITU’s activities to promote green ICT standards, the use of radio-communications for earth observation, or specific initiatives to develop innovative applications that promote the transition to a green economy, such as the ITU Green ICT Application Challenge. These contributions will be instrumental in the preparation of the Rio+20 conference.  

Click here to access the full version of the report free of charge. Find more about ITU’s activities on climate change and environment protection at www.itu.int/climate  

Background information

Rio Earth Summit: In 1992 the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, popularly known as the Rio Earth Summit, was convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to address the state of the environment and sustainable development. In June 2012, there will be the follow up meeting or Rio+20 in Brazil, where one of the main themes governments are expected to address is Green Economy “in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication”.  

The Environment Management Group (EMG) is a UN coordination body consisted of the specialized agencies, programmes and organs of the United Nations including the secretariats of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements. It furthers inter-agency cooperation in support of the implementation of the international environmental and human settlement agenda. www.unemg.org. ITU is an active member of the EMG.

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.
  

Whilst governments have pledged to make progress in these areas, it is acknowledged with urgent concern that the current sum of pledges to cut emissions both from developed and developing countries is not high enough to keep the global average temperature rise below two degrees Celsius.

Alongside the negotiations that took place in the main arena, the ITU delegation at the conference promoted the potential of ICTs as a solution to move the negotiations forward and address the challenges of climate change.

Key activities held by ITU included the co-organization of the ICT Day at COP17 (held in collaboration with the members of the coalition on ICT and climate change), the organization of an exhibit during the conference and the launch of a special edition of ITU News .

Through these activities ITU has continued to contribute to the effort undertaken by the global community to address climate change. The next milestone in the negotiations will be the 2012 UN Climate Change Conference (COP18/CMP18), to take place in Qatar in December 2012.

Find more about ITU´s activities con climate change on www.itu.int/climate.

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.

On the first day of the International Telecommunication Union’s World Telecommunications/ICT Indicators Meeting in Port Louis, Mauritius, it was announced that the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development is expanding with a new member: the UNEP Secretariat of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposals.

 

“The inclusion of the Basel Convention Secretariat is particularly valuable at a time when growing attention is being paid to the measurement of the environmental implications for ICT, such as the growth of electronic waste “ said the current chair of the Partnership Steering Committee, Mr Torbjorn Fredriksson, Chief of the ICT Analysis Section of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

 

“The Secretariat of the Basel Convention will bring to the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development its expertise and experience with e-waste issues on global level, its network of national and international institutions, academics, industry and civil society” commented Mr Matthias Kern, who will be representing the Basel Convention Secretariat in the Partnership.

 

“Measuring e-waste is one of the emerging topics we are exploring at this year’s World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Meeting. I am extremely pleased to announce the new membership of the UNEP Secretariat of the Basel Convention at this occasion” said Ms Susan Teltscher, Head of ITU’s ICT Data and Statistics Division.

 

For more information, please contact Susan Teltscher (email: indicators@itu.int).

 

The Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development is an international, multi-stakeholder initiative to improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators, particularly in developing countries. Launched in 2004, the Partnership helps measure the information society by defining a core list of ICT indicators and methodologies to collect these indicators; helping developing countries collect ICT statistics; and collecting and disseminating information society statistics.

Existing members include Eurostat, ITU, OECD, UNCTAD, UNDESA, UNECA, UNECLAC, UNESCAP, UNESCO Institute for Statistics and UNESCWA.

 

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention is administered by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and is mandated to support parties in the implementation of the Convention. Electrical and electronic waste (e-waste), in particular used and end-of-life equipment from the ICT sector has been identified as a priority waste stream. See www.basel.int.

 

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Meeting is held annually, bringing together representatives from ICT Ministries, regulatory authorities and national statistical offices to discuss pertinent issues related to information society measurements and to advance the availability of internationally comparable ICT statistics.

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré will be among the prominent global leaders taking part in a special United Nations Economic and Social Council public debate on Cybersecurity and Development.

Modern information and communications technologies (ICTs) now underpin just about all human activity, from transportation, water and power networks, to industrial processes and supply chains, emergency services, healthcare, education, food distribution chains, and financial services.

But while technology brings many benefits, this dependence has given rise to the need to protect against potential threats posed to the everyday lives of people and States alike.

Cybersecurity and cybercrime are multidimensional issues involving different disciplines, skills and technologies. Strengthening security in the information society is a shared responsibility in which all stakeholders (governments, private sector, international organizations, civil society) have vital roles to play.

What:	ECOSOC Debate on Cybersecurity and Development
When:	10:00am - 1:00pm, 9 December, 2011
Where:	ECOSOC Chamber, UN Headquarters, New York
Why:	To look at the challenges posed by ubiquitous connectivity and potential responses to mounting cyberthreats
Who:	Chair: H.E. Mr. Lazarous Kapambwe, President of ECOSOC and Permanent Representative of Zambia to the United Nations Moderator: Gary Fowlie, Head, ITU Liaison Office in New York Panellists: Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union Fortunato de la Peña, Vice-Minister for Science and Technology, Philippines, and  Chair, Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) -  via video-link Cheri McGuire, Vice President, Global Government Affairs & Cybersecurity Policy, Symantec Mohd Noor Amin, Chairman, Management Board IMPACT Malaysia Deborah Taylor Tate, ITU Special Envoy and Laureate for Child Online Protection, United States Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission (Ret.)

For more information about the event see: www.un.org/en/ecosoc/cybersecurity/index.shtml.

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
  

Find additional information about the event, including how to join remotely at www.itu.int/climate. Move the climate change agenda forward with us.

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

Job opportunities in the ICT sector continue to grow, and many countries and regions are predicting a shortage of qualified staff with math, science, engineering and computing skills to meet the growing demand. At the same time, many companies are looking to increase the numbers of women in the sector. This means that highly qualified women in technical fields have significant opportunities available to them.  Unfortunately teenage girls and young women often never even consider a career in ICTs.  There is a lack of awareness among students, teachers and parents on the opportunities presented by a career in ICT.

Attitudes can change when girls are invited into companies and government agencies to meet ICT professionals and see what life is like on the job.  For this reason, ITU members agreed to recognize Girls in ICT Days on the 4th Thursday of every April in ITU Plenipotentiary Resolution 70 (Guadalajara, 2010).  ITU is also helping girls find the information they need by developing a Girls in ICT Portal with links to scholarships, training, internships, contests and awards, tech camps, online networks and, of course, Girls in ICT Day activities.  The Girls in ICT Portal will be unveiled in this Session.

Not only is encouraging girls to enter the ICT sector good for women’s professional development and job prospects, it’s good for business.  A broad range of organizations and companies have concluded that increasing women at the top positively impacts financial performance, while those that ignore diversity issues risk ongoing labor shortages.

Supporting the education of women and girls in the ICT sector is also in line with United Nations Millennium Development Goal 3 to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.  Not only are jobs in the ICT sector lifting women out of poverty, a more gender-balanced sector offers fulfilling mid and high-level careers, and enables highly talented women to springboard to the top of the career ladder. This is good for everyone.  As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said, “Equality for women and girls is not only a basic human right it is a social and economic imperative. Where women are educated and empowered, economies are more productive and strong.  Where women are fully represented, societies are more peaceful and stable."

Learn more about efforts to encourage young women to enter the ICT sector during the Girls in ICT Session on Thursday, 27 October from 14h00-15h30 in Lab Space #3.

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

The 6^th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was held in Nairobi, Kenya on 27- 30 September, 2011.

 

During the IGF, ITU was leading the discussion about protecting children online by co-organizing with other UN agencies and COP partners two workshops, Dynamic Coalition (meeting) on Child Online Safety, and several bilateral meetings. In particular, the following workshops were organized by ITU together with UNODC, UNICEF, and ECPAT International.

 

1.   COP Thematic Workshop on  “Framework for International Cooperation on Child Online Protection"

      The workshop aimed to address the issues of the international cooperation on child online protection and collect the better options to ensure a collaborative approach to maximize and synergize efforts to create safer Internet environment for children (Co-organized by ITU, UNODC, and UNICEF).

 

2.   COP Thematic Workshop on  “Young People and Their Safeguards in an Increasingly Connected World ”

      The workshop aims to collect recommendations for the duty bearers coming directly from these young people in order to reach policy makers for developing appropriate protecting mechanisms while providing the channels to them for self expression, creativity and positive use of the Internet and guiding them towards becoming better digital citizens of the future. (Co-organized by ITU,  UNICEF and ECPAT International)

 

Find more information about the 6th IGF

 

 

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré has been named the most influential person in the global telecoms industry by high-profile UK publication Global Telecom Business Power 100.

 

This year’s publication, which ranks the 100 most important people shaping the future of the ICT industry worldwide, recognizes Dr Touré for his leadership in championing the cause of global broadband connectivity, and for promoting the right to communicate as a fundamental human right. “The prime mover in establishing the Broadband Commission for Digital Development . . . he is a leader with a passionate commitment to development and the power of ICTs to catalyze social and economic change,” the entry says.

AT&T’s Randall Stephenson, Verizon’s Lowell McAdam, Telefónica’s César Alierta and Google’s Larry Page occupy the next four top slots.

“It’s always hard — and controversial — to put readers’ suggestions in some sort of order, and to omit those from number 101 onwards,” said GTB editor Alan Burkitt-Gray. “But we hope that readers will agree that Touré’s work in setting up and steering the Broadband Commission means he more than deserves his selection as the most powerful of the Power 100 for 2011.”

The feature article accompanying the list of rankings is highly positive about Dr Touré’s achievements at the helm of ITU. “In the past year Touré . . . has done much to elevate the international status of our hugely important industry and put it on the world’s political platform, “ it says. “Touré has been the visionary driving force behind the Broadband Commission, a team made up of a dazzling set of the industry’s leaders — no one else on the planet could have rounded up John Chambers of Cisco, Carlos Slim Helú of Telmex, Paul Jacobs of Qualcomm, Wang Jianzhou of China Mobile, Hans Vestberg of Ericsson and a team of others to work together to develop a broadband development policy for the world.”

 

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

Excellencies,
Distinguished colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

 

Thank you for joining us for today’s High Level Ministerial Forum, which is jointly hosted by the Government of Kenya and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

It is a great honour for us to have the Government of Kenya taking a leadership role in this important meeting – and it is very pleasing to have with us today:

• Samuel Poghisio, Kenya’s Minister of Information and Communications;
• Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communications;
• Thomas Steltzer, UNDESA’s Assistant Secretary-General; and
• Janis Karklins, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General.

Let me also take a moment here to congratulate the Chair of the Kenya Internet Governance steering committee, Alice Munyua, for her efforts in organizing this high-level Forum.

This Ministerial Forum provides a platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by information and communications technologies – ICTs – in developing countries.

 

Read the full speech at http://www.itu.int/en/osg/speeches/Pages/2011-09-26.aspx

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 meeting will bring together key specialists in the field, from government officials to private sector specialists.  

The 4th meeting of DCICC will have an open format to allow participants to share their latest activities on the area of Internet and climate change. The meeting will be opened by H.E. Hasanul Haq Inu, MP and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of  Post and Telecommunication of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, and moderated by Mr Ali Drissa Badiel, Senior Adviser of the ITU Regional Office for Africa.   For the first time, the meeting of the coalition will be followed by a technical workshop focused on “Green ICTs and Innovation”.

Speakers to take part in the event will include representatives from ITU, the OECD, Microsoft, the International Development Research Centre and UNEP, among others. The workshop will be moderated by Ms Nevine Tewfik, Deputy Director of International Relations, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Egypt.  

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

More information about ITU's activities in climate change at www.itu.int/climate

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.

People in remote and underserved communities worldwide will have the chance to experience and participate in debates at ITU’s flagship ITU Telecom World 2011 event (24-27 October), thanks to a collaboration with Telecentre.org Foundation, an independent Philippines-based NGO which supports the global telecentre movement.

 

The collaboration will leverage the organization’s global network of over 100,000 telecentres to carry live webcasts and Twitter streams from ITU Telecom World 2011 debates as they happen in Geneva. The event technology platform will also support remote intervention, allowing those watching the events in telecentres around the world to send in their questions and become part of the events.

 

The collaboration with ITU Telecom will help to truly ‘Connect the World’ by bringing traditionally marginalized communities into the global debate. It will also provide a platform for Telecentre.org to showcase the success of its many activities around the world and make new business contacts in industry and government that could lead to exciting new development projects.

 

ITU and Telecentre.org recently announced a digital literacy partnership that will train one million unskilled women to use modern information and communication technology (ICT) applications to improve their livelihoods, leveraging the combined reach of Telecentre.org Foundation’s global network of 100,000 telecentres worldwide and ITU’s 192 Member States and 700 Sector Members.

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Telecentre.org Foundation's Acting Executive Director Tess Camba is excited to be part of one of the world’s premier ICT events: “ITU Telecom World 2011 is a wonderful opportunity for our members in rural and remote areas to be heard by people in the industry who are also in the position to make a difference.

 

“Through this event, people across the globe will be able to share their ideas and stories as well as collectively contribute to formulating solutions to some of the world’s most pressing concerns. We are extremely pleased to work together again with ITU in an initiative that will benefit our telecentre community.”

 

This year’s new-look ITU Telecom World 2011 will bring together industry CEOs and world leaders, digital experts, technology gurus, and grassroots technology pioneers to tackle core issues shaping the global ICT landscape in the age of broadband. In a departure from previous events, World 2011 will dispense with the traditional exhibition show floor and instead focus on facilitating knowledge sharing, networking, deal making and consensus building. 

Click here for further information on the event.

 

ITU has partnered with Brazilian regulator Anatel to help the agency create a new Cost Model that will assist in setting tariffs for fixed telephony and calculating industry standard reference values ​​for mobile and leased line services.

The new Cost Model will provide access to information management costs of the different business areas and product lines of telecommunications service providers, and improve the overall regulation of the sector. The cost model represents a key element in helping Anatel ensure compliance with Brazil's public sector policies.

The Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), Mr Brahima Sanou, was present in Brasilia for the signing of the USD 8.22 million contract with the winning consortium comprising the consultancies Advisia, Analysys Mason and Grant Thornton. Mr Sanou underlined the importance of the work that will be undertaken under the terms of the contract for Anatel, for the Brazilian market and for Brazil's ICT users. "ITU is proud to be part of this important mission, and of the trust that Brazil has placed in our work," he said. ITU managed the bid process for the contract, which will extend over the coming two years.

The signing ceremony was attended by the president of Anatel, Mr Ronaldo Sardenberg, and Mr Luiz Novaes, Partner with Advisia,  along with the new director of ITU's Americas Regional Office, Mr Hector Huerta.

Photo caption: Mr Luiz Novaes (left), Partner with Advisia;  Mr Brahima Sanou (centre), Director of ITU's Bureau of Telecommunication Development; and Ambassador Ronaldo Sardenburg (right), President of Anatel, after signing the contract.

 

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

New York, July 26: The United Nations High-Level Meeting on Youth, hosted at the UN Headquarters in New York on 25 and 26 July 2011, focused on the views of young people as important stakeholders in modern society. ITU’s side event held on the first day of the conference sought to address the issue of “ICTs and Youth: A Catalyst for Peace, Human Rights and Development” and featured panelists Mr Gary Fowlie of ITU's New York Liaison Office, Mr Doug Court of ITU Geneva and Mr Tik Root, a young American student who found himself inadvertently caught up in the events of the recent Arab Spring.

 

A key message coming from the event was that ICTs can and should be used to support article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; which includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, recieve and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

ITU has been looking to engage with young people throughout the year 2011, via the Broadband Commission Working Group on Youth chaired by ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré. This group is soliciting input for a visual vision statement which calls for Internet and, more specifically, broadband services to be made more widely available at affordable prices. The group also hopes to bring the concerns and ideas of young people to the attention of the Broadband Commissioners during the upcoming Broadband Leadership Summit scheduled for 24 and 25 October in Geneva. To find out more or to join the conversation, visit www.facebook.com/broadbandcommission.

On July 2011 ITU became a partner of the One UN Training Service Platform for Climate Change (UN CC:Learn), an initiative driven by a partnership of 29 UN agencies to support Member States, international and regional organizations and other development partners in designing and implementing an effective approach of sustainable learning to address climate change.

The UN CC:Learn platform, launched at the 2009 UN Conference on Climate Change (COP-15), is part of the “One UN Climate Change Action Framework” of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). Through this online platform UN CC:Learn partners contribute to the implementation of Article 6 of the UNFCCC on training and education, fostering knowledge-sharing by delivering and evaluating climate change learning activities and materials at the global, regional and national level. Access to the online database of materials is free of charge and open to any stakeholder. The platform also includes a section of news related with partners of the initiative.

As a first step in this collaboration, ITU background resources on ICTs and climate change have been added to the UN CC:Learn library. Future collaboration will include the development of a One UN Training Package on climate change, as well as new introductory and advanced learning packages on specific climate change issues. Click here to access ITU’s materials at the UN CC:Learn library.

Relevant links:

• UN CC:Learn online platform (http://www.uncclearn.org/)
• ITU’s activities on climate change (www.itu.int/climate)

The Sixth ITU Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change will be opened on 7-8 of July in Accra, Ghana by the Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, Mr Malcolm Johnson, and their excellences Ms Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology of Ghana and Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communications of Ghana.

Key sessions to be held throughout the 2-day event will include the High-Level Segment “From Cancun via Accra to Durban – A Roadmap on ICTs, Climate Change and the Environment”, which will aim to set transparent policy objectives and targets to measure and improve government green ICT strategies. Speakers at this session will include, among others their excellences Mr Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of Information and Communication Technology of Uganda and Mr Nelson Chamisa, Minister of Information and Communication Technology of Zimbabwe, together with Mr. Kyle Whitehill, CEO of Vodafone Ghana and M. Lawrence Atiase, Secretary General of the African Broadcasting Union.

The symposium will cover a broad number of topics related with the key role of ICTs to address climate change and environmental protection. Topics will range from climate change adaptation space and climate change and the impacts of e-waste. Overall more than 30 speakers will take part in the event, covering the points of view of governmental agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, JapanMeteoFrance or NASA, private sector companies, such as Microsoft, RIM, HP or France Telecom, or international organizations, such as the UNFCCC, WMO or the Secretariat of the Basel Convention, among others.

The event will be chaired by Mr. Paarock Vanpercy, Director General of the National Communications Authority (NCA) of Ghana. Click here to access the full program of the symposium. For more information on ITU’s activities on climate change refer to www.itu.int/climate.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Today hundreds of Internet giants, including Google and Facebook, are participating in the first worldwide "test flight" of a major engineering upgrade to the Internet's infrastructure.

Read the full article at http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/08/technology/ipv6_day_google_facebook/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2

The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) is seeking to develop a comprehensive framework that protects the safety of children on the Internet, following increasing dangers of prowling cyber criminals. The commission has invited various stakeholders to help it come up with 'practical' tools that will enable it to minimise the risks to children.

"CCK is cognisant of the fact that cyber crime is a multi-sectoral issue and therefore requires the support and collective effort of different stakeholders with various competencies," said Director General Charles Njoroge during a 'Child Online Protection' workshop.

This approach, he pointed out, would complement the activities of the Consumer Awareness Division that is tasked with the responsibility of reaching out to all consumers of communications services including children.

Further, Mr Njoroge said it would be in line with the International Telecommunications Union's Child Online Protection (COP) initiative that was launched in November 2010 with the aim of developing industry codes of conduct, establishing national hotlines, roadmaps and legislative tool kits and training of parents, teachers, guardians and educators.

Full Story

The second major output document of the ITU/UNESCO-led Broadband Commission for Digital Development was released on June 6, at the 3rd meeting of the Commission in Paris, France.

Entitled Broadband: A Platform for Progress, the report advocates a coordinated, nationwide approach to broadband development that more closely resembles the development of national railway or electricity networks than the more laissez-faire, market-driven approach that has generally characterized the roll-out of mobile cellular technology.

The report also makes a strong case for broadband as a driver of economic growth and new jobs, citing country case studies and reports by leading consultancies that point to increased employment opportunities, higher labour productivity and a strong stimulus to GDP.

Positive findings released recently by ITU show that, on average, consumers are paying 50% less for high-speed Internet connections than they were two years ago. However, this fall is mainly due to price decreases in developing countries, with steep declines often reflecting the extremely high cost of broadband in the developing world.

And despite encouraging trends, Africa continues to stand out for its relatively high prices. Fixed broadband Internet access in particular remains prohibitively high, and, across the region as a whole, still represented almost three times the monthly average per capita income. Only one out of ten people in Africa is using the Internet.

Read the press release at http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2011/19.aspx

Two new releases from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Bank published this week during the 2011 Carbon Expo have raised significant concerns about the current trends in carbon emissions and the attainment of the targets pledged during the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP16/CMP6), held in Cancun last December.

According to the latest IEA estimates, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2010 were the highest in history, while 80 per cent of projected emissions from the power sector in 2020 are already locked in, largely due to infrastructure investment. IEA concludes in the 2010 World Energy Outlook that it will be extremely challenging to succeed in limiting temperature increase to 2°C by 2020 and thus, achieving the global goal agreed in Cancun, unless innovative alternatives are explored. “These estimates are another wake-up call”, highlighted IEA chief officials.

From a different angle the report, The State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2011, produced by the World Bank, highlights the decline of the carbon market over 2010 both in terms of carbon trading transactions and market value. According to the report, “2010 proved to be the hottest year on record, while global emission levels continued to rise relentlessly”. Following the latter opposite trends between carbon market growth and emissions levels, the authors of the report predict that in their efforts to shift to lower carbon development paths, “other national and local low-carbon initiatives will pick up in both developed and developing economies ... to overcome regulatory uncertainty and signal that, one way or another, solutions that address the climate challenge will emerge”. Nevertheless, the report underlines the “risk of losing billions of lower cost private investment and new technology solutions in developing countries” offered via carbon market tools.

ITU, closely following these last technical assessments, invites the global community to look at the ICT sector as a solution provider to meet the goals agreed in Cancun. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as satellites, mobile phones or the Internet, can enable countries to take up transformative solutions to deploy innovative, energy efficient and low-carbon technologies that ensure a better, “greener” and sustainable future. The ICT sector is already committed to improve its own environmental impact, as well as to help improve the carbon footprint of other sectors.

Learn more about ITU’s work in this area by joining us at the side event “Linking ICTs with the Cancun Agreements” to be held on 7 June 2011 in Bonn, Germany, during the forthcoming UN Climate Change Talks.

Find more information about ITU’s activities on Climate Change at: www.itu.int/climate.

ITU and TechAmerica are organizing the side event “Linking Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) with the Cancun Agreements”. The event will take place on 7 June 2011 from 18.15 to 19.45, in Bonn (Germany) during the June UN Climate Change Talks.

The event will discuss inter alia how ICTs can help adapt and mitigate climate change and what existing ICTs are affordable for developing countries. The event will also provide an opportunity to exchange views on how ICTs can help to implement the Cancun Agreements and will look at the new technologies to  promote green ICTs and innovation.

The panel of the discussion will consist of the following speakers:

• Ms. Cristina Bueti, ITU-T Climate Change Programme Coordinator, ITU
• Mr. James Lovegrove, Managing Director of Tech America Europe
• Ms. Helen Asiamah, Deputy Director, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana
• Moderator: Mr. Kevin Grose, Coordinator, Information Services Climate Change Secretariat UNFCCC

Venue: Room METRO (Ministry of Transport)  

More information available at www.itu.int/climate

In a recent article by Wolfgang Kleinwachter on the forthcoming 41st ICANN meeting in Singapore, he raises the hotly debated question: "Will the booming Lion-City on the South-Asian Peninsula see a Shakespeare drama in June 2011, a shoot out between the ICANN Board and the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to end the nearly 15 years of discussion on the introduction of more generic Top Level Domains (TLDs) into the legacy root of the Internet?"

read the full article at http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/05/18/high-noon-in-singapore

Tom Jowitt reported in eWeek Europe that ahead of the G8 economic summit in France later this week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has addressed a conference of tech leaders urging them to work with governments over internet regulations.

read the full article here: http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/french-internet-regulation-needed-president-sarkozy-tells-tech-bosses-30088

ITU’s relationship with IMPACT continues to gain momentum, with over 130 UN Member States now part of the ITU-IMPACT coalition.

ITU-IMPACT is the first cooperative global venture to make available cybersecurity expertise and resources to enable Member States to detect, analyze and respond effectively to cyberthreats. Of particular benefit to developing countries and smaller states without the capacity and resources to develop their own sophisticated cyber response centres, the coalition also benefits technically advanced nations by providing them with a continuous global snapshot of potential and real online threats.

Under the terms of the agreement, Symantec will provide ITU with expert intelligence reports on current and future trends in ICT security, to be shared among all ITU Member States. This will facilitate awareness raising and knowledge transfer, complementing the work of ITU and strengthening its effectiveness as a global forum for governments and the private sector to build confidence and security in the use of ICTs.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed between ITU and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at this year’s WSIS Forum event in Geneva will see the two organizations collaborate in assisting UN Member States to mitigate the risks posed by cybercrime.

The MoU will enable ITU and UNODC to work together to make available the necessary expertise and resources to establish legal measures and legislative frameworks at the national level, for the benefit of countries worldwide. It is the first time that two organizations within the UN system have formally agreed to cooperate on a global basis on cybersecurity.

“This new alliance with UNODC is a major milestone in implementing a coordinated global approach to an increasingly serious global problem. Together, our two agencies will generate powerful synergies that will help all countries fight the scourge of cybercrime and create a safer online environment for all,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré.

ITU, UNEP, WMO and the Basel Convention will organize on 18 May 2011 a full program of activities during WSIS Forum 2011 related with the role of ICTs in the promotion of sustainable development and the preservation of the environment.

Organized around the theme “Go smart, move green”, the “e-Environment day at WSIS Forum 2011” will include the following sessions:

10:30 - 13:00. ICT Sector Engagement Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Energy for ALL.

14:00 - 14:30. E-environment publication releases

14:45 - 16:15. Avoiding e-waste. Moving to environmentally sound life-cycle management of ICTs

16:30 - 18:00. From WSIS to Rio+20: The role of ICTs in sustainable development and the green economy transition

Key speakers will include representatives from ITU, GSMA, France Telecom, Microsoft, Telecom Italia, WMO or the Basel Convention, among others

Take part in the event and join us onsite from ILO conference center or via the webcast. Participation will be open to all stakeholders, including governments, private sector, civil society, academia, as well as international and regional institutions.

