INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION Keynote Address Opening Ceremony of TELECOM 95 Dr Pekka Tarjanne, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union Geneva, 3 October 1995 Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, On behalf of the International Telecommunication Union, I would like to welcome you to the 7th World Telecommunication Forum and Exhibition -- otherwise known as TELECOM 95. Over the next nine days, we will witness the latest marvels of communications technology. We will discuss and debate how to make the vision of the global information society a reality. Many of us will leave TELECOM 95 exhausted. Hopefully, we will also leave exhilarated -- our heads filled with new ideas -- and our briefcases filled with new orders! This is what TELECOM 95 is all about -- linking future vision with practical reality. To my mind, the theme of TELECOM 95 -- "Connect!" -- captures this reality perfectly. As we look to the future, we should think for a moment about the past. Geneva is a city with a long history. The first reference to the name "Geneva" is found in the writings of Julius Caesar who conquered what is now Switzerland and made it part of the Roman empire, more than 2000 years ago. It is interesting to think about ancient Rome, for a number of reasons. Today, for example, we are inaugurating the Geneva Arena. The word "arena" also links us to ancient Rome. In those days, the arena was the place where gladiators fought, often to death, to amuse rich and poor alike. There are other echos of the past with us in this room today, as we prepare to face the future. Are we the new Romans -- you, I and the rest of the telecommunications tribe, not to mention our fellow global villagers? The parallels are certainly striking. There will be gladiatorial combats in the exhibition halls outside this arena, as well as in the hotels and restaurants of Geneva and la France voisine. The contestants will not be grizzled warriors. For the most part, they will be young, attractive, articulate and persuasive. They will not carry tridents and nets, or swords and shields. They will be armed instead with brochures and videos, with hardware and software -- and with invitations, to all kinds of things! But make no mistake. By the time TELECOM 95 is over, there will be winners and there will be losers. Today, communications is not only one of the biggest industries in the world today, and one of the fastest growing. It is also fast becoming one of the most competitive. Tomorrow, a new "information industry" will be born -- from convergence, competition and connection between telecommunications, entertainment and computing. The information industry will dwarf all others. It will be to the twenty-first century what oil and steel and autos have been to many of us -- and what banking, watches and cheese have been to the Swiss! The information industry will not only be big. It will be global, in every sense of the word. It will reach every single person on earth. It will communicate every kind of message. It will transform every aspect of human life. Nothing will be the same when we have finally built a "global information society for the twenty-first century". If we realize this vision, mankind will benefit immensely from our work. New sources of wealth will be created. Old industries will become more environment-friendly. People everywhere -- particularly women, as the recent Beijing conference reminded us -- will have access to decent education and health care. Science will flourish. Creativity will bloom. Barriers of ignorance, misunderstanding, and mistrust will fall, as people share information and experience. Even if we are not fully successful, many of these dreams will become a reality, for at least some people, in some places. As we plan the future, let us not lose sight of today’s realities. Today, more than two-thirds of the people in the world do not have access to plain old telephone service, just as they do not have access to the other basic necessities of a decent, human life. Will they be part of tomorrow’s global information society? Or will it be global in name only - - a "virtual reality", open only to the privileged people of the world -- an empire of illusion whose inhabitants are blind to the true state of la condition humaine? Today, part of this human truth is that half a billion people cannot live full lives because of their disabilities. Telecommunications can do something about this. Will it? I hope all of you will visit the "One-in- Ten" exhibit. It is my favourite part of TELECOM 95. It shows some of what can be done to end this terrible waste. It should inspire us all. Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, These serious thoughts should not cloud the fact that we are here today to celebrate -- to celebrate the achievements of our industry and its potential for human betterment. As Secretary-General of TELECOM 95’s parent organization, permit me to suggest that this event also celebrates the success of the ITU. The ITU was founded 130 years ago. It is the oldest international organization. It is widely acknowledged as one of the most successful. Why? In my mind, the answer is simple to say, but very difficult to put into practice. Through all the changes that have taken place in the past 130 years -- through the technological revolutions, the social upheavals, the political cataclysms -- the members of the ITU have steadfastly continued to work together, in the pursuit of ever higher goals, but with their feet always firmly on the ground. I have mentioned that the ITU is celebrating an important birthday this year. Let me mention two other birthdays as well. The first is the 100th anniversary of radiocommunications. We will be holding a birthday party for this old, but still revolutionary technology this coming Saturday, October 7. The second is the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, an event which is being celebrated not only here in Geneva, but all over the world. The ITU has been a member of the UN family of organizations since 1947. We have been proud to play a small, but very important part, in realizing the noble ideals of the UN Charter. As the international community looks forward to the UN’s future, I might even suggest there are things that can be learned from the ITU’s long experience. Our secret, as I said at the beginning, is to unite vision and reality, through cooperation and respect between all the peoples of the world. That is what the ITU is all about. That is what TELECOM 95 is all about. That is what the future of all international organizations should be about. Today, I can say with pride that the international telecommunication network -- with all its strengths and weaknesses -- stands as a monument to the ITU and its members. Tomorrow, I hope that some future Secretary-General will be able to claim with equal pride at least some share of responsibility for creating a global information infrastructure that leads to a more natural and more humane world in the twenty-first century. Let us begin this noble, practical work today. TELECOM ‘95 3 TELECOM ‘95