The 20th meeting of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG) was held from 28 to 30 April 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland.
At the start of the meeting, delegates observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the devastating earthquake in Nepal.
The meeting was officially opened by the ITU Deputy Secretary-General Mr Malcom Johnson on behalf of the ITU Secretary-General Mr Houlin Zhao who was away on mission.
Mr Johnson spoke of the important role played by TDAG in telecommunications development noting that "this role is even more important in the context of the post-2015 development agenda."
In his opening statement, Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, highlighted the achievements made over the past year in all areas of action, including, among others, strengthening cooperation with regional and international organizations, particularly other UN agencies.
He spoke about the significant contribution made in the fight against Ebola through the launch of the
Ebola-Info-Sharing mobile application, adding that a similar application will be launched soon to fight the Chukungunya virus disease and Dengue fever in the Caribbean and Pacific regions.
Mr Sanou said the Telecommunication Development Sector had made innovation one of its key pillars in order "to strengthen members' capabilities to integrate ICT innovation in their national development agendas and to build an innovation culture within the Bureau to lead, improve and adapt to the evolving converged ICT eco-system."
Outlining some of the priority areas in the coming years, Mr Sanou said that empowering the youth through the use of ICTs is, "an area which is very close to my heart." He added, "young people are the most enthusiastic users and creators of ICTs and they are the ones who will shape the direction of the ICT Industry. We need to ensure they are ready to live and work in a fast changing world driven by technological advances".
TDAG reviews priorities, strategies and financial matters of the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector. It meets between the World Development Conferences (WTDC) to advise the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) on the implementation of the WTDC Action Plan, including issues relating to the budget and the operational plan of the Sector.
This year's meeting also addressed, among others, the outcomes of the 19th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14), held in Busan, Republic of Korea, in 2014, and their implications for the work of the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D).
Speaking at the end of the three day meeting, Mr Sanou thanked the participants for their contributions and active participation in the deliberations.
He said the ITU-D will continue to put emphasis on the Regional Initiatives noting that, "in this way we can deliver on our promises at the country and regional level."
TDAG is chaired by Professor Vladimir Minkin.
Mr Sanou's Speech: English
Mr Sanou's Speech: French