For further information please visit: www.wsis.org/forum/environment or contact us directly at climate@itu.int

The ITU visitors’ centre to be opened to the public this autumn has been given a name — ICT Discovery — thanks to a suggestion by 12-year-old Nethmi Karunajeewa. As the winner of a contest to name the new facility, on 17 May 2011 she was awarded the prize of an iPad2 by ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré. The contest was open to all ITU staff and their families. Nethmi’s mother, Nayani Karunajeewa, is a radiocommunication engineer at ITU.

 

Nethmi says her favourite subjects at school are English and drama, and her dream is to become a writer or a teacher. “I thought of the idea ICT Discovery because I like playing with words when I write poems, and I thought that this name was suitable because the ITU visitors’ centre would be a place where people could discover the wonders of information and communication technology,” Nethmi explained. “I feel really proud to have my idea chosen for something so important,” she added.

The new centre will illustrate the history of ICT and show how current and emerging technologies influence our lives. Focusing on the future, ICT Discovery will also highlight ITU’s important contributions and its commitment to connect the world. For more, see: http://www.itu.int/ict-e/index.html

 

In the latest phase of its two year old Child Online Protection Initiative the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is to look at the possibility of developing international telecommunications standards whose widespread application would help protect children from online threats.

 

 

The ITU's Child Online Protection (COP) initiative was launched in November 2008 as "a multi-stakeholder effort to bring together partners from all sectors of the global community to ensure a safe online experience for children everywhere."

In this latest development the ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) has asked the ITU's security standardization study group, Study Group 17 (SG17), to investigate child protection in the online world.

The group will look at the possibility of developing interoperable standards to protect children online. The aim would be to develop a widely shared approach that could be promoted across the whole industry. The ITU has not given a timeframe for any concrete outcomes from SG17.

SG17 will evaluate what options and possibilities exist for real global coordinated and consistent action to protect children online, for example watch and warning and incident management regimes that would facilitate the gathering of threat information and its sharing among different players.

SG17 will also try to identify commonalities that span the different industry sectors (broadcasters, Internet, mobile) with the aim of developing codes of conduct to help ITU member states collaborate more effectively with the private sector/industry.

It will try to establish cooperative arrangements between government and the private sector/industry for sharing information and developing specific capabilities aimed at mitigating the risks and extending the potential of ICT usage by children. 

The ITU lists the key objectives of its Child Online Protection initiative as being to: "identify risks and vulnerabilities to children in cyberspace; create awareness; develop practical tools to help minimize risk; share knowledge and experience."

 

Full Story

ITU highlighted the need for countries to develop coordinated national e-Health plans which leverage the power of ICTs, at the second and final meeting of the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health, which took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on May 1-2.

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré served as co-Vice Chair of the Commission alongside Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organisation. The meeting approved 10 recommendations which, together, constitute a new framework for accountability and tracking of resources and results in the health sector.

The goal of the Commission is to improve transparency, ensure consistency in reporting and more effectively track resources spent on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, to accelerate progress towards Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 1c.

ITU is currently working alongside WHO to develop a modular e-Health toolkit that will help countries develop and implement scalable and sustainable programmes for integrating ICTs into national health strategies.

Even relatively simple ICTs like ordinary cellphones can play a transformative role in national health systems, facilitating data gathering, storage, sharing and analysis. In addition, new apps, such as a system to perform automatic remote diagnosis of malaria using a simple in-phone camera, could serve as powerful catalysts in extending access to diagnosis and treatment to people in isolated communities.

“With mobile connectivity now widespread in even the world’s poorest countries, ICTs offer a unique and powerful opportunity to bridge the health development gap,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré. “In addition to facilitating data analysis, platforms like the Internet and social media can also be used as tools to create safe and empowering spaces for women, where they can obtain accurate, up-to-the-minute health information in a confidential, multilingual environment.”

The Commission is a key element of the UN Global Strategy for Women's and Children’s Health, which aims to save the lives of 16 million women and children under five years of age by 2015.

Read more via our communiqué: Women & children to benefit from new recommendations to improve health accountability
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2011/CM11.aspx

Before, during and after a natural disaster or emergency, swift and reliable communications are essential. See how modern technology provides vital links on which humanitarian teams rely...

Our latest in a series of infographics on ICTs now available for free download in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish:
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/pictorial/2011/emergency_telecom/index.aspx?lang=en

Already, ITU is an active user of social media, with accounts on Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Now it has expanded its online presence even further with the launch of a public ITU page on Facebook.

 

As part of the Facebook community, ITU will post its latest news, information on events, photos, videos and feature stories. Most importantly, the public page is another way for ITU to interact directly with users, who will be able to make comments, give their feedback and share ideas.

 

As of January 2011, Facebook reportedly had more than 600 million active users around the globe. It will therefore be a powerful way for ITU to get its message across and listen to responses from every continent as it works on its mission of “connecting the world”.

 

Follow ITU:   Facebook  |   Twitter  |   Flickr  |   YouTube  |   RSS

The Information Society provides great opportunities to address some of the key global challenges related with the promotion of sustainable development and the preservation of the environment. But what exactly is the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in tackling climate change and how can they move forward the sustainable development agenda?

These questions have been addressed since 2003 in the multi-stakeholder process of the World Summit of Information Society (WSIS), in particular through the implementation of action line C7 - ICT applications, e-environment of the WSIS Geneva Plan of Action, which establishes the foundations for an Information Society for all.

Action line C7 focuses on environmental issues such as climate monitoring, adaptation to climate change, making better use of natural resources, recycling and disposing of end-of-life ICT equipment in an environmentally sound manner, and reduction of the carbon footprint of multiple sectors, including the ICT industry. These and other issues will be discussed during the “E-environment day at WSIS Forum 2011”, to be held in Geneva (Switzerland) on Wednesday 18 May 2011 under the theme “Go Smart, move Green”.

The event, organized by ITU together with the Basel Convention, UNEP and WMO, will also review the progress made so far in the implementation of this action line. Get engaged in the event and take part in workshops, interactive discussions, publication releases and networking sessions. Participation will be open to all stakeholders, including governments, private sector, civil society, academia, as well as international and regional institutions.

Join the Green ICT community by taking part in this event either on-site or remotely, presenting your recent publications during the event, or displaying the most recent activities from your organization at the e-environment exhibition stand.

For further information please visit: www.wsis.org/forum/environment or contact us directly at climate@itu.int

ITU has released the 11th edition of its flagship ICT regulatory report Trends in Telecommunication Reform which takes an in-depth look at one of the most significant social trends of the past decade: the increasingly pervasive presence of ICTs in virtually every facet of modern life. The report highlights the importance of effective regulations in order to increase the benefits that ICTs can introduce in other sectors, as well as their positive contribution to economic growth. The report further highlights the changing/expanding role of regulators getting engaged in non-traditional areas of regulatory intervention such as climate change.

Chapter 7 of the report is dedicated to showcasing one of the above co-benefits: the potential of ICTs to address the causes and effects of climate change. Like every other industry, ICTs contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, they are also uniquely positioned to enable the reduction of emissions through ‘smart’ energy management systems. The report recognizes the fact that no discussion of climate change is complete without close examination of the role of ICTs in creating, managing, and resolving the issue. Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, states: “Because ICTs touch all aspects of society, when setting sound policies and regulation the link between ICTs and major social issues like climate change, economic growth and digital lifestyles has to be taken into account”.

Aspects highlighted in this section of the report include whether ICT regulators, particularly those in charge of regulating telecommunications service providers (TSPs), should have a more active role in promoting environmental protection and consider climate change issues when defining new regulations. The chapter also considers sector-specific regulatory interventions aimed at cutting GHG emissions from TSPs as well as facilitating the ability of TSPs to reduce emissions from other industry sectors.

Interested in reading the full report? You can now purchase the full report at the ITU bookstore: www.itu.int/pub/D-REG-TTR.12-2010

More about ITU’s activities on climate change: www.itu.int/climate

By Kevin Murphy, March 24, 2011, 13:22:24 (UTC), Domain Tech. Nortel Networks, the bankrupt networking hardware vendor, has sold 666,624 IPv4 addresses to Microsoft for $7.5 million, according to Delaware bankruptcy court documents (pdf). That’s $11.25 per address, more than you’d expect to pay for a .com domain name. According to the article, the total value of the entire IPv4 address space, if the price Microsoft is willing to pay is a good guide, is approximately $48.3 billion.

Read more at http://domainincite.com/microsoft-spends-7-5-million-on-ip-addresses/

ITU'S High-level Debate held to commemorate 100 years of International Women's Day tackled the issue of declining female participation in the information and communication technology industry.

It's a little-known fact that women were the original programmers of ENIAC, the US government's first ever computer. But while teenage girls now use computers and the Internet at rates similar to boys, they are five times less likely to consider a technology-related career.

It wasn't always so. In the US in the 1980s, for example, young women were earning 37% of computer science degrees; today, that number has fallen to around 20%.
That lack of trained female professionals in turn means that in OECD countries, women now account for under 20% of ICT specialists in OECD countries. It also means that most developed countries are forecasting an alarming shortfall in the number of skilled staff to fill upcoming jobs in the ICT sector. The European Union calculates that in 10 years' time there will be a lack of some 300,000 people to fill ICT jobs in the region; globally, the shortfall is closer to 1.2 million.

With computer and information systems managers consistently ranked among the top 20 best-paying jobs – on a par with surgeons, orthodontists, airline pilots and lawyers – why are young women turning their backs on technology?

ITU's High-level Panel of experts from government, the ICT industry, the education sector and the media agreed that major problems include a poor perception of the industry among girls, and a lack of inspiring role models.

Finnish Communications Minister Suvi Lindén spoke of a culture of negativity around science and maths that is affecting girls as young as primary level. Educator Inal Uygur of the International School of Geneva noted that teachers unwittingly or even deliberately put girls off technology as a career, often with a misplaced sense that they are acting in the girl's best interests. Professor Anastasia Ailamaki, who leads the DIAS Lab at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, observed that male teachers' envy of young girls' talents can also sometimes play an insidious role.

Industry representatives Alethea Lodge-Clark of Microsoft and Victor Agnellini of Alcatel-Lucent affirmed that encouraging more girls into technology careers was important to the ongoing growth of the ICT industry, particularly in Europe and the US. Both highlighted their own companies' initiatives to redress the problem, such as the Digigirlz programme managed globally by Microsoft, and female-oriented initiatives managed by the Alcatel-Lucent Foundation in countries around the world.  Aurora Velez, Chief Producer of the Learning World series at Euronews, pointed to some of the innovative approaches her team has uncovered around the world, and hosted the screening of two Learning World stories created for this year's International Women's Day, both focused on encouraging girls to think about careers in technology.

Dr Speranza Ndege, Director of the Institute of Open, Distance and e-Learning at Kenya's Kenyatta University, told of the strong resistance she met from male colleagues when she crossed over from the traditional female academic domain of social sciences to ICTs. ITU's own Gitanjali Sah, who works as an ICT analyst focused on development issues, brought a regional perspective, noting that ICT training for girls was very popular in much of the Asia region, because of its perceived prestige.

And Serbian Minister Jasna Matiã, who has earned an international reputation as a passionate champion of technology education for women, proposed a concrete way forward with the creation of a Girls in ICT Day, to be held on the fourth Thursday in April every year, where governments, private industry and the education sector will be encouraged to team up to promote technology as an attractive career choice for female students.

The event was attended by around 100 representatives from UN agencies, national missions, the ICT industry, the education sector and the general public.

• Archived audiocast of discussions (English and French)
  
• Photos

 

To commemorate 100 years of International Women’s Day, ITU is organizing a High-level Panel Debate on 10 March 2011 around the theme of female participation in the information and communication technology industry.

What’s behind the sharp downwards trend in young women opting to study information and communication technology? ICT qualifications offer good job prospects and higher-than-average remuneration. Yet in the US, for example, the proportion of girls studying ICT courses has dropped from a mid-‘80s high of 37% to just 29% today – and falling.

Many European economies are now predicting a crisis in the number of trained IT professionals within the next 10-15 years. What is putting girls off technology? And why are some countries – particularly in the Asian region – succeeding in attracting female IT students? What are they doing differently – and getting right?

Entitled ‘Goodbye to the IT girl: Why are young women deserting  technology?’ the debate will look at how ICTs are taught in schools and universities, how girls perceive careers in technology – and what is informing their life choices. What are the cultural and economic barriers – and how might we encourage more girls into the technology field?

See www.itu.int/en/womensday/Pages/default.aspx for full details of panelists and timings.

This event is open to representatives from UN agencies, national missions, the ICT industry, the education sector and the general public. RSVP by email to pressreg@itu.int by 16:00 on 8 March is essential to attend this event.

Interpretation will be provided in French and English, and the event will be accessible via live and archived audiocast at: http://www.itu.int/ibs/sg/20110310WomenDay/index.phtml

ITU’s recent announcement on an OAM standard for MPLS in transport networks has seen considerable interest, but not always for the right reasons with claims from the Internet Society that it will jeopardize the Internet. Experts cast doubt on ISOC’s statement: “… ongoing evolution along this path will jeopardize the … Internet”. They point to the fact that several interoperability tests have been successfully performed with no reported problems. In addition the solution being proposed by ITU conforms to the MPLS-TP architecture as defined by the IETF. When network equipment uses different protocols, interoperability of the functioning of that protocol, in this case OAM, may well be affected. However, since packets for different protocols are identified by pre-assigned different codepoints, protocols running behind these different codepoints will not interfere with each other. This means that the core functionality – in this case Internet traffic – will not be affected. Therefore various protocols can coexist without causing any confusion in the network.

Read more at http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/newslog/

Geneva, 28 February 2011 – In a big step towards leveraging existing MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) deployment in transport networks, ITU has agreed first stage approval of a key new standard. The ITU-T standard will give network operators the tools necessary to manage large scale deployments of MPLS-based networks. Network operators will now have a choice of OAM (operations, administration and maintenance) tools to best meet their specific transport network requirements. These OAM tools in the hands of network operators will, in particular, allow quick detection of defects and fault isolation.

The full article is available at: http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2011/03.aspx

2010 was an eventful year of major events and activities for ITU’s climate change program. From the 5th ITU symposium on ICTs, the environment and climate change to ITU´s participation at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP16), ITU made significant progress during 2010 in promoting the use of ICTs to address climate change.

Did you miss any of our activities? Relive them today and access our latest publications, events and recommendations in the new section “Highlights from 2010”, available at the ITU Climate Change page (www.itu.int/climate).

Direct link: http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/events/2010highlights.html

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré was one of the international leaders to lend his support to the launch of the new Global Network of Women ICT Decision Makers (podcast), which took place at UN headquarters in New York in conjunction with the 55^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

The initiative of Serbia’s Minister of Communications and Information Society, Ms Jasna Matiæ, the network aims to provide support, global information exchange and mentorship for high-placed women in the information and communications (ICT) industry.

Launched by Minister Matiæ and Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, the idea for the network emerged during ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, last October. It was subsequently included in Resolution 70 of that conference, garnering overwhelming support from PP-10 delegates.

In a video message to support the launch, Dr Touré said ITU was committed to promoting ICTs as tools to empower women and girls, as well as to encouraging more girls and women into the industry.

“The ICT industry offers many incentives to those looking for abundant career opportunities, engaging, cutting edge work, and substantial remuneration,” Dr Touré said. “In the world today, there are about 850 million young women aged under 24. With the ICT sector now serving as the world’s single biggest growth engine for jobs, we’re going to need their skills, their enthusiasm, and their fresh ideas.”

The ITU Secretary-General went on to express his hope that one of the major achievements of the new Global Network of Women ICT Decision Makers will be to showcase the many talented women working in the ICT field, and to promote these women as inspiring role-models for a new generation of female ICT leaders.

Other high-level leaders supporting the launch included the Ministers of Communication of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Finland, and Qatar, the Secretary-General of the Arab ICT Association, and dignitaries from Senegal and Sweden.

The Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act, introduced by in the US Senete would explicitly deny the president or other U.S. officials "authority to shut down the Internet. Full article available on PCWorld at http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/220092/us_bill_would_prohibit_internet_kill_switch.html

Speaking at Safer Internet Day (at Child Focus, Safer Internet Centre, Belgium), European Commission Vice-President Kroes raised the question of balancing the unquestionable benefits offered by the Internet with the need to keep children safe online. In keeping with the aims of Safer Internet Day, ECDL Foundation’s new IT Security certification focuses on providing the right competences for safe surfing and computer usage.

European children are using the Internet on a daily basis for longer periods, and with greater frequency – not just for surfing the Web, but for accessing schoolwork assignments, developing their personal interests, and for actually contributing to the Web’s diversity by uploading video content, social networking etc. The EU has taken certain actions, such as investing €55 million into awareness-raising projects aimed at making the Internet safer for children. Despite this investment, a recent survey conducted by the London School of Economics has shown that nearly half of the participating children did not know how to change the privacy settings of their social networking sites, and in another complementary EU-wide survey, only 14% of parents surveyed said that they had set up parental web-filtering software to protect their children.

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At a keynote speech delivered at the RSA Security Conference, Scott Charney--Microsoft (MSFT) corporate vice president for Trustworthy Computing--reiterated a vision for the future of Internet security. Charney painted a picture of a collaborative approach to Internet and PC security modeled after the processes used to respond to global health epidemics.

Microsoft describes why the timing seems to be right for driving this vision forward, citing the increased use of mobile devices and cloud computing, the persistence of botnet threats, increased public awareness of online crimes, and growing public pressure for improved government cyber security policies. These factors combine to create a unique opportunity.

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An operation involving cross-border collaboration and supported by Europol has dismantled an international organized crime group based in Romania. The gang had been carrying out payment card fraud in several EU countries including Poland, Romania, Sweden and the UK.

Romanian law enforcement authorities, working in cooperation with the Europol, the European Law Enforcement Agency, arrested five members of the criminal gang after months of surveillance. The gang’s activities had involved fraudulently withdrawing cash from ATM machines with illegally skimmed and counterfeit payment cards. The card holders in countries including Poland, Romania, Sweden and the UK are said to have suffered substantial losses according to a press release issued by Europol on Wednesday.

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A European Parliament decision on Monday to remove child pornography images at the source rather than promote Web blocking has been hailed as a success by Internet rights activists.

Members of the Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee ruled that complete removal "at source" must be the main aim in tackling child pornography online and that blocking access to websites is acceptable only in exceptional circumstances -- when the host server in a non-E.U. country refuses to cooperate or when procedures take too long.

The original Commission proposal would have made blocking of child porn websites mandatory for all E.U. member states, prompting concern among Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who tend to support Internet freedom.

"The new generation of MEPs has shown it understands the Internet and has courageously rejected populist but ineffective and cosmetic measures in favor of measures aimed at real child protection," said Joe McNamee, of the European digital rights movement EDRi. "This is a huge and implausible success for an army of activists campaigning to protect the democratic, societal and economic value of the Internet," he added.

 

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POLICE are considering holding internet safety workshops in schools across Bolton. Officers confirmed they are looking into the possibility of holding the sessions with another organisation in a bid to keep youngsters safe while they surf the internet.

Insp Shane O’Neill, from GMP’s Bolton Division, said: “We have a well established Safer Schools Partnership and we work closely with the schools on issues such as internet safety, offering guidance and support when needed.”

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You won’t find Internet crimes such as cyberbullying and sexting listed as criminal offenses in the FBI’s uniform crime report, but such crimes are rampant and all too often aimed at children.

Similar to the way the proliferation of drugs propelled police departments and schools across the nation to partner in the 1980s and teach Drug Abuse Resistance Education or DARE programs to students, DARE 2B Cybersafe is a new crime-fighting tool allowing officers to interact with children and teens online and discuss issues such as drugs, alcohol and cyberbullying.

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The claims that internet IP addresses are running out worldwide are not true, and resources allocated to some regional internet registries are far from exhausted, said Mr. Zhao Houlin, Deputy Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in a recent interview with Xinhua. The in-use IP addresses still have potentials that can be tapped, not to mention that a great number of allocated IP addresses are currently not in use. Read the full article on XinhuaNet at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-02/14/c_13730415.htm

Insecure Web apps pose a serious security risk for organizations, and according to a new survey released today, website attacks are among the biggest concerns for companies.

The Ponemon Institute survey, commissioned by security vendors Barracuda Networks Inc. and Cenzic Inc., polled 637 IT and IT security practitioners on their views of Web application security. While 74% said Web application security is equal or more critical to other security issues, only 36% said their organization has adequate governance and policies over the use of insecure Web applications by end users across the enterprise.

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Con el objetivo de conmemorar el Día de la Internet Segura, el Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (MICIT), el Viceministerio de Paz, el Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI), la Fundación Paniamor, la Fundación Omar Dengo (FOD) y Radiográfica Costarricense (RACSA) con el apoyo de Microsoft, Jack’s, Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA) y la Municipalidad de San José, trabajaron juntos para ofrecer ese día a niños, niñas, adolescentes y adultos de la comunidad de Pavas, espacios de concientización que les permita familiarizarse acerca de los riesgos potenciales que implica el uso de la Internet y los mecanismos existentes para evadirlos y aprovechar al máximo el potencial de la red. La actividad se llevó a cabo en la Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Pavas (ADIPA).

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As February 8th marks Safer Internet Day, the statistical office of the European Union (EU) has published new figures which reveal the extent to which businesses can and do benefit from security solutions when outsourcing IT departments.

The Eurostat study found that in 2010 approximately 84 per cent of web users were protected by security software, suggesting that there are still a large number of individuals and companies that could benefit from greater internet security.

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On the occasion of Safer Internet Day 2011, the European Commission today announced that it will step up talks with ICT industry and children's organisations to encourage the design of safer products to help keep children safe online.

Moreover, the Commission will shortly review the 2006 Recommendation on minors and how to protect them in audiovisual media and Internet and on the 2008 Communication on the protection of youngsters from harmful content in video games.

Children are going online from a younger age and not just from computers, but also games consoles and mobile phones. More than 82 % of 15-16 year olds in Europe have a social networking profile, as well as 26 % of 9-10 year olds. Safer Internet Day is being marked today in more than 65 countries around the world under the slogan "Internet is more than a game, it's your life!".

This is supported by the EU's Safer Internet Programme, which helps parents and their children to be safe online. Children's safety online is an important part of the Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200).

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Miscreants have begun selling a cut-price point and click Facebook rogue application generation tool, designed for script kiddies too clueless to code their own malicious application.

The rogue Facebook app creation tool kit is available is available at just $25, net security firm Websense reports.

The toolkit offers a means to direct surfers towards survey scams, spread malware or act as a tool in furtherance of click-fraud scams, all by following a simple set of instructions. Bogus applications generated via the tool, called Tinie Facebook Viral Application, would offer lures such as the supposed opportunity to check on who has been viewing a Facebook profile.

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75% of teenagers have been contacted by a stranger via the internet, and as many as 37% of these have responded to them out of curiosity.

Many children between the ages of 14 and 18 are engaging in risky behaviour online – and while parents say they are aware of the dangers, many are doing nothing to protect their children, according to the results of a recent survey.

The MSN survey, run by Microsoft as part of Safer Internet Day on 8 February, suggests that nearly half (44%) of children have lied about their age when online; over a third (37%) of those who had been contacted by a stranger (75%) responded; and only 4% told someone older that they trusted, such as a parent or teacher.

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The Statistical Office of the European Communities, Eurostat, has revealed that almost one third (31%) of EU people who used the internet last year (from the 27 EU member states) caught a virus on their computer that resulted in the loss of information or time. That's despite 84% of surfers using security software (e.g. anti-virus) for protection, which rises to 88% in the UK.

Some 14% of individuals in the EU27 who used the internet in the last year, and live in a household with children, had parental control or web filtering software installed. This increases to 21% in the UK. Just 5% (4% in the UK) experienced children accessing inappropriate websites or connecting with potentially dangerous persons while using a home computer.

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Young People are being encouraged to think about their “digital lives” today – and to consider their online identity.

To mark Safer Internet Day 2011, an awareness campaign has been launched to spread understanding about the opportunities and risks of sharing information online – something children are doing at increasingly early age.

In the UK, a leading child protection agency has tackled the darker side of a person’s “digital identity” by making a short filmed aiming to alert young people and their parents about the dangers of “sexting”.

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Safer Internet Day is organised by Insafe each year in February to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.Safer Internet Day is organised by Insafe each year in February to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.

The topic for 2011 is "our virtual lives" around the slogan " It's more than a game, it's your life".

In 2010 Safer Internet Day was celebrated through over 500 events in 65 countries all over the world.

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In an interview with the World Trademark Review, ICANN’s chair Peter Dengate Thrush spoke about the ICANN board’s upcoming meeting in Brussels with its Government Advisory Committee (GAC). The GAC is hoping to resolve its concerns over, among other things, proposed trademark protection mechanisms for new gTLDs. But Dengate Thrush did not describe it as a negotiation. “For some people, even ordering dinner is a negotiation. But technically speaking, the GAC is going to give us advice, we’ll listen to it, and we’re either going to accept it or not and explain why.” Read the full interview on the WTR site at http://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/daily/detail.aspx?g=62470E83-F9B8-4921-9823-72D0FF149415

In a presentation made to attendees of the McCarthy Institute Symposium, Peter Dengate Thrush, ICANN Chair, announced that the Final New generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Applicant Guidebook would be completed after the ICANN Meeting in Amman, Jordan which is scheduled for June 19 - 24, 2011.

Full article available on CircleID at http://www.circleid.com/posts/20110203_new_gtld_program_to_be_finalized_after_june_icann_meeting/

BBC Children's is throwing its weight behind Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 8 February by hosting a range of initiatives across CBeebies and CBBC.

CBBC will air three interactive webisodes of its hit show Tracy Beaker Returns. Covering online relationships, cyberbullying and illegal downloads the webisodes aim to promote online media best practice and media literacy. Whilst CBeebies will feature a blog, written by Dr Tanya Byron, on how to keep young children safe online and advising parents how they can prepare their children to become safe independent internet users as they grow older.

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On Safer Internet Day 2011 (February 8, 2011) the Safer Internet RO Consortium will launch the online encyclopedia Saferpedia.eu!

Saferpedia.eu is an online encyclopedia with terms about Internet safety addressed to children, teens, teachers and parents all over the world. Saferpedia.eu was created by Positive Media Romania, one of the Safer Internet RO Consortium members and is part of a bigger project aiming to keep children safe on the Internet, supported by the Insafe Network which has Safer Internet centers all over the Europe.

The encyclopedia wants to be a useful tool for children, teens, parents and teachers. Here they can find terms, definitions and resources about internet safety, other terms referring to Internet, technical terms from IT and terms referring to Internet security.

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Knowing where your kids are can be a full time job. Knowing where they are online—which websites they’re visiting and who they’re talking to—is even harder, but is no less important. The Better Business Bureau Children’s Advertising Review Unit encourages parents to teach their kids and tweens about unsafe online situations and recommends looking out for seven stop signs.

According to a study by the Neilsen Norman Group, kids as young as nine years old are becoming just as capable—if not more so—than their parents at navigating the Internet. While young kids may be computer whizzes, they aren’t necessarily as smart as their parents when it comes to identifying online threats, including predators and fraud.

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ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré took part in a new high-level UN Commission charged with tracking tangible improvements in women's and children' health, which held its first meeting in Geneva on January 26.

One of the key pillars of UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon's new Global Strategy for Women's and Children's health, the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health represents an important step forwards in improving accountability in health care projects worldwide.

The Commission is Co-Chaired by Canadian Prime Minister Mr Stephen Harper and Tanzanian President Mr Jakaya Kikwete, with Dr Touré and WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan serving as co-Vice Chairs. Its outcome, delivered at the second and final meeting in May 2011, will serve as an important stepping stone towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

ITU is contributing its expertise in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs), which can serve as powerful tools in advancing information exchange and improving healthcare. "Technologies already at our disposal, such as ordinary mobile phones, can play an increasingly vital role in health care, as vehicles both for data collection and analysis, and for delivery of basic health services to communities," said Dr Touré.

Commissioners comprise 26 experts from developed and developing countries in the fields of academia, civil society and the private sector.

For quotes from the UN Secretary-General and the Commission's Co- and Vice Chairs, listen to the WHO podcast: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/2011/acc_20110202/en/index.html

Parents need to maintain an open line of communication with their children and understand what they are doing on-line to help them deal with cyber bullies and protect them from Internet predators.

That is what law enforcement and school officials emphasized to the dozen people who attended a special Internet safety program Tuesday night at Ashland Middle School.

"If your kids are awake, they're probably online," said Josh Welch, school resource officer for the Ashland Police Department.

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The survey, “Youth 2.0 – 10 to 18-year-olds in the digital world,” found that youths use the internet more for learning that recreation. But it also reached some worrying conclusions, including that German adolescents rate using the internet and having their own computer more important than participating in sports.

The results had important implications for society, said Bitkom president August-Wilhelm Scheer, including the need for better child protection.

“Children and youths should be able to use the full potential of the internet. That’s why we need the proper skills and more protection,” he said.

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Adults do it; teens do it; kids do it, too. Which brings up the question: How young is too young to be on Facebook and other social networking sites?

The magic number is 13, says Amanda Lenhart with the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. That's the minimum age requirement, in theory, for young people to sign up on most of the social networking sites.

As it turns out, however, controlling children's online activities or even knowing when they're mature enough to manage their own accounts is more complicated than it sounds.

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A mobile phone application which claims to identify adults posing as children is to be released.

The team behind Child Defence says the app can analyse language to generate an age profile, identifying potential paedophiles. Isis Forensics developed the tool after parental concerns over children accessing sites on their mobiles. But child protection experts warned against such technology lulling people into thinking they are safe.

Child Defence project leader James Walkerdine, based at Lancaster University, said: "This software improves children's chances of working out that something isn't right. "Parents told us they would much prefer to see software solutions that empowered and educated their children to help them protect themselves."

 

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There’s a whole new playground where students can be bullied and sexually harassed — the Internet.Local parents are saying they want to stay one step ahead of the game so they can keep an eye on whom their children are meeting and how children are treating each other online.

“I think as our kids become of age, as parents, we can’t keep our heads in the sand and we have to be one step ahead,” said Joan Abington, of Libertyville.

 

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Present-day technical and legal methods of preventing child pornography offences and online grooming are not sufficiently effective and do not meet their purpose. A thesis from the University of othenburg, Sweden, shows that new approaches are needed to improve online protection for our children.

Marie Eneman of the Department of Applied Information Technology has studied in her thesis how information technology is used for child pornography and grooming, that is to say adults making contact with minors for sexual purposes, and the technical and legal controls that exist to protect children.

 

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Increased competition has helped bring ICT access to billions

• It's good to compete
  During the first decade of the 21st century, new information and communication technologies (ICTs) came within reach of most of the world’s people for the first time in human history – a success story facilitated by the introduction of competition and the creation of independent regulators across the globe...
  
  
• The privatization (mostly) of incumbent operators
  Twenty years ago, in 1991, just 37 countries’ main fixed-line operators were privatized. Today, 126 countries’ incumbent operators are partly or fully in the hands of private sector owners...
  
  
• Broadband becomes a national policy priority
  By 2010, some 82 countries around the world – from Afghanistan to the United States, Australia to Malawi, and Chile to Slovenia – had adopted or planned to adopt a national broadband strategy...

For full text see: www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/stats/2011/05/index.aspx

Saudi Arabia’s appointed parliament has endorsed a law on the protection of children and set the child’s age limit at 18 years, a newspaper said on Tuesday.

The Shura Council discussed the law presented by the Saudi government at its session on Monday and gave it its approval following several debates and rifts on the child age limit in the Gulf Kingdom.

 

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A Parents’ Guide to Facebook was designed to help you understand what Facebook is and how to use it safely. With it, you will be better informed and able to communicate with young Facebook users in your life more effectively. That’s important because 1) if something goes wrong, we want our children to come to us and 2) as the Internet becomes increasingly social and mobile, a parent’s guidance and support are ever more key to young people’s well-being in social media and technology.

 

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It has been revealed in a recent report that UK parents are taking the most precautions when it comes to their kids getting online to surf the Internet.

The increasing uptake of broadband services in the UK has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of kids that have access to the internet. This can be very beneficial for kids, as it gives them access to valuable tools and resources for educational purposes as well as the ability to socialise more effectively, keep in touch with friends and family, and enjoy entertainment at home.

 

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Parents are starting to think about the need to filter access to the Internet on phones and other wireless devices. A few companies offer apps with 'kid-safe' browsers.Every day, Teresa DiFalco's children clamor for her iPhone.

The kids, ages 9 and 11, use the smart phone and DiFalco's iPod Touch to play such games as Angry Birds and Zombie Farm. Around the nation, other kids are doing the same, either on their own or on their parents' mobile devices, such as smart phones, iPads and other tablets.

 

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More than 150 seventh-graders at Taft High School on Chicago's Northwest Side were given a lecture on Internet safety and online crimes put on by the Cook County Sheriff's Youth Services Department on Wednesday.

The presentation was intended to be a "scared straight" talk to warn middle school students about the dangers of cyberbullying, "sexting" and online predators, and also educate them about social-networking safety.

 

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ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré will shortly be participating in the first meeting of a new high-level commission focused on improving global outcomes in women’s and children’s health.

Lead by WHO, and co-Chaired by President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health is charged with creating a system to track whether donations are made on time, resources are spent wisely and transparently, and women's and children's health actually improves. It has the support of UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon, and will be co-Vice Chaired by Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, and Dr Touré.

The Commission holds its first meeting on Wednesday January 26 at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Its 26 Commissioners include experts from around the world in the field of public health and international development. It will make concrete recommendations the best and fastest way to improve accountability by May 2011.

Dr Touré will contribute his expertise in the field of ICTs to advise on new strategies that use technologies like mobile phones as key tools for health care and data collection.

• ITU's Communiqué
  
• Commission website

Parents in the Beverley area are being invited to an internet safety workshop to find out what they can do to safeguard their children. The free event will look at how the internet is used differently by children and adults and will explore how young people use social networking websites, instant messaging, chat rooms and download music.

Those attending the course will be advised about the potential risks and what can be done to address them.

 

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Parents in the EU are not keeping an eye on their children's online activities, according to a new survey which found that just a quarter of parents in the bloc keep track of cyber bullying and sexual grooming of their children on the Internet.

A survey that interviewed both parents and their offspring across the EU found that children's online access of pornography, sexual targeting by strangers and offline meetings with strangers met on the Web went largely unnoticed by their parents.

 

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BSI has awarded the first Child Safety Online Kitemark to help parents protect their children from inappropriate content on the internet.

Tim Loughton, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, presented the first child safety online Kitemark to Netintelligence , the cloud based security service from managed hosting services company iomart Group, during his keynote speech in London today at the BETT Show, the educational technology exhibition.

Designed to provide parents with the confidence that harmful internet content will not be seen by children, the Kitemark requires internet filtering software to be easy to install, easy to use and effective in blocking inappropriate online content such as pornography, violence and racism.

 

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UK parents are the strictest in Europe when it come to their children's Internet use, with more than half installing filtering software. But even for the children protected, over 20 per cent of harmful content will make it through, according to two new reports released by European Commissioners.

The authors of the first report, Benchmarking of parental control tools for the online protection of children, tested 31 sets of tools for PCs, games consoles and mobile phones, designed to monitor usage as well as blocking pornography and other harmful content.

 

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The Morris & Schaefer Learning Co., LLC, the owners and operators of LearningFromAtoZ.com, announced today that they are launching an online safety initiative that will focus on teaching parents how to keep themselves and their kids safe online.

The "Online Safety for the Family" initiative was launched today in conjunction with an appearance on Daybreak USA. Derick Schaefer of the company’s ownership group, joined host Scott West to discuss the plans for the initiative and provide some simple overview tips parents can implement immediately into their family’s online habits.

 

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ISPs are battling proposals by officials in Brussels that would force them to block access to child pornography, arguing that such systems only hide the problem.

The European Commission has drafted new laws that will be voted on by the European Parliament next month. The technical solutions envisaged are broadly based on arrangements in the UK, where all major ISPs block access to child abuse websites named on a list maintained by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).

 

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Blue Coat Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:BCSI), a leading provider of Web security and WAN optimization solutions, today introduced the K9™ Web Protection Browser for iOS, a free, downloadable, family-safe Web browser for Apple iPads, iPhones and Web-enabled iPod Touch devices.

The browser provides immediate and highly accurate protection from content that is not appropriate for young children, including pornography, hate/violence, illegal drugs and gambling. In addition, the browser protects against phishing and malware. It is simple to install and use.

 

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Vulnerable children are being taught how to stay safer online thanks to two new educational films and teaching resources by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre - the UK’s centre for child protection.

The resources have been created in the recognition that vulnerable young people and those with additional needs and learning difficulties can be more susceptible to abuse, making the provision of online safety messages in a variety of formats especially important.

 

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The Italian Postal and Communications Police, supported by Europol, have uncovered a criminal group who install malicious software on businesses’ unprotected web servers to distribute shocking child sex abuse material online. The Italian Police were first alerted to the criminal activity when a grandmother, who had been innocently surfing the internet buying gifts for her grandchildren, clicked on a link to an online shop only to find herself redirected to a child abuse website. She immediately informed the police who, in early 2009, began routinely monitoring the activities of the illicit web pages which seemed to be hosted on an Italian web server.

 

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Presented by Licensed Professional Counselor Intern and Nationally Certified Counselor Rachel Marita Sloan and sponsored by The Ryan Project, Sloan spoke on the subject of teens and cyber safety.

Sloan, who has a small practice in Plano and is opening one in Denton, touched on subjects concerning cyber and text language, internet use and “sexting,” or sending sexually explicit text messages or photographs through cell phones.

 

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A UK body representing internet service providers has hit out at proposals that could lead to widespread censorship of the Internet. The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has said the plan, developed by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government requiring ISPs to block pornographic websites will not be feasible.

Nicholas Lansman, secretary general of the ISPA, said: "blocking lawful pornography content...will lead to the blocking of access to legitimate content and is only effective in preventing inadvertent access.

 

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Yahoo! Maktoob has announced the launch of a new innovative online program entitled Yahoo! Safety Oasis (http://esafe.yahoo.com/), aimed at engaging families and educators in providing support resources that educate, entertain and reward children about the incredible potentials for online learning, as well as how to safely surf the net through enhanced digital literacy.

 

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Unsupervised access to smart-phone technology and the internet is a threat to children, parents were warned yesterday.

"Parents must understand that the boundaries of their homes in which their children were once safe no longer exist the second an internet cable enters their house," said Major Faisal al Shamari of the Higher Committee for the Protection of Children.

He was speaking in Dubai at the Working Group of Specialists Meeting on IT Crime, hosted by local police authorities in association with Interpol. Although he was unable to provide statistics, Maj al Shamari said incidents of children taking indecent pictures and posting them online were on the increase. "Our investigations suggest that children were using the smart phones to bypass proxies," he said.

 

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Almost daily, we read of breaches regarding our personal and private data. In fact, a new poll shows more than 90 percent of those surveyed do not agree that social networking sites should share geo-location information without prior approval.

In fact, as concerning as such tracking is for adults, it becomes even more alarming for our children to be tracked. A McAfee/Harris poll showed 37 percent of 10- to 12-year-olds have a Facebook account. Many have little if any understanding of how their information is being used.

 

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Games companies here are scrambling to adjust to the new online gaming restrictions soon to be imposed on young hardcore gamers. And it appears that many of them are putting more focus on games played on mobile phones to compensate for the expected loss in revenue from their personal computer (PC) products.

Despite fierce resistance from the games industry, the government has been moving to introduce strict limits on how much time youngsters can spend playing their favorite online computer games to combat addiction.

 

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The Maldives’ Child Helpline represents “a great achievement” for the country after a year of operation, says Amrita Singh, Program Manager Asia Pacific Region for Child Helpline International (CHI).

CHI is an international network of telephone helplines and outreach services for children and young people across 150 countries. The network has been involved in setting up the Maldives helpline since its inception in 2007. Singh visited the helpline at the Department of Family and Gender last week.

 

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South Korea's government is close to adopting a "Cinderella" law to ban youngsters from playing online games past midnight amid growing concerns about Internet addiction, officials said Thursday.

A bill to be submitted to parliament as early as this month will require South Korean online game companies to cut off services at midnight for users registered as younger than 16, the culture and family ministries said.

"The thing about online games is, once you are in it, it is extremely hard to get out of it, especially if you are a young kid," Jo Rin, a ministry official in charge of the law, told AFP.

"A lot of kids play games all night long and have trouble studying at school and going about their normal lives during daytime. We believe the law is necessary to ensure their health and a right to sleep."

 

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ITU released in November 2010 a report which is the world’s first attempt to provide the overall statistical framework related to the measurement of child online protection with a particular emphasis on measures that are suitable for international comparison.

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On 17 November 2010, the Child Online Protection (COP) Global Initiative was launched in San José, by the ITU Secretary- General, Hamadoun Touré, together with the new Patron of COP, H.E. Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica.

The COP Global Initiative aims to shift COP Guidelines, developed by ITU and partners from industry, civil society, governments, UN agencies and other stakeholders, into concrete activities by leveraging the active support from COP members.

Through this COP Global Initiative, ITU is taking the next steps to develop a cybersecurity strategy for child online safety, in order to deliver significant national benefits by creating a more secure and safer online experience for children worldwide.

 

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The gap in facilities between research hospitals in central Nairobi and clinics around the rest of Kenya is vast, but need not be unbridgeable. Reporting for CNN World View, UNTV’s Andrew Martin explains how relatively simple, low-cost technology is making a difference to a remote rural clinic in Eastern Kenya.

 

Guidebook by Anne Collier and Larry Magid of COnnectSafely.org is published in partnership with the iKeepSafe Coalition.

ConnectSafely.org and the iKeepSafe Coalition are pleased to announce the publication of A Parents' Guide to Facebook. The 35-page booklet and online resource – available for reading and printing at www.connectsafely.org/fbparents – provides parents with the perspective and how-to information they need to help their teens optimize their privacy and safety on Facebook. Magid and Collier had earlier co-authored MySpace Unraveled: A Parents' Guide to Teen Social Networking (Peachpit Press, 2006).

The guide features hands-on, step-by-step instructions and illustrations, as well as parenting points on safety, privacy, and reputation protection. It covers both cellphone- and computer-based use of Facebook and the site's newest features, including Places, Groups, and the latest privacy updates.

 

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Guidebook by Anne Collier and Larry Magid of COnnectSafely.org is published in partnership with the iKeepSafe Coalition.

ConnectSafely.org and the iKeepSafe Coalition are pleased to announce the publication of A Parents' Guide to Facebook. The 35-page booklet and online resource – available for reading and printing at www.connectsafely.org/fbparents – provides parents with the perspective and how-to information they need to help their teens optimize their privacy and safety on Facebook. Magid and Collier had earlier co-authored MySpace Unraveled: A Parents' Guide to Teen Social Networking (Peachpit Press, 2006).

The guide features hands-on, step-by-step instructions and illustrations, as well as parenting points on safety, privacy, and reputation protection. It covers both cellphone- and computer-based use of Facebook and the site's newest features, including Places, Groups, and the latest privacy updates.

 

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Delegates approve Financial and Strategic plans, reinforce Union’s mandate in development, standards-making and global management of radio frequency resources

Guadalajara, Mexico, 22 October 2010 — ITU’s 18th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference draws to a close today with delegates agreeing on ITU’s essential role in several key areas. ITU’s mandate has been strengthened in bridging the digital divide, strategies to accelerate broadband roll-out, and implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, and extending its involvement in areas such as better use of information and communication technologies to manage climate change and disaster response; conformance and interoperability; and accessibility for persons with disabilities.

A last minute compromise saw consensus on a number of key Resolutions on Internet issues. The agreements strengthen and underline ITU’s commitment to work with the Internet community and extend the benefits of the Internet to all global citizens.

The Conference also agreed on ITU’s Strategic Plan 2012-2015, and adopted the Financial Plan for the same period. Both will help the Union implement the decisions of the conference during the next four years until the 2014 Plenipotentiary.

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré told delegates that the Guadalajara conference had been one of the most challenging in the Union’s 145-year history: “I came to this 18th Plenipotentiary Conference with news of the extraordinary progress that had been made in ICT development in the space of just four years,” he said. “I am absolutely confident that when we meet again, in four years’ time, I will be able to report even more dramatic progress. And that this progress will be very much due to the work that has been done here, by you, in Guadalajara.

“ITU will continue to work with our Member States and Sector Members − and indeed stakeholders across the broader ICT sector − to face the changes in the ICT environment; to cooperate with our membership; and to protect the all-important principle of multilateralism and cooperation among the international community in the modern world,” he said.

For full text of press release, see: http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/41.aspx

The Plenipotentiary Conference is the key event at which ITU member States decide on the future role of the organization, thereby determining the organization's ability to influence and affect the development of Information and Communication Technologies-ICTs- worldwide. During the plenary session, Jamaica's Minister of State in the Prime -Minister's office Clive Mullings said that Jamaica is committed to the use of information, communication and technology to drive development, increase knowledge and meet the challenges of our time.

He noted that since becoming a member State of the ITU in 1963, Jamaica has been committed to the best use of information and communications technologies for the advancement of Jamaicans and the peoples of the world.

To listen to the full UN Radio report: http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/104600.html

Hasan Mahmood Delwar, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

Shi Yuchun, Ministry of Industry & Information Technology, China

Dr Ali Naser Al-khwildi, Communications & Media Commission, Iraq

iPads donated by:

-Policy statements from a total of 93 Member State delegations.

-Over 2,500 delegates registered from 167 countries at the conference, with over 2,000 delegates coming to Guadalajara – including 130 Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Ambassadors.

-545 meetings held onsite in Guadalajara Expo, dealing with a total of 528 proposals from members during the Conference.

-Over 800 local staff assisting with the event, along with more than 250 ITU staff, including over 70 interpreters.

-More than a thousand shuttle bus journeys have conveyed staff and delegates to and from their hotels.

-Over 35,000 pictures have been taken by ITU photographers, with almost 2,000 being published online and available for download by delegates. Over 100,000 photo views on Flickr.

-28 videos produced which have been watched over 4,000 times on YouTube as well as being broadcast here in Guadalajara Expo. While PP-10 has been on, ITU’s YouTube channel as a whole has just passed a quarter of a million video views.

-Over 1,500 media clippings from Angola to Venezuela and from Armenia to Zambia.

-Over 75,000 visits to the PP-10 website over the past two and a half weeks, and almost half a million page views.

-Over 90,000 hours spent on the Wi-Fi network by almost 2,000 unique Wi-Fi client devices, and over 1,500 unique wired LAN devices.

-Over 200 hours of live broadcast webcasts, representing well over a thousand hours of audio/video archives, considering the six languages used.

-1,500 hours of interpretation and almost six thousand pages of translated documents.

-Less paper than ever before used– saving an estimated printing of just over a million pages!. In terms of greenhouse gases saved, this amounts to over 5 tonnes, or the equivalent of running a typical family car for a whole year.

-15,000 gifts were distributed to PP-10 participants.

Clara Luz Álvarez, Rapporteur for ITU-D Q20, discusses the importance of taking accessibility into account at the design and production phase of ICT equipment and of public policies/law to enable persons with disabilities with equal opportunity to connect to ICTs: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

Los aparatos actuales pueden ser utilizados por cualquier tipo de usuario sin importar sus capacidades. Ya perfeccionan en Alemania técnica para manipular computadoras y celulares con la mente.

Guadalajara.- El mercado del equipo tecnológico elaborado específicamente para personas con discapacidad está en declive debido a la accesibilidad que hoy ofrecen los dispositivos de tecnología. Desde pantallas touchscreen que ofrecen respuesta auditiva y táctil hasta aparatos que pueden ser controlados por el pensamiento humano, los nuevos productos han borrado la línea que divide al mercado especializado del regular.

Así lo aseguró Reinhard Scholl, de la oficina de Estandarización de Telecomunicaciones de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), quien fue el principal promotor del uso extendido de la tecnología especializada en la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la UIT.

El especialista explicó que la expansión del mercado de los dispositivos enfocados a las personas con discapacidad puede favorecer al total de la humanidad, “según estudios de Estados Unidos, 10 por ciento de la población del mundo tiene algún tipo de discapacidad, pero este porcentaje aumenta debido a que cualquier persona, con el paso del tiempo, sufrirá de discapacidades y afectaciones ocasionadas por la edad”. En este contexto, consideró que los costos de los dispositivos disminuirán.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.milenio.com/node/559121

The conference noted that the dates for the next Radiocommunication Assembly (RA) have been set for 16‑20 January 2012, and those for the next World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) for 23 January - 17 February 2012. It agreed on the  schedule of future conferences, assemblies and forums for the years 2011-2014 as shown below:

-World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA): November 2012;
-World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT): November 2012;
-World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC): March-April 2014;
-Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14): to be held in Korea (Republic of).

These events should be held within the periods. However,  the precise dates and places, where not already decided, will be set by the Council after consultation of the Member States, leaving sufficient time between the various conferences. Their exact  duration will  be decided by the Council after their agendas have been established. The conference emphasized that the dates and durations of  RA‑12 and WRC-12, for which the agendas have been  established must not be modified.

This new resolution seeks to establish a sound basis for ITU’s work surrounding the role of telecommunications/ICT in climate change and the protection of the environment. Recognizing existing Council and World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) resolutions on ICTs and climate change, it acknowledges that ICTs contribute to greenhousegGas (GHG) emissions, but also play an important role in tackling climate change and protecting the environment.

The resolution notes the body of existing work carried out by ITU-T on methodologies for evaluating the energy efficiency of ICT equipment and monitoring their impact and effects on climate change. It also acknowledges ITU-R’s leadership in studying the use of radiocommunication systems and remote sensing applications to improve climate monitoring, disaster prediction and relief, as well as the work done by ITU-D in this domain.

ITU is called upon to continue demonstrating  its leadership and developing its activities in this area, including through workshops, seminars, training courses and best practice guidelines. ITU should promote awareness of the environmental issues surrounding telecommunication/ICT equipment and encourage energy efficiency in the design and  manufacture of such equipment to promote a clean and safe environment. The Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) should continue its work on evaluation methodologies for energy efficiency and the GHG emissions of ICTs. ITU should also provide assistance to developing countries to strengthen their human and institutional capacity for tackling and adapting to climate change, including disaster management planning.

The Resolution invites ITU’s membership - its Member States, Sector Members and Associates – to contribute to the work of ITU as well as the broader UN process on climate change. It asks ITU’s broader membership to take the necessary measures to reduce the effects of climate change by developing and using more energy-efficient ICT devices, applications and networks and to promote recycling and the reuse of ICT equipment. It also calls upon them to continue or initiate public and private programmes including ICTs and climate change, while giving due consideration to relevant ITU initiatives. It is hoped that this Resolution will help pave the way for ITU’s work in the area of ICTs and climate change, one of the biggest challenges facing mankind, and indeed the planet, today.

In response to considerable concern about how best to protect vulnerable children and youth online, this new resolution seeks to establish a mandate for ITU’s work and activities in this area, pursuant to the existing ITU Council resolutions. It recognizes the diverse nature of access to ICTs and the increasingly widespread use of ICTs by children, at times without control or guidance. It acknowledges the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) outcome documents, which recognized the role of ICTs in enhancing the development of children and as a tool to achieve international development goals, such as the  Millennium Development Goals.

The Resolution encourages ITU to continue its Child Online Protection (COP) initiative as a platform to raise awareness and educate stakeholders in this vital issue. It also requests the ITU Council to continue its Council Working Group on child online protection - in the discussions relating to this resolution, a large number of Member States indicated their support for the continuation of the Council Working Group. It encourages the ITU Secretary-General to coordinate ITU activities with other initiatives at the national, regional and international levels, as well as bringing this resolution to the attention of the UN Secretary-General with the aim of increasing the  commitment of the UN system in child online protection.

This resolution seeks to establish a clear basis for ITU’s activities to help bridge the standardization gap. It acknowledges that technological realities and needs vary from country to country and region to region. However, persistent concerns have arisen over developing countries’ ability to participate in ITU’s standardization activities, and it notes that major disparities in knowledge and management of standards remain between developed and developing countries. The resolution suggests that this standardization and ‘knowledge gap’ may potentially arise through lack of awareness of standardization activities, difficulties in accessing information, lack of training or lack of financial resources to engage in travel.

In order to help overcome divides in participation, knowledge and management of standards, the resolution asks the ITU Secretary-General and the Directors of the three ITU Bureaux to work closely with each other on this issue and to step up actions to reduce the standardization gap. It resolves that close coordination should be maintained among the three Sectors at the regional level, involving ITU’s regional offices. ITU is encouraged to identify means and support for the participation of representatives of developing countries in its meetings and to report on its follow-up. ITU Member States and Sector Members are invited to make both financial and in-kind contributions to support ITU’s actions and help boost the fund for bridging the standardization gap. This resolution provides a sound basis for helping boost the participation of developing countries in ITU’s standardization activities.

The conference carefully  examined the proposals from Member States with regard to the free on-line access policy on ITU publications. They considered this as an issue of high importance. The decision reached  on 21 October  is not only of a financial nature, but also more of a strategic dimension for ITU’s  work, the conference underlined. In his report to the conference, Bruce Gracie, who chaired Committee 6, where the issue was widely debated , said: “The adverse impact on ITU’s  revenue has to balance with the increased visibility that the free online policy is providing”. Free access to ITU-T Recommendations was recognized as being an outstanding achievement for international telecommunications, and members advocated for the adoption of a symmetrical approach across ITU. The ITU secretariat had explained, during the debates,  that the estimated loss over a four-year  period  would be  CHF 1.2 million. According to the new decision,  free online access will be provided for ITU-R Recommendations, ITU-R Reports, the Basic Texts of the Union and the Final Acts of Plenipotentiary Conferences to the general public on a permanent basis. The Decision also instructs the Secretary-General to prepare a report on the revenue of sales of ITU Publications, software and databases, and to present this report to Council 2011.

The ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) and the ITU Telecommunications Sector (ITU-T) are collaborating with other expert organizations in work relating to human exposure to electromagnetic fields. ITU has expertise in calculating and measuring the field strength and power density of radio signals, while WHO and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) have specialized health expertise and competence to assess the impact of radio waves on the human body.

Today the Plenipotentiary Conference adopted a new resolution that will spur ITU work in this area to assist national administrations, particularly in developing countries. ITU will collect and disseminate information on exposure to electromagnetic fields, and on methods of measuring exposure.

Regional seminars and workshops will be held to build human capacity, and Member States are expected to share their expertise and resources. The Council and the next Plenipotentiary Conference will get reports on the matter.

Guidelines on limits of exposure to electromagnetic fields have been established by ICNIRP, the International Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC). The new resolution sets out a complementary role for ITU in supporting Member States in measuring exposure and in related capacity-building.

The conference decided that ITU will continue to implement Resolution 76 of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (Johannesburg, 2008) and Resolution 47 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010), along with the recommendations of the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau ( TSB), endorsed by the Council at its 2009 session, regarding:

-a conformity assessment programme;
-an interoperability events programme;
-a human resources capacity building;
-recommendations to assist in the establishment of test facilities in developing countries.

This is the thrust of a new resolution just adopted on conformance and interoperability. The resolution emphasizes that this programme of work be implemented in parallel without any delay. The Director TSB is asked to prepare a business plan for the long-term implementation of this resolution.
The programme of work includes building up a pilot database into a fully functioning conformity database. The implementation of the conformity database will take into consideration the outcome and effect on Member States, Sector Members and stakeholders, how it will help bridge the standardization gap, potential liability issues, and the results of the regional ITU conformity and interoperability consultations.

A major part of the programme will be to assist developing countries to establish regional or subregional conformity and interoperability centres that can carry out interoperability testing.

Malcolm Johnson, who was recently re-elected Director of TSB with an overwhelming majority, is called upon to study the possibility of a future ITU Mark programme. This would be a voluntary programme permitting manufacturers and service providers to make a visible declaration that their equipment conforms to ITU-T Recommendations.

The Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) is expected to collaborate with the Director of TSB and Director of BR to advance the implementation of Resolution 47 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010) and to assist Member States in dealing with the problem of counterfeit equipment. Developing countries, in particular, are worried about counterfeit equipment because it may negatively affect the quality of their telecommunication infrastructure.

Resolution 76 (Johannesburg, 2008) deals with studies related to conformance and interoperability testing, assistance to developing countries, and a possible future ITU Mark programme.

ITU’s ability to assess and recognize conformity and interoperability will be a driver for raising awareness and building capacity in developing countries. BDT will be the focal point for this activity through its global and regional initiatives, including the centres of excellence.

Presenting the report of the Director of TSB to the Working Group of the Plenary where agreement was first reached on the new resolution, R. Scholl said that a major concern raised at WTSA-08 was the lack of conformance and interoperability of equipment being placed on the market, especially in developing countries. To respond to that concern, TSB has developed a pilot conformity database, which is currently available only to ITU members. Entry in the database is voluntary and free of charge. Details of products and services that have been recognized by ITU as being in conformity with ITU-T Recommendations can be listed in the database. Subject to testing, a vendor is entitled to claim recognition of conformity.

ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) held two interoperability events - in July and in September 2010 - to test its IPTV suites of standards, and a third event will take place in December. These events are generating a lot of interest. Also, the mood evident during three regional ITU consultation meetings on conformance assessment and interoperability was of considerable support for Resolution 76 of WTSA-08. The overall consensus was that it would benefit both developing and developed countries if this resolution was implemented without further delay.  In this regard, the resolution adopted in Guadalajara represents an important milestone.

The resolution updates and sets out the role of ITU in relation to the role of administrations of Member States in the management of internationalized domain names (IDNs). It recognizes the need to promote the use of internationalized domain names in order to overcome linguistic barriers to Internet access and recalls previous standardization work done by ITU-T in non-Latin character sets for data transfer globally. Noting that the current domain name system does not fully reflect the diverse and growing language needs of all users and that IDNs should be widely accessible, it instructs the ITU Secretary-General and Directors of the three Bureaux to take an active part in international discussions, initiatives and activities on the deployment and management of internationalized Internet domain names, in cooperation with relevant organizations, including WIPO and UNESCO. It calls upon ITU elected officials to take action to ensure the sovereignty of ITU Member States with regard to ITU-T Recommendation E.164 numbering plans (in whichever application they are used) and to promote the role of the ITU membership in the internationalization of domain names in different language scripts using their specific character sets. Again, it also calls for greater collaboration and coordination between ITU and relevant organizations (including, but not limited to ICANN, the RIRs, the IETF, ISOC and W3C on a reciprocity basis) and awareness-raising at the national and regional levels among interested parties.

This updated resolution complements existing ITU resolutions on ITU’s role in public policy issues (for example, Council Resolution 1305  approved at its  2009 Session). It describes ITU’s role with regard to international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet and recognizes that ITU deals with both technical and policy issues related to IP-based networks, including the existing Internet, future Internet and the evolution to NGN.. According to the Resolution, significant effort has been put in by ITU on ENUM, “.int”, internationalized domain name (IDN), and country code top-level domain (ccTLD) issues through workshops and standardization activities.

The resolution also emphasizes that ITU’s Dedicated Group on Internet-related public policy issues should continue its work. It notes that the Dedicated Group would be more efficient if it became autonomous and directly responsible to the ITU Council, with all three Sectors contributing to its work. On this basis, the Resolution asks that Council makes the Dedicated Group a Council Working Group enjoying open consultation to all stakeholders. (This suggestion remains subject to Council’s approval and endorsement following PP-10).

The resolution instructs the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB)  to continue performing its role in technical issues and to liaise and cooperate with appropriate entities on issues related to the management of Internet domain names and addresses and other Internet resources (such as IPv6, ENUM and IDNs). It further instructs the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)  to organize international and regional forums to discuss policy, operational and technical issues on the management of Internet domain names and addresses and other Internet resources.

This resolution calls for ITU to continue to play a facilitating role in the coordination of international Internet-related public policy issues. Again, significantly, it calls for greater collaboration and coordination between ITU and relevant organizations (including, but not limited to ICANN, the RIRs, the IETF, ISOC and W3C on a reciprocity basis). It instructs the ITU Secretary-General to take a significant role in international discussions and initiatives on the management of Internet domain names and addresses and other Internet resources and for ITU to continue to play a facilitating role in the coordination of international Internet-related public policy issues. It invites ITU membership to participate in discussions in this field, to cooperate with relevant organizations and to contribute to the Dedicated Group and ITU Study Groups on related matters.

This Resolution revised and updates an existing resolution from Antalya (2006). It considers recent advances in global information infrastructure, including the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networks and the Internet, as well as future IP developments and new applications. It also acknowledges various challenges with regard to quality of service, uncertainty of origin (of IP traffic) and the high cost of international connectivity. It recognizes ITU-T’s work on IP‑based network issues, including service interoperability with other telecommunication networks, numbering, signalling requirements and protocol aspects, security and infrastructure component costs, and issues associated with the evolution to next-generation networks (NGN).

The Resolution requests all three Sectors to consider their future work programmes on IP-based networks and on migration to NGN and future networks. It asks ITU-T to continue its collaborative activities with ISOC/IETF and other relevant organizations, in respect of interconnectivity and migration to NGN. It asks ITU to fully embrace the opportunities for telecommunication/ICT development arising from the growth of IP-based services, and to continue its study of international Internet connectivity as an urgent matter. It also encourages ITU to identify clearly the range of Internet-related issues falling within its responsibilities according to its basic texts and the WSIS outcome documents. The Resolution calls on ITU membership to raise awareness at the national, regional and international levels. However, the most significant item in this resolution lies in its call for greater collaboration and coordination between ITU and relevant organizations (including, but not limited to ICANN, the RIRs, the IETF, ISOC and W3C on a reciprocity basis), as well as UNESCO and the Broadband Commission for Digital Development.

This new resolution is ITU’s first Plenipotentiary resolution focused on IPv6, and breaks new ground for ITU as it seeks to modernize and adapt its work to Internet Protocol (IP)-based next-generation networks. Considering the imminent exhaustion of IPv4 addresses and that specific actions must be defined for the transition to IPv6, it recognizes the opportunities opened up for the development of ICTs by IPv6 and that the early adoption of IPv6 is the best way forward to avoid scarcity of IP addresses and the follow-on effects of IPv4 address exhaustion.

The resolution seeks to step up the exchange of experiences and information regarding the adoption of IPv6 with all stakeholders and create opportunities for collaborative efforts to support the transition to IPv6. It seeks to assist Member States which require support in the management and allocation of IPv6 resources. It notes the work of the existing IPv6 working group set up by the 2009 Session of Council and asks it to undertake detailed studies of IP address allocation for both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. It also calls for ITU to study and monitor current allocation mechanisms, identify any flaws arising and communicate proposals for changes to existing policies, if appropriate. It invites Member States to develop specific initiatives at the national level fostering interaction between governmental, private and academic entities and civil society.

More Decisions

For a summary of the new and updated Resolutions plus those that have been abrogated by the Plenipotentiary Conference, up until 20 October, see Issue no. 9 of the Highlights: http://bit.ly/dpUTtt

Logra el respaldo de 119 países de los 161 miembros, ocupando así, el sexto puesto de la Unión Internacional de Naciones Unidas el cual se realiza en México del 04 al 22 de octubre / La Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones es el organismo encargado de coordinar con los gobiernos y el sector privado el desarollo de comunicaciones

La República Bolivariana de Venezuela quedó reelecta como miembro del Consejo "Región A - América" de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), durante la realización de la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios.

La Delegación venezolana logra el respaldo de 119 países de los 161 miembros, ocupando así, el sexto (6) puesto de la Unión Internacional de Naciones Unidas (ONU) el cual se realiza en la ciudad de Guadalajara, México del 04 al 22 de octubre.

El embajador Trino Díaz durante su intervención presentó la "Declaración Política", en el cual enunció los avances que Venezuela ha alcanzado en materia de "acceso y democratización de las telecomunicaciones" desde 1998, con el "propósito de asegurar el uso de las Tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC) como herramientas habilitadoras de conocimiento que han permitido la participación protagónica de nuestra población en su desarrollo socio-económico".

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.vtv.gov.ve/noticias-ciencia-y-salud/46748

This new resolution recalls ITU’s role in implementing the WSIS outcomes, as outlined in Resolution 140 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010). It also cites Paragraph 111 of the Tunis Agenda, which  requested the United Nations General Assembly to make an overall review of the implementation of WSIS outcomes in 2015. In response to that request, the United Nations General Assembly, in its Resolution 60/252, decided to conduct an overall review of the implementation of the Summit outcomes in 2015.

The new resolution instructs the ITU Secretary-General to initiate consultations with  the United Nations Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) in order to prepare the overall review of implementation of WSIS outcomes in 2015, including the possibility of holding a high-level event in 2014 or 2015. He is also instructed to propose to CEB to make the necessary preparations based on the multi-stakeholder approach; pursue efficient and effective coordination with all stakeholders in preparing the overall review; and report to the Council on the results of this process, for its consideration and decision.
 
For its part, the Council is instructed, in the light of the results of the Secretary-General’s consultation, to:

- consider and decide on ITU's role in, and contribution to, the overall review process;
- examine ways and means to enhance ITU’s lead role in any relevant preparatory process;
- request the Secretary-General, under the preparatory process, to coordinate with all stakeholders and provide mechanisms, including the possibility of holding open consultations;
- evaluate, at its 2011 session, the financial burden for ITU that might result from its contribution to the preparatory process;
- report to the next Plenipotentiary Conference on preparations for final overall review of the implementation of the WSIS outcomes and formulate proposals for further activities.

After negotiations led by the Chairman of the Conference, Fernando Borjón, and ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré and with the active participation of the parties concerned, a compromise was reached with regard to revisions to Resolutions 99 (Rev. Antalya, 2006) on the “status of Palestine” and 125 (Rev. Marrakesh, 2002) on “assistance and support to Palestine for rebuilding its telecommunication networks”.

Resolution 99 has been updated and resolves that, pending any further change in the current status of Palestine as observer in ITU, Palestine shall participate in all ITU conferences, assemblies and meetings and in treaty-making conferences with the following additional rights to what they already have:

-the right to raise points of order;
-the right to co-sponsor proposals;

Palestine shall have the right to attend the Heads of Delegation meetings. It shall also have the right to request the verbatim insertion of any declaration made during the course of a debate.

Assistance and support to Palestine for rebuilding its telecommunication networks
Resolution 125 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) first recalls  the  decision of the United Nations General Assembly  to use the designation "Palestine" in the United Nations system. The update considers that  the international community has an important role in assisting Palestine to develop a modern and reliable telecommunication network. It states that a large part of the Palestinian telecommunication infrastructure has been significantly damaged in recent years. Other changes to the resolution call upon Member States to make every effort with a view, among other things, to providing all forms of assistance and support to Palestine, bilaterally or through executive measures taken by ITU, in rebuilding, restoring and developing its telecommunication  network. In this regard, the Council is invited to allocate the necessary funds, within available resources, to  implement the  updated resolution. The Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) is instructed to take appropriate measures, within the mandate of BDT, to facilitate the establishment of international access networks, including terrestrial and satellite stations, submarine cables,  optical fibre and microwave systems.

The State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (2010) report  contains alarming statistical data on this group in such areas as health, human rights, education and employment. Committee 6 examined the Inter-American proposal on this subject, and requested, following a debate that the proposal be reviewed with a view to improving the Union’s mechanism for granting fellowships. It was argued that the state of indigenous people places them in a situation similar to that of least developed countries, despite the fact that some of them live in developed countries.

ITU is encouraged, through a new resolution entitled "facilitating digital inclusion initiatives for indigenous peoples", to make it easier to grant fellowships to indigenous people as part of the Digital Inclusion Initiative of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D). The aim is to allow indigenous people to attend workshops, seminars, events, and other types of capacity-building events organized by ITU. But the resolution adds the caveat that Member States will have the authority to consider the requests of indigenous people, if and when the country is eligible for fellowship grants. The new resolution also cites Resolution 68 of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (Hyderabad, 2010) on the inclusion of indigenous people in the activities of BDT, requesting ITU to recognize and encourage indigenous people to participate in ITU's work.

A new resolution notes the vulnerability of critical national infrastructure and its increasing dependence on information and communication technologies and the threats resulting from the illicit use of these technologies. It says that Illicit use of ICT could have a detrimental impact on a country’s infrastructure, national security, and economic development. The resolution is entitled “ITU's role with regard to international public policy issues relating to the risk of illicit use of information and communication technologies”. It instructs the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to:

- raise awareness of Member States regarding the adverse impact that may result from the illicit use of information and communication resources.

- maintain the role of ITU to cooperate within its mandate with other United Nations bodies in combating the illicit use of ICT.

The resolution underlines the importance of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). It resolves that ITU in its capacity as facilitator of WSIS Action Line C5 on “building confidence and security in the use of ICT”, will organize meetings of Member States and relevant ICT stakeholders, including geospatial and information service providers, to discuss alternative approaches to solutions in order to address and prevent the illicit application of ICT, while taking into consideration the overall interests of the ICT industry.

The Secretary-General is instructed to collect best practices from Member States on their actions taken to prevent the illicit use of ICT, and provide assistance to those who need it .

Member States and relevant ICT stakeholders are invited to pursue their dialogue at the regional and national levels in order to find mutually acceptable solutions. They should also provide the support needed to implement this resolution.

A new resolution sets out ways for ITU to mainstream people with disabilities in all its work. Entitled “Telecommunication/information and communication technology accessibility for persons with disabilities, including age-related disabilities”, the resolution recognizes a number of international agreements. These include the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which requires States Parties to adopt appropriate measures to provide access for persons with disabilities - on an equal basis with others - to ICT, emergency services and Internet service; Resolution 70 of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (Johannesburg, 2008), Resolution 58 of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (Hyderabad, 2010); the Tunis Commitment, made at the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (Tunis, 2005), and the Phuket Declaration on Tsunami Preparedness for Persons with Disabilities. 

The World Health Organization estimates that ten per cent of the world's population (more than 650 million people) are people with disabilities. This percentage may increase because of the greater availability of medical treatment, enabling sick or injured people live longer. Increased life expectancy in general means that there are more elderly people with the disabilities that come with age. Also, people may acquire disabilities through accidents, wars and the circumstances of poverty.

ITU is already collaborating with external entities and bodies concerned with this subject, and adopt a comprehensive action plan to extend access to telecommunication/ICT to people with disabilities. The experiences, views and opinions of people with disabilities have to be taken on board when developing and progressing ITU work.

The Secretary-General and Directors of the Bureaux will have to coordinate accessibility-related activities between the ITU-T, ITU-R, ITU-D, and ensure that the needs of persons with disabilities are taken into account. Of course, the financial implications of providing access will need to be considered. Within ITU, it may be possible to expand the fellowship programme to enable delegates with disabilities to participate in the work of the Union. Another useful step will be to identify, document and disseminate examples of best practices among ITU Member States and Sector Members.

Member States and Sector Members can help by developing guidelines to enhance the accessibility, compatibility and usability of telecommunication/ICT services, products and terminals. They can also introduce telecommunication/ICT services that are appropriate for people with disabilities, both in terms of technology and cost.

Reports on this matter will be submitted to the ITU Council and to the next Plenipotentiary Conference. A special trust fund has been set up by ITU to support activities relating to this resolution, and Member States and Sector Members are invited to contribute.

Le Directeur-élu du BDT de l’UIT, Brahima Sanou, aborde les principaux défis qui devra relever le Bureau de développement des  télécommunications. Il souhaite souligner l’importance de l’investissement, partager les bonnes pratiques et l’expérience http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

Director-elect for ITU's Radiocommunication Bureau, François Rancy, outlines the main challenges for the radiocommunication sector and discusses the attraction of the UHF band: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

With the re-election in Guadalajara of myself as Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao as Deputy Secretary-General and Malcolm Johnson as Director of TSB, and the fresh election of François Rancy as Director of BR and Brahima Sanou as Director of BDT, we now have a powerful management team in place to carry out the Union’s work from 2011 to 2014.

We have a strong mandate from membership, and we have much to achieve over the next four years. We will therefore be counting on the continuing efforts of each and every member of ITU staff, as well as our Sector and Associate Members, to deliver on the promises made at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara.

We will need to be productive, efficient and effective in our daily work if we are to meet our goals, and I am confident that the spirit of cooperation and partnership which has seen our great Union stay proud through the past 145 years will see us chart our way safely through the coming four years.

For full text plus video interview, see: http://www.itu.int/en/osg/focus/Pages/four-years.aspx

Next-generation networks (NGN) are important - indeed essential - for all countries, especially the developing ones, as proposals to the Guadalajara Conference underlined. Resolution 137 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) on “next-generation network deployment in developing countries” has been revised to reflect the outcomes of the World Telecommunication Development Conference, held in Hyderabad, India, in May-June 2010 (WTDC-10); the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, held in Johannesburg , South Africa, in 2008 (WTSA-08); and the work of ITU-T Study Group 13 Focus Group on future networks. The revisions also include reference to WSIS Action Lines 2 (information and infrastructure) and 6 (an enabling environment).

Developing countries are still facing major challenges, exacerbated by shortages of resources, experience and capacity building in planning and deploying networks, especially next-generation networks. The conference also noted the delay in implementing and adopting these networks in developed countries. It recognized  that the existing digital divide could get worse  with the emergence of new technologies, including post-NGNs, if developing countries are not able to introduce these networks in a universal and timely manner.
 
The revisions make reference to Resolution 143 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010), which calls for the provisions in all ITU documents relating to developing countries to be extended to apply adequately to the least developed countries, small island developing States, landlocked developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

The Directors of the three ITU Bureaux are instructed, among other things, to continuously consolidate their efforts in studies and standards-development activities on the deployment of NGN and future networks, especially those designed for rural areas and for bridging the digital divide and the development divide. In addition, the Directors are to coordinate studies and programmes under ITU-T’s  Next-Generation Network Global Standards Initiative (NGN-GSI) and ITU-D’s Global Network Planning Initiatives (GNPi), as well as coordinate ongoing work in study groups and through relevant programmes defined in the Hyderabad Action Plan of WTDC-10. They will also seek solutions to speed up the deployment of affordable NGN in rural areas, using the success stories of developing countries that have migrated to such networks and benefit from their experience.

The Council is instructed to consider the reports and proposals made by the Secretary-General and the three Bureaux on implementing this resolution, making the appropriate linkage with the operative part of WTSA Resolution 44 (Rev. Johannesburg, 2008). It should also take appropriate action to ensure that the Union continues to pay attention to addressing the needs of developing countries.

Member States and Sector Members are called upon to strengthen cooperation between developed and developing countries, and among developing countries themselves, in improving national, regional and international capabilities to implement NGNs in a way that will enable them to handle future networks, especially in rural areas.

Reliable public broadcasting and telecommunication systems are indispensable for promoting the socio-economic development of countries - notably those having suffered from natural disasters, domestic conflicts or war. Serbia is one such country. The conference has updated Resolution 126 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) on “assistance and support to the Republic of Serbia for rebuilding its destroyed public broadcasting system”. ITU’s  key role in rebuilding that country's telecommunication sector has been widely recognized.

The resolution underlines that the newly established public broadcasting facility in Serbia, public entity “Broadcast Multiplex and Network Operator” (ETV) – formerly a part of the Radio Television of Serbia –  has been severely damaged. The damage to public broadcasting in Serbia, as the conference recognized, should be a matter of  concern to the whole international community, in particular ITU. As public broadcaster, ETV is a public entity, which should start broadcasting digital television programmes on 4 April 2012. However, under the present conditions and in the foreseeable future, Serbia will not be able to bring its public broadcasting system and the digital switch-over process up to an acceptable level without help from the international community, provided bilaterally or through international organizations. The resolution, as updated, calls upon Member States to offer all possible assistance. It instructs the Council to allocate the necessary funds, within available resources. It instructs the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau to use the necessary funds (also, within available resources), in order to continue appropriate action. The Secretary-General will coordinate the activities carried out by the ITU Sectors to ensure that the Union’s action in favour of Serbia is as effective as possible. He will report on the matter to the Council.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment can be advanced in several ways through information and communication technologies (ICT). Encouraging girls to choose a career in the field of ICT, and fostering the use of ICT for the social and economic empowerment of women and girls, are obvious examples. The growing number of women in the ICT field with decision-making could push the work of ITU in this direction.
 
The revised resolution encourages Member States and Sector Members to facilitate the employment of women and men equally in the ICT/telecommunication field, including at senior levels of responsibility, and to increase opportunities for women and girls in ICT careers during elementary, secondary and higher education. One way to do this would be by establishing an international “Girls in ICT” day, to be celebrated annually on every fourth Thursday of April. This would provide an occasion for ICT companies, other companies with ICT departments, ICT training institutions, universities, research centres, and all ICT-related institutions to organize an open day for girls. Another way would be to support the work of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) and of a “Global Network of women ICT decision-makers”. In this regard, the ITU Secretary-General is instructed to encourage the launch of such a network.

A gender perspective will be incorporated in the implementation of the ITU strategic plan and financial plan for 2012-2015, as well as in the operational plans of the Union’s three Bureaux and the General Secretariat. According to the resolution, the Council has the responsibility of expanding on the ITU initiatives of the past four years, to accelerate the gender mainstreaming process in ITU as a whole, within existing budgetary resources, so as to ensure capacity building and promotion of women at senior-level positions. In the resolution, the Council is instructed to consider selecting the theme “Women and Girls in ICT” to mark World Telecommunication and Information Society Day in 2012.

To implement the resolution, the Secretary-General is instructed to announce a year-long Call to Action with a focus on the theme “Women and Girls in ICT”, while the Director of BDT is to bring to the attention of other UN agencies the need to increase the interest and opportunities for girls and young women in ICT careers. The resolution invites Member States and Sector Members to establish and observe annually and internationally “Girls in ICT” day.

As we go to press with this issue of the Highlights, the Plenary is holding its first night session and has just confirmed the decisions taken at its meeting on 18 October. These decisions are reported here.

Conference approves Strategic Plan for ITU for the years 2012-2015
 
The conference has approved a new Strategic Plan for ITU for the years  2012-2015. This new plan highlights the central role of telecommunications in our modern lives and the profound changes now taking place in the industry that are  bound to have far-reaching consequences for us all. The spread of Internet Protocol (IP)-based next-generation networks, convergence in devices and networks, and the rise of social networks mean that information and communication technologies (ICT) are responding to the changing needs of today’s consumers in a transformed communications landscape.

ITU, with its vision to connect the world in order to safeguard everyone’s fundamental right to communicate, needs a strong and effective strategic plan both to respond to the changing needs of its members and to prove its ongoing relevance in an all-IP world. Approving the plan, the conference expressed gratitude to Fabio Bigi of Italy for chairing  the Working Group of the Council that developed a robust plan for the Union.

For full text, see: http://bit.ly/dpUTtt

S.E. Mr Jean Bawoyeu Alingue, Ministre des Postes, Technologies de l'information et de la Communication, nous parle des progrès de la téléphonie mobile dans son pays et de l’unité qu’ils ont créé dans la population tchadienne: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

Pour sa déclaration de politique générale et clip vidéo en plénière, voir: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

H.E. Jaime Guerrero, Minister of Telecommunications & Information Society, talks of the obstacles of rolling out telecommunications in Ecuador and their efforts to overcome these: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

NEW DELHI: The former Wireless Adviser to the Government, P K Garg, has been elected to represent Asia on the Radio Regulations Board of the International Telecommunication Union. The other two members elected are Yasuhiko Ito from Japan who took 120 votes and Ali R. Ebadi from Malaysia (93 votes). Garg received 78 votes. Members are elected to represent Region E, Asia, and Australasia.

India was also elected among the 13 members on the ITU Council, getting 119 of the 161 votes. The other members are Indonesia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Bangladesh, Thailand, Australia, India, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines. The elections took place at the ongoing ITU’s 18th Plenipotentiary conference at Mexico. This meet takes place every four years. http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k10/oct/oct127.php

What does it take to put on an international meeting for some 2,500 delegates from some 160 countries, working in six different languages?

It’s no mean feat, that’s for sure. ITU’s simultaneous interpretation team, who provide feeds to the multilingual conferencing system in the rooms in each of the Union’s six official languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish – is absolutely indispensable.

PP-10 has a team of 73 interpreters in total, representing many different nationalities and able to handle all six UN languages plus quite a few others too. Some of these talented linguists can even work in four official UN languages or more (but only one at a time!) and 100% attention is vital.

Ensconced in individual booths so that they can focus exclusively on the audio feed coming from the floor with no distractions or interruptions, interpreters for each of the six languages alternate with a colleague handling the same language every 30-minutes, so intense is the level of concentration needed to instantly communicate complex and often quite technical discussions into their assigned language.

“The sheer size and breadth of the team of interpreters on duty at P-10 is a testament to ITU’s reach and strength,” says Ewandro Magalhaes, Head of ITU’s Interpretation Section. “Few organizations can claim to rely on so large a team of interpreters for so long a conference. Plus, ITU interpreters are known to be among the most skilled, given the specialized jargon they have to handle.”

A draft new Resolution was approved this afternoon, permitting academia, universities and their associated research establishments concerned with the development of telecommunications/ICT to join ITU and participate in work of the 3 Sectors.

The financial contribution for such participation has been set at one-sixteenth of the value of a contributory unit for Sector Members from developed countries (3975 CHF) and one-thirty two of the value of the contributory unit for Sector Members for organizations from developing countries (1987.5 CHF).

Acceptance of applications for participation shall be conditional on the support of the Member States of the Union to which the bodies belong.

Keith Besgrove, First Assistant Secretary for the Digital Economy Services Division of the Australian Department of Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy, discusses the impact of the National Broadband Network and National Disability Strategy on enhancing lives of persons with disabilities and the aboriginal community: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

SA has again secured a seat on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) council at the plenipotentiary conference in Mexico, the department of communications said on Friday.

“The appointment of SA to the ITU is a testimony that confirms member states’ confidence in the country’s contribution to the body of knowledge in the three sectors of the union and the ICT matter in general,” said department spokeswoman Busiswa Mlandu.

The three sectors of the union were telecommunications development, standardisation and radiocommunications.

SA was elected to the seat on October 10 after it obtained 105 of the 158 members’ votes.

Also scoring a victory for Africa, Hamadoun Touré from Mali was elected as the ITU secretary general and Brahima Sanou from Burkina Faso was elected as director of the telecoms development sector.

As a member of the council, SA would be responsible for assisting the ITU in implementing its constitution and any other decisions made at the plenipotentiary conference.

It would also be responsible for providing support and strategic direction to the secretary general and the directors of the three sectors.  — Sapa

http://www.techcentral.co.za/sa-secures-key-itu-seat/18170/

Desde hace unos años para acá Paraguay viene dejando atrás, con mucho esfuerzo, un escenario de importante atraso en lo referente a todos los servicios de telecomunicaciones. Incluso dentro de América Latina, región que no se caracteriza precisamente por estar a la vanguardia de las telecomunicaciones, el país se mostraba entre el pelotón de los mercados rezagados, muy por detrás de algunos como Argentina, Brasil y Chile. Uno de los motivos que impiden a Paraguay seguir el ritmo de evolución de telecomunicaciones que muestran otros países latinoamericanos es la falta de un backhaul de fibra óptica amplio y extendido en todo el país; y a su vez, acceso a la fibra óptica internacional, algo que su posición geográfica dificulta.

Y es justamente esto lo que reclamó el presidente de la Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Conatel), Jorge Seall Sasiain, ante la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), que se celebra en Guadalajara, México, del 4 al 22 de octubre. Lo que busca el número uno del regulador local es que la UIT apoye en forma especial a los países mediterráneos para que puedan acceder a la fibra óptica internacional en forma directa o preferencial. Es sabido que aquellas naciones sin salida al mar presentan mayores complicaciones a la hora de conectarse a las diferentes redes de cable submarino internacional, con los sabidos problemas de costos y retraso que esto acarrea. En Sudamérica, los grandes exponentes de esta problemática son el propio Paraguay y Bolivia.

Durante su presentación en la Conferencia, Seall destacó el avance de los servicios de telefonía celular en Paraguay, y aseguró que el servicio cuenta con una penetración de alrededor del 95 por ciento, con una cobertura territorial del 60 por ciento. Los números son importantes si se tiene en cuenta que se trata de un país con índices de pobreza que rondan el 35 por ciento de la población. Según indicó el ejecutivo, los avances en algunos sectores de las telecomunicaciones “no se han debido sólo a las decisiones adoptadas por la entidad reguladora, sino también a la gestión de empresas y profesionales nacionales y extranjeros, que conjuntamente invierten y compiten en igualdad de condiciones en el mercado paraguayo”.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.telesemana.com/analisis/detalle.php?id=4740

Cynthia Waddell, Executive Director of the International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet, talks on accessibility to ICTs, how it has revolutionized the lives of persons with disabilities, and the importance of Accessible Design: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

Don't miss your chance to win one of 3 iPad Wi-Fi enabled tablet computers!  Our competition is open to all registered PP-10 delegates and observers.

To enter, simply visit the PP-10 website at www.itu.int/plenipotentiary and click on Competition. You’ll be asked to answer one simple question, after which your name will be automatically entered in the prize draw, which will take place on Thursday, 21 November.

All delegates/observers are encouraged to participate, even if not present through until the end of the conference. Prizes will be shipped to winners should they not be able to collect their iPad.

Sponsored by:

Week two of the Guadalajara conference ends with debates going on in earnest

With the elections over, the conference has switched gear to deal with policy and strategic issues that will shape the future of telecommunications and information and communication technologies. A number of ad hoc and drafting groups have been set up by the various substantive Committees and by the Working Group of the Plenary to lead negotiations. As Highlights only cover plenary meetings where all decisions of the conference are taken, conclusions reached on issues under negotiation will be reported on in the third week of the conference. Meanwhile, this issue of the Highlights covers the discussion in the plenary meeting of 14 October, along with the side events organized during week two of the conference.

For full text, see: http://bit.ly/dpUTtt

Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, discusses the new programme of a vendor database for products tested to ITU standards and the industry concern over the multitude of standards bodies: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

Mr Valery Timofeev, Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau
Mr Houlin Zhao, ITU Deputy Secretary-General
Mr Aboubakar Zourmba, Cameroon, Laureate of the ITU Medal and Certificate
Mr Hassan Lebbadi, Morocco, Laureate of the ITU Medal and Certificate
Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General
Mr Sami Al Basheer, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
Mr Shola Taylor, Nigeria, Laureate of the ITU Medal and Certificate
Mr Malcolm Johnson, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau

Additional RRB members, not present, will receive their ITU Medal and Certificate by mail:
Shahzada Alam Malik, Pakistan
Robert W. Jones, Canada
Martine Limodin, France
Wladyslaw Moron, Poland

 

Vassilios Cassapoglou, Executive Director of the Greek Center of Space Science & Technology, talks about the mess in space and its implications for the future & safety of human activities in outer space: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

La idea es facilitar el acceso a las telecomunicaciones para reducir el margen de desigualdad

H.E. Gen (Ret.) Siphiwe Nyanda, South African Minister of Communications talks on reducing the country's carbon footprint inc. the impact of e-dumping in Africa: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

For statement and video clip from the Plenary session, see: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

GUADALAJARA, JALISCO (BI).- El secretario general de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), Dr. Hamadoun Touré, el Dr. Javier Elguea Solís, representante de Fundación Carlos Slim y el Secretario de Educación de Jalisco, Ing. Antonio Gloria Morales, pusieron en operación el Aula Digital Fundación Carlos Slim-UIT en la escuela primaria Ricardo Flores Magón.

El Aula, que se inauguró en el marco de la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones que se celebra en esta ciudad, está dotada con 36 equipos de cómputo de escritorio y portátiles, proyector de video, cámaras fotográficas y de video, impresora, escanner, microscopio biológico monocular, globo terráqueo con lápiz interactivo; además del mobiliario requerido para su eficiente operación.

El Dr. Touré comentó: “Nosotros apoyamos en la UIT plenamente a las escuelas para alcanzar las metas del Milenio para la sociedad de la información en el 2015, por ello nos es relevante conectar a las escuelas con banda ancha, conectar a una escuela, conectar a una comunidad es sumamente importante y ese es nuestro objetivo”.

“Por esta razón estamos sumamente complacidos de asociarnos con la Fundación Carlos Slim este día para conectar a esta escuela, porque los niños son nuestro futuro”.

Lea el texto completo: http://www.periodicoelsur.com/noticia.aspx?idnoticia=51782

Ghana maintained its seat on the 48-member council of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) at the 18th Plenipotentiary Conference of the union in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Ghana was elected among 13 countries from region D, made up of African countries. From the region of 21 countries vying for the 13 slots, Egypt, Kenya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Mali,  Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Cameroun were the other countries which were elected to the council.

Ghana’s delegation to the conference, which was led by the Minister of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, included a former Minister of Communications and incumbent Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye; Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States and Mexico, Mr Ohene Agyekum; the Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr Paarock VanPercy, and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications, Mr Twumasi Appiah.

Other members of the delegation were Mr Fritz Baffour, Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee; Alhaji Gamal A. Razak, Managing Director of Abrar International, and senior officials from the Ministry of Communications.

Mr Iddrisu told the Daily Graphic that the performance of Ghana was a testimony to the positive moves by the country to implement various policies as part of efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

For full text, see: http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/page.php?news=9730

UIT analiza tránsito al nuevo protocolo IPv6

La discusión en torno a la migración de las direcciones de Internet, del protocolo actual IPv4 al nuevo IPv6, continúa en los salones de la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT). La mayoría de las propuestas de los países miembros solicitan apoyo y capacitación para que los países menos desarrollados logren la transición.

Durante una sesión de trabajo, representantes de diversos países solicitaron que la UIT intervenga en la designación de direcciones de Internet IPv6 con el fin de evitar lo sucedido con el protocolo IPv4, que presentó saturación de direcciones.

Lea el texto completo en: http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8848194

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré was made an Honorary Citizen of the City of Guadalajara and awarded the Keys of the City by the Mayor of Guadalajara, Mr Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval, in a ceremony held at the city’s gracious Palacio Municipal at midday today.

Dr Touré praised the warmth, professionalism and indomitable spirit of the people of Guadalajara, which, he said, had all contributed to making PP-10 such a tremendous success. He also complemented the city on its cultural richness, its varied cuisine, and its passionate commitment to ICTs, which have helped it quickly position itself as ‘the Mexican Silicon Valley’.

“Guadalajara will hold a very special place in my heart for the rest of my days,” he said.

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré found himself exuberantly mobbed by hundreds of small children this morning, as he assisted in the inauguration of a new Digital Classroom at the Ricardo Flores Magón primary school in the colonia of Santa Eduwiges, just a few minutes from Guadalajara Expo centre.

A joint initiative of the Carlos Slim Foundation and ITU’s Connect a School, Connect a Community programme, the ‘Aula Digital’ features a range of different types of computers and electronic equipment, including Dell laptops, bright green-and-white XO laptops from One Laptop Per Child, and large-screen Mexican-manufactured Lanix machines.

Addressing the school’s staff and 850 children aged between 6-12 years, along with dignitaries including Mr Antonio Gloria Morales, the Minister of Education for the State of Jalisco, Dr Javier Elguea Solís, of the Carlos Slim Foundation, and the Principal of the school’s morning programme, Ms Graciela Gómez Castellanos, Dr Touré said: “There is no more important institution in the world than a school...  schools are the foundation of everything we do; every service which is provided by governments or industry; and every opportunity for social and economic development.”

Ricardo Flores Magón’s new Digital Classroom is the 17th such learning centre funded and installed by the Carlos Slim Foundation in the Guadalajara area. Demonstrating the facilities to Dr Touré, Mr Solís showed how the children are now able to connect to a network of over 100,000 computers in 1,000 schools throughout Mexico, providing more than half a million school-age children with access to the wealth of information on the web, as well as to advanced e-learning applications.

Clearly moved by the children’s unbridled enthusiasm for the new technology on offer, Dr Touré said: “Coming here and looking in your eyes gives me great hope for the future,” he said, “because I see today a very proud future in each of your eyes”.

The surprise announcement by Minister Morales that the State of Jalisco would donate a technology teacher to the school elicited another loud cheer from the children and warm applause from the Principal, teachers and representative of the local Parents’ Association, Ms Angeles Navarro Silva, whose 11-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter will soon be benefiting from the new classroom. On behalf of the school’s parents, Ms Silva also presented Mr Solís with the gift of an imposing silver coat rack, to express their gratitude for the exciting opportunities the new facilities will offer their children.

Bangladesh has been elected council member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the period 2010-2014 in the Asia and Australasia region.

Bangladesh has secured the 6th position out of 13 seats in this region and has obtained 123 votes, said Major M A Kashem (Rtd), consultant of Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC), (Submarine Cable System). The election was held in Guadalajara in Mexico Monday.

Bangladesh achieved such a huge success at its first participation and hence it can be described as a great achievement of the nation, Mr Kashem said.

From now on Bangladesh can take part in making decision regarding the ITU regulations as well as in the policy making process in relation to telecommunication, he said.

This success will encourage Bangladesh not only to play a vital role but also to play the role of a pioneer for the least developed countries, which will help us a lot to build up Digital Bangladesh, he said.

The Bangladesh delegation was lead by Post and Telecommunication Minister Raziuddin Ahmed Raju, Chairman of the parliamentary committee on the ministry Hasanul Huq Inu, Secretary Sunil Kanti Bose, BTRC Chairman Zia Ahmed and members of the parliamentary committee.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=114576&date=2010-10-13

JAKARTA - Indonesia has been reelected as a member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for the 2010-2014 period, a Communication Ministry spokesman said.

"The reelection of Indonesia as a member of ITU was the result of the work hard of Indonesian delegates in conducting lobbying during the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference being held from October 4 to 22," Gatot S Dewa Broto, head of human relations affairs of the the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, said here on Tuesday.

He said that Indonesia had an interest in being reelected member of the Union because it had a large telecommunications market which was developing rapidly with progressive development activities.

Gatot said that Indonesia had taken an active part in the ITU Council's forums during its membership periods of 2002 - 2006 and 2006 - 2010.

With its reelection as a member of ITU for the 2010 - 2014 period, Indonesia would be able to fight for the interest of developing nations in the industrial field, particularly regarding Indonesia's interest in telecommunications, radio frequencies and satellite orbits, he said.

http://www.waspada.co.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=149319:ri-elected-as-itu-member&catid=30:english-news&Itemid=101

Por primera vez el país está presente en el organismo más importante de las Naciones Unidas en lo que concierne a las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación

“Es un privilegio y un orgullo que Costa Rica haya sido elegido como miembro del Consejo de la UIT. Una de las prioridades de Costa Rica será la de promover un desarrollo de las telecomunicaciones de forma sostenible, incentivando el uso de tecnologías con calidad ambiental. Recordando que ambos propósitos no son incompatibles”, expresó el jerarca. Según expresa un comunicado emitido por la Rectoría de Telecomunicaciones del Viceministerio de Telecomunicaciones el Consejo de la UIT está integrado por 47 países, donde están representadas las regiones de América, Europa Occidental, Europa Oriental, África y Asia-Australasia.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.prensalibre.cr/pl/internacional/33584-costa-rica-promovera-telecomunicaciones-sostenibles-en-la-uit.html

KIGALI - Rwanda has been elected to The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council, during the ongoing ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The ITU is an agency of the United Nations responsible for coordinating effective development and use of telecommunications globally. 

Its core activities involve management of international frequency spectrum, satellite orbit resources and making of telecommunications standards that govern telecommunications industry. It also promotes the ICT growth and development globally.

The ITU council, composed of 46 member states, is responsible for smooth running of the union and setting broad policies that govern telecommunications at a global level.

Rwanda’s delegation at the campaign in Mexico was headed by Dr. Ignace Gatare, the Minister in the President’s Office in charge of Information and Communications Technology.

“Rwanda’s election to the ITU council is a major milestone in the country’s ICT development, and a recognition of the global role President Paul Kagame continues to play in ensuring that ICT is developed and accessible to address some of the world’s challenges,” said David Kanamugire, the Permanent Secretary in the ICT Ministry.

For full text, see: http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14412&article=34530

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, Oct 13 - It was a double success for Kenya on Tuesday as the country was elected to two key positions in a specialised United Nations Agency.

Kenya was picked to the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Council and the Radio Regulation Board (RRB) during the ongoing ITU’s 18th Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The country, which has served in the Council since her first election in 1982, garnered 119 votes out of 161 eligible voting Member States, to return the second highest tally behind Egypt in Region D (Africa).

“Kenya is headed for great things and by supporting each other and working as a team we can achieve anything we put our mind to,” Information and Communications Minister Samuel Poghisio said while congratulating the members.

For full text, see: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/Kenyabusiness/Kenya-sways-Mexico-ITU-meet-4826.html#ixzz12GnXEi6M

España seguirá formando parte del consejo de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT) --organismo de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas encargado de regular las telecomunicaciones a nivel internacional-- cuyas elecciones se celebran cada cuatro años.

Así, tras la votación llevada a cabo el pasado día 11 en Guadalajara (México), España, que quedó en tercera posición, integrará una vez más el consejo de la UIT dentro de la región B, correspondiente a Europa Occidental.

El Consejo está formado por 48 estados miembros, de los 192 que integran la UIT. De los 48 puestos, 8 corresponden a la región de Europa occidental. La función del organismo es examinar asuntos generales de política de las telecomunicaciones para garantizar que las actividades, políticas y estrategias de la Unión responden al entorno actual de las telecomunicaciones.

En las elecciones al consejo estuvo presente el secretario de Estado de Telecomunicaciones, Bernardo Lorenzo, según indicaron a Europa Press fuentes de la Secretaria de Estado de Telecomunicaciones y para la Sociedad de la Información (Setsi).

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.europapress.es/economia/noticia-economia-telecos-espana-seguira-formando-parte-consejo-union-internacional-telecomunicaciones-uit-20101013141815.html

 

La Tunisie a été élue, lundi, membre du Conseil d'administration de l'Union internationale des télécommunications (UIT), lors de la conférence des plénipotentiaires de l'UIT qui se tient du 4 au 22 octobre, dans la ville mexicaine de Guadalajara.

L'élection de la Tunisie pour un mandat de quatre ans (2011-2014) intervient en témoignage de reconnaissance pour le rôle d'avant-garde de la Tunisie ainsi que pour les percées qu'elle a réalisées à l'échelle régionale et internationale dans le domaine des technologies de la communication.

http://www.lapresse.tn/13102010/14110/la-tunisie-membre-du-conseil-dadministration-de-luit.html

El secretario general de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), Hamadoun Touré, dijo que México va en el camino correcto para lograr la modernización de las telecomunicaciones.

Luego de calificar como "normales" las batallas legales de los operadores contra el gobierno para conseguir más concesiones del espectro, Touré minimizó el rezago actual de México en algunos rubros, pues se trata, dijo, de áreas que están dejando de ser relevantes.

En entrevista con EL FINANCIERO, el secretario general de la UIT reconoció que si bien México está un poco más abajo que otros países de Latinoamérica en la penetración de servicios de telefonía fija y móvil, en servicio de Internet su promedio es similar a los demás, mientras en banda ancha está más avanzado.

"El futuro es la banda ancha, de manera que yo le doy muy alta calificación a México", señaló el máximo representante del organismo dependiente de la ONU.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.opemedios.com.mx/archivos/multimedia/755267MEXICOPASAFIANNCIERO.PDF

The second PP’10 side event focused on ICTs and climate change.

 

Speakers included Malcolm Johnson, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), ITU; Kevin Grose presenting remotely from UNFCCC Bonn; Sechwyo Nzima, Ministry of Comms and Transport, Zambia; Javier Camargo, Ericsson; Alejandro Vidal, Telefonica and Chae-Sub Lee, Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 13.

 

Johnson’s introductory speech noted that when ITU first started work in the field people were sceptical about the link between ICTs and climate change. He noted that ITU’s many initiatives have helped to raise awareness of the issue to the extent that there is now widespread understanding of the power of ICTs to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across all industry sectors.

 

He cited CO₂ savings of some 108 tonnes in 2007, as consequence of distributing ITU-T standards (ITU-T Recommendations) online compared to on paper as an example of how the secretariat is working to become greener.

 

Johnson also announced that ITU is working with Ghana to develop a country assessment on how ICTs can help to combat climate change in accordance with UNFCCC guidelines.

 

Kevin Grose of UNFCCC which holds its COP16 meeting in Cancun, Mexico in December gave his remote presentation focusing in part on the need for mitigation actions to be reflected in the developing world. He highlighted accounting standards, partnerships and technology transfer as necessary to boost the ICT industry’s efforts to green itself and help towards general GHG mitigation.

 

ITU will participate in various activities at COP16, including organizing a side event with UNIDO, UNDESA, and WIPO; speaking at a side-event organized by WMO, UN-Habitat and WHO. In addition, the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) is organizing a Tech Fair to be held in Cancun (5-8 December) in which ITU will participate.

 

Chae-Sub Lee of ITU-T’s Future Networks Study Group (Study Group 13) showed how next generation networks (NGNs) being deployed around the world are more energy efficient – by an estimated 40 per cent – than previous public switched telephone networks (PSTNs).

Guadalajara. Miriana Moro/ Patricia Romo Sahagún

http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8847286

El presidente mexicano Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, anunció que 3 dispositivos satelitales serán puestos en órbita para operaciones de seguridad y aprovechamiento de la Banda “L”.

(ElectronicosOnline.com Magazine / Oswaldo Barajas).- La décimo octava (18) Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT 2010) inaugurada el pasado lunes 4 de octubre en la ciudad de Guadalajara, Jalisco, sirvió de plataforma para anunciar la iniciativa del gobierno mexicano en la inversión de 3 nuevos satélites para tareas de seguridad y fortalecimiento de bandas de comunicación.

La inauguración de este importante evento de Telecomunicaciones -que por primera vez se realiza en México- corrió a cargo del presidente de México, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, quien aprovechó la oportunidad para anunciar la inversión de 1,500 millones de dólares para poner en órbita 3 satélites que servirán para labores de seguridad pública y engrandecimiento de la banda de comunicación L, la cual permitirá expandir los servicios a comunidades marginadas y mejorar la calidad de señal en dispositivos de enlace.

“El Gobierno de México trabaja para que quienes menos tienen puedan tener acceso a las telecomunicaciones, puedan tener acceso, en condiciones equitativas, no sólo a la televisión, la radio, a la telefonía, sino, desde luego al Internet, y que puedan participar en su desarrollo personal y en el del país con las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (…)”, dijo el primer mandatario mexicano, a través del comunicado de prensa vertido en el portal oficial del Gobierno de México.

Lea texto el completo en: http://electronicosonline.com/noticias/notas.php?id=A5479_0_1_0_M

Quito (Pichincha).- El Ministerio de Telecomunicaciones y de la Sociedad de la Información MINTEL, como órgano rector del sector de Telecomunicaciones en el país promueve la postulación de la República del Ecuador al Consejo de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), con el fin de impulsar políticas prioritarias de acceso tecnológico que garanticen el avance del país hacia la Sociedad de la Información.

La Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones es la organización más importante de las Naciones Unidas con relación a tecnologías de la información y comunicación. Ecuador es miembro de este organismo desde abril de 1920, es decir, desde hace 90 años. La administración ecuatoriana de telecomunicaciones se suma a los esfuerzos de la organización para que todos los ciudadanos accedan y generen información y conocimiento, mediante el uso efectivo de las tecnologías.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.elciudadano.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17525:ecuador-presente-en-cumbre-de-union-internacional-de-telecomunicaciones-uit-en-mexico&catid=1:actualidad&Itemid=42

H.E. Mr Lyonpo Nandalal Rai, Bhutan's Minister of Information & Communications, talks of why their Gross Happiness Index was conceived, how it is measured and it's link to the national development programme: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

For statement and video clip from the Plenary session, see: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

Conference wraps up elections having elected members to the Radio Regulations Board and Member States to serve on the ITU Council for the next four years

On 11 October 2010, the Guadalajara Conference elected members of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB), an important body in ITU, as well as Member States to serve on the Council for the next four years. These elections conclude one of the key agenda items of the Guadalajara Conference.

For full text, see: http://bit.ly/dpUTtt

Buenos Aires, 11 de octubre (Télam).- Argentina logró la reelección como representante de las Américas en el Consejo de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), en el marco de la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios que concluye hoy en Guadalajara.

En tanto, el Secretario de la UIT, Hamadoun Touré (Malí), y el vicesecretario Houlin Zhao (China), fueron reelectos por cuatro años más para ejercer la conducción del organismo internacional.

Al mismo tiempo que la delegación argentina, encabezada por Héctor Carril actual integrante del Consejo de la UIT, lograba la reelección, por primera vez en la historia, un representante argentino fue elegido para integrar la Junta de Reglamento de Radiocomunicaciones.

Ricardo Terán, de la Secretaría de Comunicaciones, fue el “más votado” por los especialistas en normativas de telecomunicaciones para integrar el organismo que define políticas para sugerir su aplicación en los diferentes países que integran la UIT, informaron a Télam fuentes de la delegación nacional.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.elpatagonico.net/index.php?item=viewlast&ref=ultimas&id=153329&sec=eco

Es uno de los 48 miembros que integran el Consejo de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones, para el periodo 2010-2014

México fue reelecto este miércoles como uno de los 48 miembros que integran el Consejo de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), para el periodo 2010-2014, informó la Cancillería mexicana en un comunicado.

Las elecciones se realizaron durante la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la UIT, que se desarrolla en Guadalajara, Jalisco, desde el 4 y hasta el 22 de octubre de 2010.

La Cancillería destacó que México obtuvo 143 votos de 158 presentes y votantes, el mayor número de votos entre los 48 miembros electos y el que ha obtenido más votos en toda la historia del organismo especializado del Sistema de las Naciones Unidas.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/715478.html

First and final round of the elections: Monday, 11 October, 9.30 hours (Guadalajara time): http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html#rrb

REGION A, THE AMERICAS (2 seats) - Total number of votes: 160
Ricardo Luis TERÁN (Argentine Republic) : 154
Julie NAPIER ZOLLER (United States) : 145

REGION B, WESTERN EUROPE (2 seats) - Total number of votes: 160
Alfredo MAGENTA (Italy) : 98
Mindaugas ZILINSKAS (Lithuania) : 89

Peter MAJOR (Hungary) : 81
Vassilios G. CASSAPOGLOU (Greece) : 35

REGION C, EASTERN EUROPE & NORTHERN ASIA (2 seats) - Total number of votes: 160
Victor STRELETS (Russian Federation) : 102
Baiysh NURMATOV (Kyrgyz Republic) : 71

Momcilo SIMIC (Serbia) : 70
Aurelian Sorinel CALINCIUC (Romania) : 61

REGION D, AFRICA (3 seats) - Total number of votes: 160
Stanley Kaige KIBE (Kenya) : 142
Mustapha BESSI (Morocco) : 124
Simon KOFFI (Côte d'Ivoire) : 119

Haroun Mahamat BADAOUY (Chad) : 60

REGION E, ASIA & AUSTRALASIA (3 seats) - Total number of votes: 160
Yasuhiko ITO (Japan) : 120
Ali R. EBADI (Malaysia) : 93
P. K. GARG (India) : 78

Nasser BIN HAMMAD (United Arab Emirates) : 69
Alireza DARVISHI (Iran) : 49
Mian Muhammad JAVED (Pakistan) : 44
Nader Shah ARIAN (Afghanistan) : 8

GUADALAJARA, México, 11 octubre.— Cuba fue reelecta hoy por sexta vez consecutiva miembro del Consejo de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), durante la XVIII Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios, que sesiona desde el pasado día 4 en esta ciudad.

Con 125 votos de los países participantes, Cuba obtuvo una de las nueve plazas asignadas al continente americano, con una votación superior a las elecciones anteriores.

Además, por América también fueron elegidos miembros del Consejo de la UIT Argentina, Brasil, Canadá, Costa Rica, Estados Unidos, México, Paraguay y Venezuela.

La delegación cubana que asiste a la Conferencia de la UIT, la cual sesiona cada cuatro años, consideró un éxito para su país y para la integración regional, el formar parte nuevamente de ese órgano, el cual consta de 48 estados miembros, informa PL.

Con su reelección Cuba adquiere el compromiso de trabajar a favor de la cooperación, la solidaridad internacional y con pleno respeto a la soberanía de los países en el intercambio de las telecomunicaciones.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2010/10/11/cubamundo/artic03.html

Watch our video feature on emergency telecommunications to find out more on ITU's work in this area: http://bit.ly/bUyp3X

H.E. Mr Haruna Iddrisu (MP), Minister of Communications talks of the negative impacts of dumping redundant equipment in developing countries and asks for technology that is sent to be appropropriate and effective. Dealing with cybercrime in Ghana and across borders also discussed: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

For statement and video clip from the Plenary session, see: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

Ciudad de México.- El titular de la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), Juan Francisco Molinar Horcasitas, y el ministro de Telecomunicación y de Comunicación de Masas de la Federación Rusa, Igor Shchegoglev, suscribieron un memorándum de entendimiento para el intercambio de información en materia de telecomunicaciones, en el que se promueve la regulación de las telecomunicaciones y el uso eficiente del espacio radioeléctrico, entre otros temas.

El acuerdo se llevó a cabo durante las actividades de la 18 Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), realizada en Jalisco, ya que la experiencia de Rusia es amplia en materia de telecomunicaciones y, además, es pionera en tecnología satelital. Estos conocimientos pueden ser de gran beneficio para México, aseguró el titular de la SCT al término de la formalización del convenio.

Lea el texto completo en: http://bit.ly/a8oUvu

First and final round of the elections: Monday, 11 October, 9.30 hours (Guadalajara time):
http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html#council

REGION A, THE AMERICAS (9 seats) - Total number of votes: 161
Mexico (143)
Brazil (135)
Canada (135)
Argentina (131)
Cuba (125)
Venezuela (119)
United States (114)
Costa Rica (93)
Paraguay (91) 

Colombia (89)
Ecuador (75)
Jamaica (70) 

REGION B, WESTERN EUROPE (8 seats) - Total number of votes: 161Switzerland (141)
Spain (138)
Italy (136)
France (135)
Germany (130)
Sweden (126)
Turkey (125)
Greece (109) 

Portugal (102) 

REGION C, EASTERN EUROPE & NORTHERN ASIA (5 seats) - Total number of votes: 161
Russian Federation (123)
Bulgaria (116)
Romania (114)
Poland (107)
Czech Republic (93) 

Ukraine (91)
Azerbaijan (76) 

REGION D, AFRICA (13 seats) - Total number of votes: 161
Egypt (122)
Kenya (119)
Algeria (114)
Morocco (114)
Ghana (112)
Tunisia (111)
South Africa (105)
Mali (101)
Burkina Faso (97)
Nigeria (95)
Rwanda (93)
Senegal (93)
Cameroon (83)  

Uganda (79)
Mauritius (78)
Tanzania (76)
Côte d'Ivoire (71)
Sudan (57)
Malawi (41)
Chad (28) 

REGION E, ASIA & AUSTRALASIA (13 seats) - Total number of votes: 161
Indonesia (135)
China (134)
Japan (133)
Malaysia (127)
Korea (Rep. of) (125)
Bangladesh (123)
Thailand (121)
Australia (119)
India (119)
United Arab Emirates (114)
Kuwait (108)
Saudi Arabia (105)
Philippines (97) 

Pakistan (93)
Sri Lanka (79)
Lebanon (75)

SANTO DOMINGO (R. Dominicana).- El Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones (INDOTELl) y la Agencia Nacional de Frecuencias (ANFR), de Francia, se comprometieron a intercambiar informaciones y experiencias sobre controles administrativos y técnicos de las frecuencias radioeléctricas.

El convenio fue firmado por el presidente de Indotel, David Pérez Taveras, y el representante de la ANFR, Francois Rancy, durante la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios 2010, de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT) celebradas en México.

Lea el texto completo en: http://bit.ly/c54OPS

ITU’s top management team for the next four years is now complete

Conference elects François Rancy of France as Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau and Brahima Sanou of Burkina Faso as Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau

On Friday evening (8 October 2010), the conference completed the elections for ITU’s five top jobs. This issue of the Highlights gives the election results of the two posts, for which the first round of voting started on 7 October 2010 - the post of Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) and the post of Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) (see also Issue No.4 of the Highlights).

For full text, see: http://bit.ly/dpUTtt

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré communicated a personal message to schoolchildren in a remote location high in the Bolivian Andes through a satellite link powered by SATMEX. Using the Ku band transmitter of the SATMEX 6 satellite, the SG emphasized the importance of connectivity to social and economic development of all communities, no matter how remote.

 

SATMEX CEO Patricio Northland is a strong proponent of 'connecting the unconnected' right across the entire Latin American continent. Under his the leadership, SATMEX has been partnering with ITU’s Radiocommunication and Development Sectors to help connect isolated schools and communities, offering broadband access and social applications like e-health and e-government.

En 2013, 4.1 millones de jaliscienses formarán parte del proyecto: gobernador.

El programa tendrá un costo de 450 mdp; la primera etapa prevé tener conectados a 42 municipios en diciembre

En diciembre próximo, 6,322 escuelas públicas, hospitales y oficinas de gobierno en 42 de los 125 municipios de Jalisco formarán parte de la red digital estatal con servicio de banda ancha.

Con la red digital, las escuelas públicas podrán tomar alguna clase a distancia y los maestros podrán recibir capacitación, y en el caso de los hospitales, un paciente podrá tener un diagnóstico de un especialista médico que se encuentre en otra ciudad, informó el gobernador, Emilio González Márquez, al presentar el programa en el marco de la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT).

Lea el texto completo en: http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8844639

 

Interview with Commission on ICTs Chairman, H.E. Mr Ivan John Uy, see: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

For statement and video clip from the Plenary session, see: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

 

3rd round of voting scheduled for Friday, 8 October at 16:45.

For more information on the elections, see:
http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html

For more information on the elections, see:
http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html

Los Miembros también reeligen a Malcolm Johnson Director de la Oficina de Normalización

Guadalajara (México), 8 de octubre de 2010 — La UIT dio hoy la bienvenida a los nuevos Directores de sus Oficinas de Radiocomunicaciones y de Desarrollo de las Telecomunicaciones. El Sr. François Rancy (Francia) y el Sr. Brahima Sanou (Burkina Faso) fueron elegidos por la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios que se celebra en Guadalajara (México). El Sr. Rancy ganó las elecciones con 90 votos de 157 países presentes, mientras que el Sr. Sanou obtuvo 81 votos.

El Sr. Malcolm Johnson (Reino Unido) fue reelegido ayer Director de la Oficina de Normalización de las Telecomunicaciones (TSB). Era el único candidato al cargo y fue elegido con 152 votos.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/38-es.aspx

Frédéric Riehl discusses the work of Committee 5 at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2010: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

Interview with Poland's Undersecretary of State responsible for telecommunication, Ministry of Infrastructure, Ms Magdalena Gaj, see: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

For statement and video clip from the Plenary session, see: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

Interview with Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Stephen Conroy, see: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

For more information on the elections, see:
http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html

H.E. Mr Liu Lihua, Member of the Leadership of the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology, Director General of the General Office of MIIT at PP-10 today. 

Check http://bit.ly/bkumwg for statements and video clips from the Plenary sessions.

2nd round of elections scheduled for Friday, 8 October at 09:00.

For more information on the elections, see:
http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html

For more information on the elections, see:
http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html

For more information on the elections, see:
http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html

For more information on the elections, see:
http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/elections/results/index.html

Elections got under way on 7 October 2010, with the conference re-electing Dr Hamadoun Touré as Secretary-General of ITU; Houlin Zhao as Deputy Secretary-General; and Malcolm Johnson as Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB). All three were first elected to these posts at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, in November 2006 and took office on 1 January 2007.

Elections will continue on 8 October for the other two top posts of Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) and of Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT). Both posts have three contenders as follows: Fabio Leite (Brazil); François Rancy (France) and Dr Veena Rawat (Canada). Contenders for the post of BDT Director are: Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid (Saudi Arabia), who holds the post since 2007; Héctor Olavarría-Tapia (Mexico); and Brahima Sanou (Burkina Faso).

For full text, see: http://bit.ly/dpUTtt

Addiction counsellors have told Newsbeat they're seeing more cases of people worried about being hooked on playing video games. There are now calls for the gaming industry to offer more support to people who can't switch off. Technology or computer addiction isn't officially recognised as a clinical condition. But the group representing games companies admits there needs to be more research into the problem.

"Most of the people that are getting into difficulties tend to be in their teenage years and early 20s. "As that generation moves through and others come on behind, I think the problem is going to get bigger."

 

(Source: BBC)

Full story

BBC

500 million users worldwide and still growing, Facebook is now ubiquitous. Because of its popularity, minors have jumped onto the social media bandwagon, too, and they use networking the same way adults do--to share pictures, connect with friends, organize events, and play social games. And that can be a problem.

For the most part, Facebook provides a fun and safe way for users of all ages to communicate with their pals. But because kids and teens are, well, kids and teens, they're the ones most at risk of falling victim to the dangers of Facebook. With a bit of strategic parental guidance, you can educate your kids about the potential hazards of social media and give them the tools they need to protect themselves from online predators, guard their personal information, preserve their online reputation, and avoid suspicious downloads that could harm your PC.

 

(Source: PC World)

Full story

PC World

Interview with H.E. Mr Philip L. Verveer, Ambassador, United States Coordinator, International Communications &  Information Policy, United States Department of State: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

For statement and video clip from the Plenary session, see: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

H.E. Prof Geoffrey LUNGWANGWA, Minister, Ministry of Communications & Transport for Zambia at PP-10 today. 

Check http://bit.ly/bkumwg for statements and video clips from the Plenary sessions.

Los Miembros de la UIT manifiestan confianza absoluta en los actuales, Dr. Touré y Sr. Zhao

Guadalajara (México), 7 de octubre de 2010 — Los Estados Miembros de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones eligieron hoy al Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré de Malí para desempeñar el cargo de Secretario General de la UIT durante un segundo periodo de cuatro años. La elección tuvo lugar en Guadalajara (México), durante la Sesión Plenaria matutina de la 18ª Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la UIT. El Dr. Touré, único candidato que se presentaba, fue declarado ganador con 151 votos en un proceso de elección en que estuvieron presentes y votaron los representantes de 157 países.

Dirigiéndose a los participantes en la Conferencia después de conocerse los resultados de la votación, el Dr. Touré dijo a los 1 500 delegados procedentes de todo el mundo que "prestará atención especial al acceso en banda ancha y se asegurará de que la ciberseguridad sea uno de los puntos prioritarios para todos". El Dr. Touré también ha prometido velar por que se tomen en consideración especial los pequeños Estados insulares en desarrollo y los países sin litoral.

Lea el texto completa en: http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/37-es.aspx

On 6 October 2010, the conference approved the report of the Council on the activities of the Union for the period 2007-2010 (see Document PP-10/20). This report gives an overview of the main activities of the Union since the last Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya in 2006, and summarizes progress in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the years 2008-2011.

For full text, see: http://bit.ly/dpUTtt

Offer accepted by universal acclamation during PP-10.  For statement, see: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

Interview with Korea Communications Commission Chairman, Mr See Joong Choi, see: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

Bruce Gracie discusses the work of Committee 6 at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2010: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

Policy statement from Comoros at PP-10. Check http://bit.ly/bkumwg for statements and video clips from the Plenary sessions.

H.E. Ms Judith Macgregor, UK Ambassador to Mexico at PP-10 today.  Check http://bit.ly/bkumwg for statements and video clips from the Plenary sessions.

Check http://bit.ly/bkumwg for statements and video clips from the Plenary sessions.

Check http://bit.ly/bkumwg for statements and video clips from the Plenary sessions.

The 4th Thursday of April to be set as Girls Day to encourage girls to pursue ICT careers.

For statement, see: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

Interview with H.E. Mrs Jasna MATIC, Minister, Ministry of Telecommunications & Information Society, see: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

ITU’s main sources of income are the contributions from its Member States, Sector Members and Associates, made under a free choice system. A key task for the Plenipotentiary Conference in Guadalajara is to approve ITU’s Financial Plan for 2012-2015, covering two biennial budget periods. Fundamental to the preparation of the Financial Plan is the determination in Swiss Francs of the contributory unit payable by Member States. At its annual session in April 2010, the Council fixed the provisional amount of the contributory unit at CHF 318 000 (or zero nominal growth) for the period 2012–2015.

Addressing the Plenary on Tuesday morning, ITU Secretary-General, proposed that the amount of the contributory unit should be fixed at CHF 318 000, maintaining a status quo. “I would like to ensure that we leave this Plenipotentiary Conference with a balanced financial Plan. The key to a robust financial Plan is a realistic revenue forecast,” Dr Touré stressed. I believe that we can here and now take the decision to set the definitive upper limit, in order to facilitate our ability to forecast revenue for the period 2012 – 2015,” Dr Touré added.

For full text, see: http://bit.ly/bMko5W

A new online community for professional women in ICT: http://www.fcc.gov/ib/wisenet/data/ announced by the US Federal Communications Commission at the Women’s Breakfast held during the Plenipotentiary Conference.

Timor-Leste delighted to be ITU’s 192^nd member and will be bringing world-class ICT services to its people. For the full statement and video, check:  http://bit.ly/bkumwg

Check http://bit.ly/bkumwg for statements and video clips from the Plenary sessions.

It was a moment of pride for ITU as Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa opened the Union’s 18th Plenipotentiary Conference on Monday, 4 October 2010. Some 2400 participants from 190 Member States, Sector Members and observer organizations, including over 80 ministers, 40 deputy ministers, and 40 ambassadors attended the opening ceremony at the Guadalajara EXPO Center. The conference kicked off with a video entitled “Mexico in your Senses”, taking participants on a fascinating virtual tour of a fabulous country...

For full text, see: http://bit.ly/cEadhK

Guadalajara, Jalisco.- En el mundo se contabilizan cinco mil millones de personas con acceso a la telefonía celular, mientras que dos mil millones más están conectados por Internet; sin embargo, a pesar de la importancia que tienen los progresos realizados todavía resta mucho por hacer, precisó Houlin Zhao, vicesecretario general de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), al dar lectura al mensaje del secretario general de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas, Ban Ki-Moon.

Al celebrarse la inauguración de la conferencia de los Plenipotenciarios donde participaron alrededor de 120 funcionarios de la UIT, además del presidente de México, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa; Ban Ki-moon añadió que en 145 años, la UIT ha desempeñado un papel crucial en el desarrollo de los sistemas de comunicaciones mundiales.

"Durante los últimos 60 años, la UIT ha sido un miembro insigne de la familia de las Naciones Unidas... ya que el progreso va desde el correo al telégrafo, de la radio a la televisión y de las comunicaciones satelitales al Internet".

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.oem.com.mx/eloccidental/notas/n1806324.htm

Global event underlines importance of ICTs as tool for social and economic progress for all

Guadalajara, Mexico, 4 October 2010 - ITU’s 18th Plenipotentiary Conference opened with a call by ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré for delegates to be “bold and visionary” in reaching agreements that will provide a sound platform for the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and services for the decade ahead.

ITU’s Plenipotentiary is the quadrennial global conference that decides strategy for ITU, the UN agency for ICTs responsible for allocating global radio spectrum, creating the technical standards that fuel all ICT networks, and developing and implementing strategies to bridge the ‘digital divide’.

Topics such as cybersecurity, Internet addressing, the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), broadband access and ICTs and climate change will be high on the conference agenda.

Dr Touré urged delegates to “imagine, to innovate, and to create a bright, long-term future for the ICT sector.”

“I cannot over-emphasize the importance of the work we will undertake here in Guadalajara,” he said. “We are here to shape the future. Not just the future of the ITU, but the future of the ICT sector − which now influences every other business sector worldwide, and which now reaches into the lives of almost everyone on the planet. And the future − to quote the great Mahatma Gandhi − depends on what we do in the present.”

The event, which is taking place at the Guadalajara Expo centre from 4-22 October, is hosted by Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transport. It will welcome around 2,000 participants from some 190 ITU Member States, Sector Members and observer organizations, including over 80 Ministers, 40 Deputy Ministers, and 40 ambassadors.

For full text, see: http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/36.aspx

Read more via the policy statement from H.E. Mr Sachin Pilot, Honable Minister of State for Communications & IT, Government of India: http://bit.ly/bkumwg

Host city Guadalajara treated PP-10 delegates to a Mexican extravaganza at the opening night cocktail reception on Monday 4 October. The city transformed the park area next to The Arches monument into an outdoor salon featuring living dioramas of tequila making, a sensory tunnel taking guests on a virtual voyage through Jalisco state, and the chance to sample local food, beer, tequila, and - naturalmente - margharitas!  More than 1,000 delegates were beguiled by the balmy weather, an arresting Mexican music and dance spectacle and a stunning light show, topped off by a firework display culminating in a shower of Mexico’s national colours. Not to mention the world’s most charming and friendly team of waiters and young support staff, who bent over backwards to make sure everyone had a wonderful time. 

El presidente dijo que el proceso beneficia a la competencia en el sector de telecomunicaciones; el Estado mexicano recibirá casi 5,000 mdd por la concesión del espectro radioeléctrico, destacó.

GUADALAJARA (Notimex) — El presidente Felipe Calderón destacó la apertura para cerrar la brecha digital en el país que ha promovido la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) con las licitaciones de espectro radioeléctrico de 1.7 y 1.9 Gigahertz.

"La principal (estrategia), avalada por la Comisión Federal de Competencia (CFC), es el fortalecimiento del mercado, de la competencia y el rompimiento de barreras de entrada en la competencia por telecomunicaciones en México", mencionó el titular del Ejecutivo.

Calderón mencionó que este proceso ha dejado al país 5,000 millones de dólares para las arcas públicas. Asimismo, se ha puesto a disposición en el mercado casi 70% más que el espectro que se estaba utilizando en los servicios de telefonía móvil.

Lea el texto completo en: http://www.cnnexpansion.com/economia/2010/10/04/licitacion-espectro-calderon-cnnexpansio

The Minister of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has called on the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to critically consider ways of preventing developed countries from dumping e-waste in developing countries such as Ghana.

According to him, with the advent of digital broadcasting, there was the likelihood of such rich countries shipping their analogue television sets to the developing countries to aggravate the already precarious situation as far as the dumping of used computers among others is concerned.

Mr Iddrisu, who is also the immediate past President of the ITU Council, made the call in a contribution to discussions at the last meeting of the 2010 council meeting to finally close the session.

The call comes at a time when reports from the market already indicate a growing number of used television sets hitting the market from Europe and America at rock bottom prices following their migration from analogue to digital broadcasting by the close of 2015...

For full text, see: http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/page.php?news=9575

4 de octubre, 13:00-13:30, Sala G Jalisco. Participantes: Dr Hamadoun Touré, Presidente de la PP10, S.E. Juan Molinar, S.E. Emilio González...http://bit.ly/by1rt8

Full playlist of PP-10 videos available from: http://bit.ly/9mTs9f

El hotel Presidente Intercontinental se volvió un escenario multicultural, repleto de personas de diferentes partes del mundo que participarán en la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios de la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), que se realizará en Guadalajara del 4 al 22 de octubre... Milenio.com http://bit.ly/9kNqdS 

Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón will open the 18th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference joined by the Minister of Communication & Transport, Mr Juan Francisco Molinar, and the Governor of the State of Jalisco, Mr Emilio González, alongside ITU’s five elected officials and the Mayor of Guadalajara city, Mr Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval...http://bit.ly/9jbRif

Accredit now to cover our Plenipotentiary Conference in Mexico #PP10 http://bit.ly/d3oHnL 

See our latest backgrounder ahead of #PP10: http://bit.ly/cJxAft
Tues 28 Sept 14:21 via TweetDeck

See: http://bit.ly/9fG0C0 #PP10

@ferlop89 Ver: http://bit.ly/bLdo2Z #PP10

b3forum RT @ITU_News: RT POR @informador. Ver: http://bit.ly/cENF7y #mexico #PP10

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia should undertake joint information-warfare exercises so the two countries can better protect critical digital infrastructure, policy wonks at an international group said.

The proposal, which was included in a32-page report released Wednesday by the EastWest Institute, would help the US and Russia achieve mutual goals in much the way that previous collaborations in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have, its authors argued.

Full Story

The GSMA and NTT DOCOMO's Mobile Society Research Institute (MSRI) recently announced the details of a comparative study into the use of mobile phones by children in six countries (Japan, Korea, China, India, Mexico and Cyprus) and the effect that this has on them. Approximately 6,000 pairs of respondents were interviewed, each consisting of a child aged between eight and 18 and his or her parent or guardian.

 

Download the Full Report

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Sometimes it's a story of a grown woman who has chosen prostitution as a path to a better life. More often, it's a story of a woman being forced to sell her body by a pimp. And then there are the children, and the mothers that miss them.

"They told me to look on Craigslist and it almost blew my mind," the mother of one missing 12-year-old told CNN. "She was there with a wig on. She was there in a purple negligee. The same day the woman spoke to CNN, her daughter was rescued by police at a seedy hotel near Washington where she was being sold for sex. And she's not alone. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website contains thousands of posters of missing children. Many are girls, classified as "endangered runaways," and the center says more than fifty of them have been pushed into the sex trade. But that's just a snapshot, a tiny indicator of the true scale of the problem.

 

(Source: CNN)

Full story

CNN

When everyone in the world is your customer, you can't go it alone...

ITU Telecom World 2011 is much more than a talking shop, or an exhibition. It's a forum for change. It's a place where the world's telecommunications leaders come together to map out and shape the future of the industry, to make the right decisions with significant  impacts on our world.

ITU Telecom World 2011 is attended by governments, industry leaders and regulators. Through the many close networking opportunities we offer, you can influence and shape the dynamic world of ICT & telecommunications. No other event offers this opportunity.

ITU and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have announced this week that they will co-organize a side event at the next UN Climate Change Conference, which will be held in Tianjin, China, from Monday 4 to Saturday, October 2010.

The event “The Effective Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Intellectual Property (IP) System for Mitigating Climate Change”, which will take place on Thursday 7^th October 2010, will provide a platform where top decision-makers from governments, and experts from international organizations and the private sector can debate the potential role and impact that ICTs and the IP system can have in promoting innovation and the evolution of new technologies, and encourage/advocate broader access to those technologies for the purpose of preventing further climate change.

Additional information on the event can be found at:

http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/events/itu-wipo-unfcccOct2010.html

More about ITU´s activities on climate change and green ICTs:

http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/index.html

More about WIPO´s activities on climate change:

http://wipo.int/climate/en/

Wired Magazine, August 17, 2010

Two decades after its birth, the World Wide Web is in decline, as simpler, sleeker services — think apps — are less about the searching and more about the getting.

Full Story at: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/all/1

Leo Hickman and the Guardian deserve to be congratulated for drawing attention to the emergence of a whole raft of internet-based personal location services (How I became a Foursquare cyberstalker, G2, 23 July). As Hickman showed, this new breed of online applications has the potential to be truly spooky.

Anyone collecting or broadcasting data about someone else's physical whereabouts should be obliged to observe the very highest standards of data security, yet Hickman's piece reveals some extremely slipshod work. However, the otherwise excellent story overlooked one angle. Because every location service I know of, including Foursquare, is paid for by advertising it means the apps are free to the end user, available for download by anyone who can click a mouse. That includes children. Ofcom's research has shown that around one in five children between the ages of eight and 12 are already getting away with lying about their age to create profiles on Facebook, MySpace or Bebo. Can we look forward to one in five children blithely linking location services to their social networking profiles, adding yet another and qualitatively new layer of risk? I suspect other stalkers who will surely follow in Hickman's steps will not have the same benign intent.

Just because a thing becomes technically possible it does not mean every online business should stampede towards it, and indeed some are not doing so. More credit to them. There is or ought to be an ethical dimension to business. Google and Yahoo should give a lead and immediately drop their personal location products (Latitude and FireEagle) and promise not to reintroduce them until they have a way of keeping kids off the premises.

 

Full Story

Washington (CNN)-- A computer hacker responsible for creating and operating a massive scam that infected as many as 12 million computers worldwide has been identified and arrested, authorities said Wednesday.

The FBI said in a news statement a 23-year-old Slovene known as "Iserdo" was arrested last week for his role in a cyber scam that stole passwords from websites and financial institutions. Authorities believe the Slovenian citizen is responsible for creating and selling the Mariposa botnet.

Botnets are a network of computers infected with a malicious kind of robot software which allow remote access, often without the owner's knowledge.

Full Story

The GSMA and NTT DOCOMO's Mobile Society Research Institute (MSRI) recently announced the details of a comparative study into the use of mobile phones by children in six countries (Japan, Korea, China, India, Mexico and Cyprus) and the effect that this has on them. Approximately 6,000 pairs of respondents were interviewed, each consisting of a child aged between eight and 18 and his or her parent or guardian.

 

Full Report Download

International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) received double honours from (ISC)²’s fourth annual Asia-Pacific Information Security Leadership Achievements (ISLA) Program for its efforts to build capacity against cyber threats among partner countries especially in the developing nations.

Mr. Philip Victor, Director, Training, Skills Development and Outreach, IMPACT has been selected as an Honouree in the Senior Information Security Professional category and the contribution of Mr. Sivanathan Subramaniam, Manager, GRC Profressional Services, IMPACT has been recognised in the Information Security Practitioner category.

The award giving ceremony will take place at the ISLA Gala Dinner and Ceremony on the evening of 26^th July 2010, held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia in Singapore.

 

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[US] Girl Scout Dominique Napolitano testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee on the issue of cyberbullying on Thursday, June 24, providing legislators a teenager's perspective on the increasingly widespread practice.

"Cyberbullying is not just a phase or behavior in which kids will be kids," Napolitano told the panel chaired by U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). "Cyberbullying poses serious consequences to the health and safety of all children."

Dominique was among a core group of Girl Scouts who helped develop LMK (http://lmk.girlscouts.org), a leading online safety Web site developed by Girl Scouts in collaboration with Microsoft's Windows division. The site is unique because it is designed to cover such topics as cyberbullying, online sexual predators and cybersecurity from the perspective of young people. Twenty-three Girl Scouts working with Internet safety expert Parry Aftab have developed the online safety tips and advice for parents and young boys and girls.

 

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CTO Conference, London on 17-18 June 2010 - A two-day international forum on Cybersecurity- aimed to identify, outline and set in motion effective to crimes that take place in the cyber world. The forum was organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) in conjunction with the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the UK Cabinet Office of Cyber Security (OCS).

At the conference , ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) - A Framework for International Cooperation in Cybersecurity, Initiative was presented and very much welcomed by CTO participants.

Delivering the key note address, Rt Hon Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism, spoke of her commitment to tackling the complex issues surrounding cyber security, including Cyber-crime and Cyber-espionage. She also stressed the critical importance of international cooperation by like-minded countries and the vital role of International organisations such as the UN-sponsored Internet Governance Forum, the International Telecommunications Union and the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation itself.

Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the Chief Executive Office of the CTO echoed these sentiments and added that the CTO is always keen to collaborate with sister agencies such as ITU in order to develop the capacity of its members to manage and develop their ICT sectors. ICT enabling governance and society brings along with it associated risks requiring innovative strategies of which Cybersecurity is a key element. That was the primary reason for the CTO to organise this forum and the number of participants and the engagement of organsiations from both public and private sectors justifies the CTO's decision to undertake the organising of such an event.

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ITU's activities on Cybersecurity can be found here.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

 

(Source: Baltimore FBI)

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Baltimore FBI

Internet security firm Sophos has warned Facebook users to be on the alert for a scam which sends a spam message to all of their friends on the social network. Sophos, in a pair of blog posts late Monday, said "hundreds of thousands" of Facebook users have fallen for the scam which it dubbed "likejacking." It said some Facebook users had received a message such as "This man takes a picture of himself EVERYDAY for 8 YEARS!!" and were encouraged to click on a link. "This of course posts a message to your newsfeed, your friends see it and click on it, and so it spreads," Sophos said.

That followed a similar scam that spread on Facebook the week before involving a fake posting tagged as the "sexiest video ever," according to Sophos.

 

(Source: AFP)

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AFP

Thousands of people have paid tribute on Facebook to an Australian teenager allegedly lured to her death by a man she met on the social networking site. The body of Nona Belomesoff was found two days after she went on a trip with the man, who told her they were going to rescue injured animals, police say. A 20-year-old man has been charged with Ms Belomesoff's murder at a creek south of Sydney.

Detectives say the case reinforces the need for vigilance when using Facebook. Ms Belomesoff, 18, is believed to have befriended Christopher James Dannevig, who police say set up a fake Facebook profile in which he claimed to work for an animal welfare group.

 

(Source: BBC)

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BBC

The term "cyberwar" has been bandied about in recent years as a catchall term for the hackers stealing credit card numbers or spreading spam, but also much more nefarious schemes such as breaking into a electricity grid. At a recent cybersecurity conference, one Microsoft security executive said we might need global rules on how to fight such threats.

Scott Charney, vice president of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group, spoke at the Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit in Dallas last week and said there needs to be a distinction between cybercriminals merely stealing money and cyberwar, possibly conducted by nation-states, that is aimed at crippling a target in another country, such as a power grid or an oil pipeline. An Associated Press report on the conference, which was picked up by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper, quotes Charney as saying that international treaties designed to fight cyberwar are difficult to establish because of the murky nature of what "cyberwar" is.

The United Nations last month rejected a Russian proposal for a new cybercrime treaty, leaving in place a 2001 treaty that Russia opposes because it gives foreign governments too much leeway to pursue cybercriminals across borders.

"Lots of times, there's confusion in these treaty negotiations because of lack of clarity about which problems they're trying to solve," Charney said.

In a paper that accompanied his talk, Charney also wrote that if the concern is that countries need to brace for a cybersecurity "Pearl Harbor," that it needs to be made clear on what type of attacks governments can respond. "If the concern is an electronic Pearl Harbor, perhaps part of the response is an electronic `Geneva Convention' that protects the rights of noncombatants."

The notion of an electronic Pearl Harbor has come up before on this blog. I wrote about it after attending the RSA Conference 2010 in San Francisco in March. There a panel of cybersecurity experts warned that a cyberattack could occur that could cripple U.S. infrastructure if we're not prepared for it. Richard Clarke, a national security advisor to the previous three U.S. presidents, also proposed a cyber security treaty, but lumped together criminal cyber attacks and state-sponsored attacks.

 

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eNACSO launches its Agenda for Action at the international conference “Protecting Children Online” on 6^th May 2010. The eNACSO Agenda for Action includes recommendations to governments, industry and other stakeholders on how to create a safer online environment for children and young people.

Download the Agenda for Action here.

Purveyors of fake anti-virus or “scareware” programs have aggressively stepped up their game to evade detection by legitimate anti-virus programs, according to new data from Google.

In a report being released today, Google said that between January 2009 and the end of January 2010, its malware detection infrastructure found some 11,000 malicious or hacked Web pages that attempted to foist fake anti-virus on visitors. The search giant discovered that as 2009 wore on, scareware peddlers dramatically increased both the number of unique strains of malware designed to install fake anti-virus as well as the frequency with which they deployed hacked or malicious sites set up to force the software on visitors.

Fake anti-virus attacks use misleading pop-ups and videos to scare users into thinking their computers are infected and offer a free download to scan for malware. The bogus scanning programs then claim to find oodles of infected files, and victims who fall for the ruse often are compelled to register the fake anti-virus software for a fee in order to make the incessant malware warnings disappear. Worse still, fake anti-virus programs frequently are bundled with other malware. What’s more, victims end up handing their credit or debit card information over to the people most likely to defraud them.

 

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Wednesday was a busy day at the [U.S.] Federal Communications Commission, with National Broadband Plan related notices on the CableCard, Universal Service Fund, and roaming access issues out the door. Another interesting item was a Notice of Inquiry on whether the agency should launch a voluntary cybersecurity certification program.

In a nutshell, the proposed program's private sector auditors or the FCC would periodically run security evaluations of various telecommunications services. Companies that passed the program's muster could then market their networks as FCC cyber security compliant.

It's not hard to make a pitch for these kind of programs, given all the cybersecurity horror stories. The agency's Notice outlines what's at stake:

"In today’s interconnected world, an increasingly greater amount of the nation’s daily business depends on our rapidly growing broadband communications infrastructure. Banking, investment and commercial interests routinely rely on the durability and security of IP-based networks to move capital and to track goods and services around the globe. To put this development in perspective, while our nation’s total GDP was just over $14T last year, two banks in New York move over $7T per day in transactions. . . ."

But the open-ended questions that the FCC asks in its inquiry suggest that the Commission knows that the case for this kind of project isn't open and shut. Would the program "create a significant incentive for providers to increase the security of their systems and improve their cybersecurity practices?" the NOI asks. And it also wonders if "public knowledge of providers' cybersecurity practices would contribute to broader implementation by industry."

Another question the FCC might want to ask is, should individual government agencies coordinate this kind of activity, or should a broader cross-industry certification program be established? The probe comes in tandem with an inquiry on the survivability of the nation's broadband networks.

 

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Police hunting a hacker who had attacked a US school's systems found themselves cornering a "very intelligent" 9 year old instead, it has emerged. When passwords for teachers at Spring Hill Elementary, Virginia, were changed without authorisation the school board initially thought a hacker had broken into the school district's Blackboard system. Police were called in to investigate in mid-March and were quickly able to trace the incident back to a PC at the home of a 9 year-old school student.

The youngster's mother was initially chief suspect in the hack but after speaking to her and and her son police came to the surprising conclusion that they were dealing with a 'kindergarden' hacker.

 

(Source: The Register)

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The Register

Is it cyberbullying if kids post mean comments and then say they were “just joking”? Is it wrong for a boy to pressure his girlfriend to send racy text messages? For teenagers, these questions don’t necessarily have clear answers. Associated Press MTV is trying to get teens themselves to support each other in standing up to behavior that crosses over into “digital abuse” — use of technologies such as texting and social networking to bully, harass and intimidate people. The network introduced a new online tool called Over the Line this week that allows young people to post about their problem and have peers say whether the behavior is acceptable. The posts and comments are moderated, to make sure bullying doesn’t become a problem in the tool itself.

 

(Source: The Wall Street Journal)

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The Wall Street Journal

Cell phones, texting, IM, e-mail, Facebook, MySpace -- kids are interconnected today in ways hardly imagined two decades ago. But these technology-based communication platforms also enable new forms of an age-old parenting strategy: monitoring your kids.

Is it any easier to put the proper measures in place to ensure your child's security since you already have an expertise in this area? Or do you go overboard because of you are hyperattuned to risk? And what is the right balance of freedom and guidance to provide for kids? Turns out it was tricky issue before social networking, and remains tricky now. Here are views and strategies collected from an array of security professionals.

 

(Source: ComputerWorld)

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ComputerWorld

The US President directed a 60-day, comprehensive, “clean-slate” review to assess U.S. policies and structures for cybersecurity. Cybersecurity policy includes strategy, policy, and standards regarding the security of and operations in cyberspace, and encompasses the full range of threat reduction, vulnerability reduction, deterrence, international engagement, incident response, resiliency, and recovery policies and activities, including computer network operations, information assurance, law enforcement, diplomacy, military, and intelligence missions as they relate to the security and stability of the global information and communications infrastructure.

The President’s cybersecurity policy official should, working with departments and agencies, strengthen and integrate interagency processes to formulate and coordinate international cybersecurity-related positions. In addition, the Federal government—continuing the long-term history of collaboration with the private sector—should develop a proactive engagement plan for use with international standards bodies. This would include taking stock of current policies and coordinating the development, refinement, or reaffirmation of positions to ensure that the full range of cybersecurity-related economic, national security, public safety, and privacy interests are taken into account.

The US Cyberspace Policy Review can be found here

ITU's activities on Cybersecurity can be found here.

Congress, back this week from spring break, isn't wasting time tackling some key cybersecurity and IT security-related initiatives.

Within the next few weeks, Congressional committees will hold sessions to tackle some of the hottest infosec-related items, including the confirmation hearing on Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander to be military cyber commander, markup sessions on bills to fund cybersecurity research and development and realign the National Institute of Standards and Technology's laboratories and a hearing on combating cyber crime and identity theft.

Alexander Confirmation Hearing

Thursday's Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing comes nearly 10 months after Alexander was nominated by President Obama to be the first military cyber commander. If confirmed, he would retain his current job, director of the National Security Agency, and be promoted to full general. No one is suggesting that Alexander won't be confirmed, but concerns have been raised that having the same officer overseeing the cyber command and NSA poses potential conflicts: Should the top spy also be the general in charge of protecting the computer systems and networks employed to support the nation's warfighters?

Indeed, it's been questions about that dual role that has delayed the confirmation process. As we reported last month, the committee sent a questionnaire to Alexander on March 6 seeking answers about how he would balance the two jobs. Though the NSA is a DoD agency, it works with civilian agencies to secure federal IT, raising additional concerns about potential military involvement in civilian matters. "They are working through some of the hard problems and that is what the reason for the delay is," James Lewis, senior fellow at the Center for International and Strategic Studies and expert on government and military cybersecurity policy, told GovInfoSecurity.com.

 

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The case of a teenager in Massachusetts who killed herself after a relentless, months-long bullying campaign shows how the common schoolyard behavior is evolving in dangerous new ways online.

Six students face felony charges in the death of Phoebe Prince, 15, who hanged herself in January after being subjected to verbal assault and threats of physical harm. Some harassment occurred online on Facebook, in text messages and in other high-tech forms, a contemporary development in the age-old practice, experts said.

 

(Source: Reuters)

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Reuters

A British child protection agency said it has pressed Facebook to add "panic buttons" to its pages after the murder of a teenager was linked to the site. Jim Gamble, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), said the social networking giant did not agree to his demands outright at a meeting in Washington but he felt they were moving in the right direction. Speaking after a four-hour meeting Monday, Gamble said Facebook was close to "doing the right thing" but urged the website to turn "words into action."

Calls have since grown for the inclusion of the buttons -- which allow youngsters who feel threatened online to quickly contact a number of sources of help, such as CEOP or anti-bullying helplines. Politicians, police and anti-bullying groups have voiced outrage that the online giant will not bow to demands to include the system.

 

(Source: AFP)

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AFP

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today introduced legislation that will strengthen the ability of the United States to develop a clear and coordinated strategy for international cyberspace and cybersecurity policy. The bill will create the framework for coordinating our efforts with other countries to defend against cyberattacks that threaten our power stations, telecommunications systems and financial markets.

The International Cyberspace and Cybersecurity Coordination Act of 2010 will authorize the creation of a senior coordinator at the State Department, with the rank and status of Ambassador at Large. This person will be the principal advisor to the Secretary of State on international cyberspace and cybersecurity issues. The coordinator will provide strategic direction for United States government policy and programs aimed at addressing cyberspace and cybersecurity issues overseas. The bill will ensure the Administration develops a clear and coordinated strategy for international cyber engagement, including considering the utility of negotiating a multilateral framework that would provide internationally acceptable principles to mitigate cyberwarfare.

"Just as the physical safety of America is under constant threat from those who would do us harm, we are also engaged in a battle over the control of information in cyberspace and need to build better defenses against potential attacks on our infrastructure," said Chairman Kerry. "We must do everything we can to forestall the possibility of cyberwarfare and create a multilateral framework that will persuade countries to cooperate on pressing cyber issues. This bill is the first step to better organize U.S. efforts to develop a coordinated strategic approach to international cyberspace and cybersecurity issues by designating a single diplomat responsible for U.S. cyber policy overseas."

 

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The world's leading Internet engineers see many surprising trends occurring under the covers of this complex network environment. Among their findings are the evolution of silicon cockroaches — tiny, mobile, unattended wireless devices — and "dirty" Internet address space that can't be used by network operators. Here are a few eye-openers about what’s really going on in the Internet infrastructure that were discussed at a meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) held in Anaheim last week.

Watch out for silicon cockroaches. Network operators should prepare for an infestation of silicon cockroaches, a term used to describe Internet-connected devices such as mobile sensors, bio-medical systems and RFID-powered asset trackers that operate without human administration. Aaron Falk, chair of the Internet Research Task Force, listed silicon cockroaches as a key factor in the Internet becoming a network of things, rather than a network of computers, in the future. Falk said 15 billion devices could be hooked up to the Internet by 2015, a figure that will be "orders of magnitude bigger" than the number of Internet-connected people. Silicon cockroaches pose several threats to network operators, including naming, security and management headaches that require additional research, Falk said.

 

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A study conducted by RIPE Labs indicates that about 1.89% of spam are received over IPv6.

"With the increased deployment of IPv6, we were curious to see how much the amount of spam sent over IPv6 increases. We looked at the e-mail system of the RIPE NCC and produced some statistics that could be seen as an indication for the overall trend of spam sent over IPv6," says RIPE in a blog post explaining the analysis. Group also notes that the study was based on one week’s worth of data and that it excluded messages already rejected by blacklisting and greylisting.

 

RIPE Labs: Spam over IPv6

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International police agency Interpol launched Monday a "most wanted" site for suspected child sex offenders across the Group of Eight (G8) most industrialised nations. The "G8 Wanted Child Sex Offender" site, accessible via Interpol's homepage (www.interpol.int), draws together information from G8 members the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

It includes photographs of people wanted on charges of abuse and enables the public to access to information about how to report missing sex offenders who may have crossed borders.

 

(Source: AFP)

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AFP

The expansion of internet domain names as proposed is worrying to trademark owners as a significant number cybersquatting cases continue to be filed in the World Intellectual Property Organization dispute resolution system, WIPO said this week. Meanwhile internet intermediaries should play a bigger role in the fight against trademark infringement, WIPO officials said.

Complaints filed with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) in 2009 decreased by 9.5 percent compared to the previous year. WIPO is the recipient of over half of global internet domain dispute cases, it said. However, complaints filed at WIPO in 2009, though down, covered “the highest number of individual domain names in a given year,” as opposed to collective filings, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said during an 18 March press conference at the United Nations.

 

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In a bid to cut down on fraud and inappropriate content, the organization responsible for administering Russia's .ru top-level domain names is tightening its procedures.

Starting April 1, anyone who registers a .ru domain will need to provide a copy of their passport or, for businesses, legal registration papers. Right now, domains can be set up with no verification - a practice that has allowed scammers to quickly set up .ru domains under bogus names. The changes will help Russia align its rules with international best practices, said Olga Ermakova, informational projects manager with the Coordination Center for the .ru top-level domain, in an e-mail interview. The .ru administrators care about the "cleanness" of the domain, she added. "We don't need negative content, and such content is often [created] by unknown users."

Loopholes in the domain name system help spammers, scammers and operators of pornographic Web sites to avoid detection on the Internet by concealing their identity. Criminals often play a cat-and-mouse game with law enforcement and security experts, popping up on different domains as soon as their malicious servers are identified.

Criminals in eastern Europe have used .ru domains for a while, registering domain names under fake identities and using them to send spam or set up command-and-control servers to send instructions to networks of hacked computers. With the new domain registration requirements, it will be more difficult for criminals to continue with business as usual. At the very least, the requirement that registrants must submit paper documents will make setting up domains a more costly and time-consuming process.

 

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Researchers at RSA have identified the network framework that endows some of the worlds most notorious botnets with always-on connections that are virtually immune from takedowns.

At the network's heart are the servers that shepherd tens of thousands of infected PCs so they continue to send spam, spread malware, and stay updated with the latest bot software. By maintaining multiple conduits between these master control channels and the outside world, malware gangs are able to create highly redundant networks that are extremely difficult for authorities and whitehats to shut down.

"What they've worked really hard to do for themselves is build a spiderweb of connections to the outer ring if the outer ring were the internet at large," Sean Brady, manager of RSA's identity protection and verification group, told The Register. "As you start picking off threads, they work to reroute, to crawl along different threads."

 

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Egypt has begun enforcing a ban on international calls made through mobile internet connections, the head of the telcoms regulator told Reuters on Tuesday, potentially boosting voice revenues at landline monopoly Telecom Egypt. The ban will apply to the three mobile operators in Egypt -- Mobinil, Etisalat Egypt and Vodafone Egypt -- who offer internet access for computers via USB and other mobile modems, as well as via mobile phone.

"The ban is on Skype on mobile internet, not on fixed, and this is due to the fact it is against the law since it bypasses the legal gateway," said Amr Badawy, the executive president of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA).

 

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The internet is among a record 237 individuals and organisations nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The number of nominations surpasses last year's record of 205 nominations. The internet's nomination has been championed by the Italian version of Wired magazine for helping advance "dialogue, debate and consensus". The director of the Nobel Institute, Geir Lundestad, told BBC News that the organisation had received "thousands of nominations" for the coveted prize.

 

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This Procurement Policy Note (PPN) addresses the requirement for Departments (including their agencies, offices and NDPBs) to ensure that when specifying for internet related services they include a requirement to block access to web pages depicting child sexual abuse.

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Find out more about the ITU's Child Online Protection Initiative

To coincide with Safer Internet Day, the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) has launched its new public awareness campaign: ‘Click Clever, Click Safe’.

The campaign highlights a new online green cross code: ‘Zip it, Block it, Flag it’ to help parents, children and young people understand the behaviours that will enable them to enjoy the internet safely. To help children enjoy the internet safely, the Code is designed to act as an everyday reminder of simple good behaviours, to help children and young people avoid common risks online as well as to help parents talk to your children about the internet.

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Find out more about the ITU's Child Online Protection Initiative

Alan Johnson said UK and US authorities were working on ways to flag up when a convicted sex offender goes online. It follows the sentencing of Peter Chapman, 33, on Monday, to a minimum of 35 years for the kidnap and killing of Ashleigh Hall in Sedgefield in October. The sex offender contacted her via Facebook. The Lib Dems have also called for better internet monitoring.

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Find out more about ITU's Child Online Protection Initiative

Some 17,000 culture vultures registered to the UK's National Theatre website need to reset their passwords after the site was hacked.

The 20 February attack hit systems storing the logins of 17,000 (or around three per cent) of the 500,000 plus registered with the site. Only email, password, name and contact information was disclosed by the hack. Motives and perpetrators remain unidentified. A spokeswoman emphasised that database systems holding credit and debit card details were not affected by the hack. The NT has sent out email alerts (copy below) to affected customers on Monday apologising for the security snafu.

 

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Germany's highest court on Tuesday overturned a law allowing authorities to retain data on telephone calls and e-mail traffic for help in tracking criminal networks.

A law ordering data on calls made from mobile or landline telephones and e-mail exchanges be retained for six months for possible use by criminal authorities violated Germans' constitutional right to private correspondence, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled. In its ruling, the court said the law failed to sufficiently balance the need for personal privacy against that for providing security.

“The disputed instructions neither provided a sufficient level of data security, nor sufficiently limited the possible uses of the data,” the court said.

 

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The US government’s policy of leaving the Internet alone is over, according to Obama’s top official at the Department of Commerce.

Instead, an “Internet Policy 3.0” approach will see policy discussions between government agencies, foreign governments, and key Internet constituencies, according to Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling, with those discussions covering issues such as privacy, child protection, cybersecurity, copyright protection, and Internet governance.

The outcomes of such discussions will be “flexible” but may result in recommendations for legislation or regulation, Strickling said in a speech at the Media Institute in Washington this week. The new approach is a far cry from a US government that consciously decided not to intrude into the internet’s functioning and growth and in so doing allowed an academic network to turn into a global communications phenomenon.

 

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Microsoft has won a court-issued take-down order against scores of domains associated with controlling the spam-spewing Waledac botnet.

The software giant's order allows the temporary cut-off of traffic to 277 Internet domains that form command and control nodes for the network of compromised machines. Infected (zombie) machines are programmed to regularly poll these control points for instructions and spam templates.

The .com domains, registered in China, will be sin-binned by VeriSign, at least temporarily decapitating the network. Microsoft estimates that Waledac was one of the 10 largest botnets in the US and a major distributor of spam for online (unlicensed) pharmacies, knock-off goods and other tat, as explained in a blog posting by its legal team.

"Waledac is estimated to have infected hundreds of thousands of computers around the world and, prior to this action, was believed to have the capacity to send over 1.5 billion spam emails per day. In a recent analysis, Microsoft found that between December 3-21, 2009, approximately 651 million spam emails attributable to Waledac were directed to Hotmail accounts alone, including offers and scams related to online pharmacies, imitation goods, jobs, penny stocks and more."

 

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Shopping comparison site Foundem this week fired the opening shots in the coming Google antitrust battle, with a complaint to the European Commission and a filing with the US Federal Communications Commission accusing Google of posing "an immediate threat to competition and innovation." The US filing is in response to the FCC's net neutrality enquiry, and seeks to have search neutrality included in FCC rule-making.

German shopping site Ciao, which has been owned by Microsoft since 2008, and French legal search service ejustice.fr have also filed complaints with Europe. The data in the filing has also been passed to the Commission, Foundem co-founder Shivaun Raff told The Register. In it, with the help of data commissioned from ComScore, Foundem seeks to show that what Google calls "Universal Search" places Google services in prominent and preferential positions within its search results, giving the company an unassailable competitive advantage. "They're turning an ostensibly neutral search engine into an incredibly powerful marketing channel for their own services," said Raff.

 

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A plan to create a specific area of the Internet for pornography has been given a reprieve by a distinguished panel of judges.

The panelists - who included a former International Court of Justice judge - told Internet overseeing body ICANN in a majority decision that it was wrong to reject an application for the top-level domain dot-xxx three years ago.

That decision made by ICANN’s Board in March 2007 was “not consistent with the application of neutral, objective, and fair documented policy,” the panel concluded. It also decided in favor of the company behind the dot-xxx application, ICM Registry, in three of the remaining four issues under dispute and ordered ICANN to pick up fees and expenses totaling $475,000. As a result of the panel’s declaration, the ICANN Board will now reconsider the dot-xxx application and decision at its meeting in Nairobi next month, opening the way for dot-xxx’s possible inclusion into the Internet’s “root.”

 

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New domain name registrations in the fourth quarter of 2009 reached 3.7 million domain name registrations per month totaling close to 11 million new domain name registrations across all of the Top-Level Domains (TLDs) in the last quarter of 2009, according the latest Domain Name Brief by VeriSign. "The base of country code Top-Level Domain Names (ccTLDs) rose to 78.6 million domain names, a three percent increase quarter over quarter and a 10 percent increase year over year. In terms of total registrations, .com continues to have the highest base followed by .cn (China), .de (Germany), .net and .uk (United Kingdom)."

 

The VeriSign Domain Report (Feb. 2010)

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A digital attack against the UK causing even minor damage would have a "catastrophic" effect on public confidence in the government, GCHQ has privately warned Whitehall.

The Cheltenham spy agency's new Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) makes the prediction in a document prepared for Cabinet Office and seen by The Register. Growing reliance on the internet to deliver public services will "quickly reach a point of no return", meaning "any interruption of broadband access becomes intolerable and will have serious impacts on the the economy and public well being", CSOC says.

"A successful cyber attack against public services would have a catastrophic impact on public confidence in the government, even if the actual damage caused by the attack were minimal," it adds.

 

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.Info registry Afilias is asking ICANN to approve a plan to offer one and two character .info domain names for registration. As with other newer gTLDs, ICANN originally reserved all one and two character domains from being registered.

Afilias is modeling its plan after Neustar’s launch of one and two character .biz domain names. There will be a three step process:

1. Requests for Proposal, where anyone can submit a proposal for developing a particular name. Afilias will award domains to RFPs that meet its goal of broadening awareness of .info.

2. Auction of any domain not given during the RFP

3. Open registration

During Neustar’s one character auction, the top sale was e.biz for $66,001. Many other one character .biz domains sold for $5,000-$15,000. It is still running two character auctions, with most sales under $1,000. The biggest deal to come out of the RFP process was Overstock.com, which picked up O.biz.

 

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Criminal hackers have penetrated the networks of almost 2,500 companies and government agencies in a coordinated campaign that began 18 months ago and continues to steal email passwords, login credentials, and other sensitive data to this day, a computer security company said.

The infections by a variant of the Zeus botnet began in late 2008 and have turned more than 74,000 PCs into remote spying platforms that have siphoned highly proprietary information out of at least 10 federal agencies and thousands of companies, according to research from NetWitness, a Herndon, Virginia-based network forensics firm. Many of the victims are Fortune 500 firms in the financial, energy, and high technology industries.

 

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Google is in court later today New York to face critics of its agreement with US publishers to digitise the world's books.

Judge Denny Chin will hear evidence from 26 critics of the deal. These include Amazon and Microsoft, along with several publishers. France and Germany will also give evidence, the Beeb reports. The case is seen by some as granting Google an effective monopoly on the world's literature.

The search giant's massive book scanning scheme is also under investigation from Department of Justice and European regulators.

 

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Computer experts from some 30 organizations worldwide have once again compiled a list of the 25 most dangerous programming errors along with a novel way to prevent them: by drafting contracts that hold developers responsible when bugs creep into applications.

The list for 2010 bears a striking resemblance to last year's list, which was the first time a broad cross section of the world's computer scientists reached formal agreement on the most common programming pitfalls. The effort is designed to shift attention to the underlying mistakes that allow vulnerabilities to happen in the first place.

 

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An incredible 77 per cent of internet domains - nearly 90 million internet addresses - are registered with false, incomplete, or unverifiable information.

An extensive review of 1,419 representative domain names conducted by overseeing body ICANN, including direct contact with over 500 individual domain owners, produced some startling results (PDF). Example: only 23 per cent of domain registrations display the owner's correct name and physical address.

Worse, an extraordinary 29 per cent of domains are registered with patently false or suspicious information - a shady sign of online criminalty. The remaining 48 per cent of faulty registrations are in a grey area where people are either unaware or unwilling to hand over their identifying details.

 

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Google has quietly turned on IPv6 support for its YouTube video streaming Web site, sending a spike of IPv6 traffic across the Internet that has continued from last Thursday until Monday. IPv6: The Essential Guide 

Industry observers say YouTube appeared to be supporting IPv6 in production mode, as opposed to running a test of the next-generation Internet protocol.

"On Thursday, midday California time, we saw a large amount of inbound IPv6 traffic, which we knew came from Google," says Martin Levy, Director of IPv6 Strategy at Hurricane Electric, a Fremont, Calif., ISP that runs one of the world's largest IPv6 backbone networks.

"IPv6 traffic came into ISPs from all over the world when Google turned up its IPv6 traffic on YouTube," Levy says. "IPv6 is being supported at many different Google data centers. We're talking about a traffic spike that is 30-to-1 type ratios. In other words, 30 times more IPv6 traffic is coming out of Google's data centers than before."

 

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Most country code top-level domains on the Internet represent areas with millions of people, such as .uk (United Kingdom), .ca (Canada), .de (Germany), .se (Sweden), and so on, but there a places where the population isn’t counted in the millions, or even thousands, that still have their very own top-level domain on the Internet. Some of them aren’t even inhabited.

IANA, the organization that administers the domain name system, bases its allocation of country code top-level domains on the standard country code list in ISO 3166-1 which defines codes for “the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest.”

ccTLDs for 10 places with tiny populations 

 

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Scams which attempt to trick users into volunteering personal credentials in return for free pornography have moved over onto social networks.

More than nine out of ten (92 per cent) of such adult phishing scams recorded in January took place on social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo, according to the latest monthly security report from Symantec. Once fraudsters have snaffled personal credentials, surfers are often redirected to sites punting scareware scams rather than smut.

Scareware scams more commonly rely on manipulating search engine results for search terms in the news, such as the death of an athlete practising for the luge event at the winter Olympics. These results are poisoned so that surfers looking for videos of this tragedy (as explained by Sophos here) are instead redirected to anti-virus scan scam portals, which warn of non-existent malware risks in a bid to trick users into buying worthless scamware.

 

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The UK government has launched a specialist cyber-enforcement team and allocated extra funding for Trading Standards as part of a campaign designed to clamp down on online scams.

OFT figures suggest online scams claim 3 million UK marks every year and result in losses of £3.5bn. Approaches most often arrive in the form of scam emails. The government is investing £4.3m over three years in a bid to clamp down on this growing source of crime. The money will allow the training and appointment of specialist trading standards enforcers in every region of England and in Scotland and Wales and the establishment of local computer labs.

 

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50% of European teenagers give out personal information on the web – according to an EU study – which can remain online forever and can be seen by anybody. Today, Safer Internet Day, the European Commission is passing a message to teenagers: "Think before you post!" It welcomed actions to protect children using social networking websites taken by the 20 companies who signed the Safer Social Networking Principles last year (IP/09/232 ).

Most of these companies have empowered minors to tackle online risks by making it easier to change privacy settings, block users or delete unwanted comments and content. Yet more needs to be done to protect children online, the Commission says. Less than half of social networking companies (40%) make profiles of under-18 users visible only to their friends by default and only one third replied to user reports asking for help.

 

(Source: Europa)

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Europa

Persistent illegal downloaders face having their internet links disconnected under a secret trade deal being negotiated by developed nations this week, according to activists and industry groups.

 

Leaked drafts of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement say the world’s biggest developed nations want internet service providers to be more responsible for the content they distribute – and even cut off repeat infringers of copyright legislation.

 

Analysts say the agreement, if ratified, would transform copyright law in the US and European Union. So-called “three strike” laws have been contentious in the US and EU, in spite of aggressive lobbying from copyright holders such as record companies and film studios for countries to adopt them in order to curb illegal downloading.

 

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What happened with the Internet in 2009?

How many websites were added? How many emails were sent? How many Internet users were there? This post will answer all of those questions and many more. Prepare for information overload, but in a good way. 

We have used a wide variety of sources from around the Web. A full list of source references is available at the bottom of the post for those interested. We here at Pingdom also did some additional calculations to get even more numbers to show you.

 

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It is estimated that in three years time the addresses available for connecting to the Internet under the current protocol will be depleted. Faced with this situation, LACNIC is taking measures for supporting and promoting the adoption of IP version 6 within the region.

As a response to the forecasts prepared by several investigators indicating that by the year 2011 the central pool of version 4 (IPv4) Internet addresses could be completely depleted, LACNIC announces it is launching a regional campaign so that all the region's networks will be adapted to the new version 6 of the protocol (IPv6) before January 1st, 2011.

 

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.ORG, The Public Interest Registry extends our deepest condolences to the millions of families, friends and neighbors affected by the horrific tragedy in Haiti. As we learn the extent of the earthquake's devastation and continue with emergency assistance, the need for our continued support and humanitarian efforts is critical. If you would like to make a donation or learn more about how you can help with the relief efforts, we recommend visiting the .ORG community, including sites such as http://www.redcross.org/, http://www.globalgiving.org/ and http://www.directrelief.org/.

 

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Safer Internet Day: institutions, social networks, companies and the voluntary sector, all working together on the “Use Your Head When Posting Online” Campaign.

From today: messages from “Absolute Zero” will be appearing on www.sicurinrete.it and www.itu.int/cop

The “Zero Assoluto” messages, advice and a video – also broadcast by channel La7 – to convince youngsters and adults to think twice before circulating personal pictures or posting suggestive photos

“More people know you than you would imagine. They look at your photos, they talk about you, and would like to meet you. Find out why ” This is the “headline board” message that has been circulating online the past few days through which promoters of the “Think before you post” campaign that will try to bring hundreds of thousands of young internet users to land at the www.sicurinrete.it web site. Here, the words of the “Zero Assoulto”, a video and key messages will invite those who “people” social networks to use their heads when posting online! That is, to think carefully before putting their or others’ privacy at risk by publishing online personal data and pictures, maybe even ones that are suggestive or alluring, as is the case with sexting , a phenomenon which has by now become quite widespread even among Italian adolescents.

The cause of all this commotion on the Net is the Safer Internet Day. It will be celebrated tomorrow, a day established by the European Commission as a part of the Safer Internet programme that aims to promote safe and responsible use of the Internet and new technologies by younger users. In Italy, Save the Children and Adiconsum jointly administer this programme.

In line with the ITU (International telecommunication Union) Child Online Protection Initiative goals, 19 are the actors who have joined together for the first time to launch, on this day, the Think before you post: the very ample “sign” shows – all side by side – institutions, social networks, companies and organizers from the voluntary sector, in fact all the principal actors, each with their own levels and functions, that are concerned with the Internet, new media and minors: the Ministry for Equal Opportunity, the Ministry for Economic Development, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the National Centre for the fight against Child abuse images on the Internet run by the Postal and Communications Police, the Observatory for the fight against paedophilia and child pornography, the Protection of Privacy Watchdog, Save the Children, Adiconsum, the Italian Internet Provider Association (AIIP), Telecom Italia, Vodafone, Facebook, MySpace, Netlog, Virgilio, Google, Microsoft’s Windows Live, Skuola.net, and the La7 television channel.

New technologies have transformed internet users – and especially the youngest ones – into potential editors of information, pictures, films, etc. Photographs and videos can be shot and easily circulated by mobile phones, sent to a list of contacts, and loaded onto a blog or a social networking profile in no time.

Thanks to the possibility of posting personal pictures or information online offered by social networks, it has become much easier to trace a person through their photos, just as it is now easier to reconstruct his/her curriculum or aspects of his/her life. It’s also become possible to manage one’s online identity so as to be able to transform one’s self into a kind of “celebrity”.

All this can represent an opportunity for socialising, having fun, and even a means of forming new work relations. Many internet users, including many youngsters, do not always realise that whatever is published online, stays online and ends up being outside their control. A photo, maybe even one that’s suggestive, can be retrieved years later by a potential employer. The personal information contained within social networking profiles can be used for illegal purposes by unscrupulous persons.

The “Use Your Head When Posting Online” Campaign, which be found online at www.sicurinrete.it until the 12th of February, aims to sensitise youngsters and adults about the need to treat their personal data with greater care.

“Maybe you don’t even realise it, but when you chat, post, or publish online … your data becomes accessible and not just by you…at times, also by those you don’t want having access to it”, an “Absolute Zero”, for example, reminds the Net’s so many young users through an enjoyable video published on the campaign site’s home.

“A photo is forever! (and we’re not talking about diamonds…) “So, do think twice before publishing anything online” is the message that emerges when the big gift parcel on the home page is clicked on. Or, by clicking on another parcel, you’ll see “You want to use a sexy picture to provoke someone? The problem is what you might actually provoke…”

And there is also no shortage of advice and questions for adults: “When you publish something online you lose control over it. Always keep that in mind”. “The Internet is a public place like any other. Always ask yourself: and if the children should pass by?”

In the case of each of the messages it is therefore possible to reach a deeper level, with further ideas for reflection, as well as advice about how to best safeguard one’s privacy without having to give up the pleasures of the online community.

The Use Your Head When You Post Online Campaign also makes use of the TV spot produced by the European Commission for Safer Internet Day. It will be broadcast throughout Italy all day today by La7 within its daily programme schedule.

More information can be found at www.itu.int/cop

The Las Vegas City Council will debate today whether to strike a deal with an Internet entrepreneur who seeks to use the Internet suffix .vegas — over the objections of Clark County officials and one local company who say the city is jumping the gun and in the process likely shortchanging Las Vegas and county taxpayers.

The council will consider endorsing a proposal by Dot Vegas Inc., to create the top-level Internet domain “.vegas” — a new suffix that could be used in addition to the familiar .com, .net, .gov or .org suffixes that end most Web addresses.The city’s interest is its bottom line: Every time someone registered a .vegas Web site name, they would pay a fee to the domain owner, who, in turn, would pay the city a portion of that fee. Dot Vegas is offering the city 75 cents per registration, or 10 percent of the gross revenues from future registrations.

The company did not return a call to the Sun for comment; the company’s attorney, Jay Brown, would not comment. Some Clark County officials question the city’s right to exclusively benefit from a .vegas domain. Because city limits end at Sahara Avenue and don’t include the Strip — the landmark commercial district that most people recognize as “Las Vegas” — some county officials say their government should share in any profits from the name.

 

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The Las Vegas City Council will debate today whether to strike a deal with an Internet entrepreneur who seeks to use the Internet suffix .vegas — over the objections of Clark County officials and one local company who say the city is jumping the gun and in the process likely shortchanging Las Vegas and county taxpayers.

The council will consider endorsing a proposal by Dot Vegas Inc., to create the top-level Internet domain “.vegas” — a new suffix that could be used in addition to the familiar .com, .net, .gov or .org suffixes that end most Web addresses.The city’s interest is its bottom line: Every time someone registered a .vegas Web site name, they would pay a fee to the domain owner, who, in turn, would pay the city a portion of that fee. Dot Vegas is offering the city 75 cents per registration, or 10 percent of the gross revenues from future registrations.

The company did not return a call to the Sun for comment; the company’s attorney, Jay Brown, would not comment. Some Clark County officials question the city’s right to exclusively benefit from a .vegas domain. Because city limits end at Sahara Avenue and don’t include the Strip — the landmark commercial district that most people recognize as “Las Vegas” — some county officials say their government should share in any profits from the name.

 

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Thanks to efforts from Microsoft Research, criminals involved in child-exploitation will have less places to hide, especially when it comes down to the nooks and crannies of the Internet. Ernie Allen, president and CEO of National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) notes that while the Internet has created new opportunities for pedophiles to access content in the privacy of their own homes, and to expose themselves less to the risks associated with their illegal activities, work has been done to identify them and bring them to justice. At the same time, PhotoDNA is designed to help stop the distribution of child-exploitation images across the web.

NCMEC will be using a technology donated by Microsoft in order to produce blueprints of known images of children abuse.

 

(Source: Softpedia)

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Softpedia

Forty years after it was invented, the Internet is straining under the weight of cyber attacks, multimedia content and new mobile applications. In response, U.S. computer scientists are re-thinking every aspect of the Internet's architecture, from IP addresses to routing tables (see main story: 2020 Vision: Why you won't recognize the 'Net in 10 years) to overall Internet security. There are many views about how to fix the Internet's architecture, but there's widespread agreement about many aspects of the future Internet. Here's our list of 11 surefire bets for what the Internet will look like in a decade.

1. More people will use the Internet.

2. The Internet will be more geographically dispersed.

3. The Internet will be a network of things, not computers.

4. The Internet will carry exabytes — perhaps zettabytes — of content.

5. The Internet will be wireless.

6. More services will be in the cloud.

7. The Internet will be greener.

8. Network management will be more automated.

9. The Internet won't rely on always-on connectivity.

10. The Internet will attract more hackers.

 

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Thirty percent of 17-year-olds with cell phones have received sexting photos or videos, while eight percent have sent them, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. What's more, four percent of 12- to 17-year-olds admit they have texted sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images of themselves to someone else. Another 15 percent said they have received such images.

Meanwhile, laws and law-enforcement practices have emerged around sexting. The Pew report notes that some law-enforcement officers and district attorneys have begun prosecuting teens who create and share such images under laws generally reserved for producers and distributors of child pornography.

 

(Source: News Factor)

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News Factor

The 2009 exhibition of the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will focus on how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are helping to increase awareness and to support concrete action on climate change in both developing and developed countries.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is contributing a special programme of daily "business talks" by leaders in the ICT sector from both developing and developed countries which will be held every day from 13.00 to 14.00 hours from 7 to 18 December 2009.

More information on the ITU programme can be found at: http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/events/ict-kiosk-cop15.html

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organized a joint side-event with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on "The effective use of ICTs and the IP system for mitigating climate change" where top decision-makers from governments, international organizations and industry shared their views and solutions on how ICTs can help to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change and debated over the potential role and impact of the intellectual property (IP) system in promoting the development of new technologies, and in leveraging access to technology.

More information on the programme can be found at: http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/events/itu-wipo-cop15.html 

More information on the ITU programme at the IseeTKiosk @ COP15 can be found at: http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/events/ict-kiosk-cop15.html

ITU and Climate Change

Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has announced that the country’s A$43 billion high-speed broadband network – now under construction - will reduce his country's carbon emissions by five per cent. It seems, the role that information and communication technologies (ICT) can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions has been accepted by at least one world leader, if not by many others.

The stand-up-and-be-counted guy is the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd – who will be attending the global climate change meeting in Copenhagen this week. Speaking to a broadband conference in Sydney earlier today Mr. Rudd said the reduction in travel costs made possible by the use of telepresence video conferencing technology and the facilitation of smart metering energy usage monitoring are two reasons why the country’s National Broadband Network (NBN) will be successful in reducing the country’s carbon emissions by an impressive five per cent. “Together, the NBN and CPRS (carbon pollution reduction scheme) are critical to Australia's efforts to address climate change,” he said.

"It is also essential for many of the technologies that will help us reduce carbon emissions, improve health services, create a world class education system and improve opportunities for all Australians, no matter where they live,” he added.

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More information on the ITU programme at the IseeTKiosk @ COP15 can be found at: http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/events/ict-kiosk-cop15.html

COPENHAGEN — One of the major topics at the Copenhagen climate summit this week has been how can governments monitor and reduce deforestation, given that the removal of forests contributes to a fifth of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions. The UN has suggested the REDD framework (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) and negotiators have been deliberating over variations like REDD+ and REDD++ (sounds like a computer language).

Well, at the Copenhagen event on Thursday Google showed off a tool that helps collect and manage deforestation data, and which could come in very handy for groups backing these different forestry frameworks. Here’s how it works: Google takes the type of satellite data that it uses for its Google Earth mapping service — in this case satellite photos of forests over time — and marries it with measurement software developed by Greg Asner of Carnegie Institution for Science and Carlos Souza of Imazon. Google says Asner and Souza’s forest monitoring software tool, and others like it, have been “hampered by lack of access to satellite imagery data and computational resources for processing.”

Google then throws this all together into a tool that sits in Google’s “cloud” — cloud computing is distributed, on demand, scalable computing — and offers it up to researchers and policy makers via the web. That means researchers that might not have the resources to access this type of data and measurement tools, can access “terabytes of satellite imagery and thousands of computers” via Google’s prototype tool. Google says the deforestation measurement tool, which isn’t available to the public yet, will provide this valuable deforestation information more quickly, more easily, more cheaply, with increased security and privacy (hello climategate) and with a much larger impact on fighting climate change than has been previously available. And since it’s coming out of Google.org it will be a not-for-profit product. T

he idea highlights the role that information and communication technology can play in fighting climate change. At an event at the Copenhagen summit this afternoon, Microsoft’s sustainability officer Rob Bernard emphasized the role that ICT can play in providing research and collaboration among scientists. ICT is about unearthing and managing data, and that data can be used to make crucial decisions in reducing the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, explained Bernard. Both Microsoft and Google have a large presence, in terms of IT companies, at COP15.

More information on the ITU programme at the IseeTKiosk @ COP15 can be found at: http://www.itu.int/themes/climate/events/ict-kiosk-cop15.html 

ITU and Climate Change

The 13-year-old Florida girl sent a topless photo of herself to a boy in hope of gaining his attention. Instead, she got the attention of her school, as well as the high school nearby. The incessant bullying by classmates that followed when the photo spread put an emotional weight upon Hope that she ultimately could not bear.

Her death is only the second known case of a suicide linked to bullying after “sexting” — the practice of transmitting sexual messages or images electronically. In March, 18-year-old Jesse Logan killed herself in the face of a barrage of taunts when an ex-boyfriend forwarded explicit photos of her following their split. “As far as training them on the Internet and what to look at and what not to look at, yeah, we talked about it,”

 

(Source: MSNBC)

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MSNBC

The European Union’s first dedicated NGO Alliance for Child Safety Online (eNACSO) launched its Digital Manifesto on 14 November 2009 during the Internet Governance Forum(IGF) in Egypt. ‘The global nature of the internet places a particular responsibility on international institutions and governments to take action at national and international level to ensure children are safe online’ says Dieter Carstensen, eNACSO Chair.

The Digital Manifesto will form part of eNACSO’s ‘Agenda for Action’ document which will be launched in Brussels in May 2010.

 

(Source: eNACSO)

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eNACSO

That television set you discourage your children from watching may not be the greatest threat to their wellbeing. Instead, the mobile phone is the gateway in introducing children to the world of cyberspace, posing a great risk to their safety, a lobby group said Tuesday.

According to The Cradle, the unmonitored use of technology is increasingly exposing youngsters to the risk of harm and violence. "Only 24 per cent of children in the study reported to their parents or an authority of online or cell phone harassment,” Cradle programme manager Brian Weke told journalists. The study also revealed that 77 out of the 96, who had the incidences reported to them, took no action and ignored the seriousness of the matter.

 

(Source: Daily Nation)

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Daily Nation

The fifth-annual survey of domain name servers (DNS) on the public Internet—called a "Pandora's box of both frightening and hopeful results"—was released today by The Measurement Factory in partnership with Infoblox.

Cricket Liu, Vice President of Architecture at Infoblox and author of O'Reilly & Associates' DNS and BIND, DNS & BIND Cookbook says: "Of particular interest is the enormous growth in the number of Internet-connected name servers, largely attributable to the introduction by carriers of customer premises equipment (CPE) with embedded DNS functionality. This equipment represents a significant risk to the rest of the Internet, as without proper access controls, it facilitates enormous DDoS attacks."

 

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Reported today on BBC:"Police chiefs are urging people looking for work during the recession to be alert to online scams that trick them into laundering money. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) says websites are currently being used to recruit 'money mules'. The 'mules are ordinary people who send and receive payments through their bank accounts to facilitate business."

Neil Schwartzman has also informed us of a related report by RSA FraudAction Research Lab based on several months of tracking various reshipping scams engineered by online fraudsters.

 

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Nearly half of England's 14-year-olds have been a victim of bullying and cyber-bullying is now the joint most common form, according to new research.

The Government-commissioned research, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research, analysed bullying among more than 10,000 secondary school pupils in England aged 14-16. The initial findings show that 47 per cent of young people report being bullied at the age of 14. After cyberbullying - where children face taunts, threats and insults via the internet and mobile phones - and name calling, the most common type of bullying was teenagers being threatened with violence, being excluded by their friends and facing actual violence.

 

(Source: Telegraph)

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Telegraph

It's time to mobilise locally available resources to implement continental ICT priority projects, says SA's communications minister.

African ICT and communications ministers again called for the bridging of the digital divide, during a ministerial conference held in Johannesburg this week. The conference was in preparation of the African Union Heads of State and Government Summit, to be held in Addis Ababa, in January next year. The conference involved most of the 53 African Union member states, providing a platform for ministers to discuss and seek resolution to ICT challenges on the continent.

 

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Pedophiles can exploit virus-infected PCs to remotely store and view their stash without fear they'll get caught. Pranksters or someone trying to frame you can tap viruses to make it appear that you surf illegal Web sites. Whatever the motivation, you get child porn on your computer — and might not realize it until police knock at your door.

An Associated Press investigation found cases in which innocent people have been branded as pedophiles after their co-workers or loved ones stumbled upon child porn placed on a PC through a virus. It can cost victims hundreds of thousands of dollars to prove their innocence.

 

(Source: AP)

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AP

Spain says Internet-related child pornography has risen tenfold in the past five years. Francisco Villanueva of the Interior Ministry says the number of cases has gone from 108 in 2004 to 1,024 last year. Other Internet-related crimes also rose.

Villanueva said Thursday that hacking has risen from 92 to 447 cases, and that bank fraud has more than doubled in the same period, from 509 cases to 1,954. He says piracy of intellectual property decreased slightly from 330 to 298 cases, but that if more resources are not dedicated to policing piracy, Spain could lose up to 300,000 jobs. Villanueva says Spain's cyber crime levels are similar to those of neighboring European countries.

 

(Source: AP)

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AP

According to a report released today by Nominet, UK's domain name registry, 77% of British consumers prefer to use a .uk rather than a .com when searching for information on the Internet. The report also indicates that despite the current economic climate, the global domain name industry has seen an 8% growth with 187.6 million domain names registered worldwide. "Generic top level domains (gTLDs), such as .org and .com, have grown on average by 6% whilst the country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) including .uk and .de (the German registry) fared slightly better and together generated a 10% average growth in registrations," says Nominet. 

 

The Nominet Domain Name Industry Report 2009 

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