The Youth Forum
A powerful contender among ITU programmes

Young voices, new visions

Seventy-four young people from thirty-nine ITU Member States of the Asia-Pacific region (see box) met in Hong Kong, China from 2 to 6 December 2002 with the goal of creating and sustaining a corps of future leaders in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT). 

The Youth Forum took place concurrently with the ITU TELECOM ASIA 2002 Forum and Exhibition and discussed three themes: “Training and Technology”, “Policy and Regulation” and Finance. This group of highly inspired young men and women from Asia and the Pacific also explored the issue of the digital divide in the run-up to the ITU TELECOM WORLD 2003 Youth Forum, to be held in Geneva in October this year. Together they have created a comprehensive framework to join forces in raising the visibility of youth involvement in ICTs.

ITU 026200/A. de Ferron

The Training and Technology session explored technology innovation, notably in mobile communications and fixed-line broadband connections for the Internet and how countries in the region are meeting their telecommunication access goals and challenges in ICT development and literacy. Some attention was drawn to the role that telecommunications play in the social and economic development of all countries.

The Policy and Regulation session focused on the ultimate goal of telecommunications as a tool for bettering the lives of all the world’s inhabitants. Achieving this goal will require combinations of political will and commitment, transparent management by policy-makers and regulators, as well as effective competition among suppliers to meet the demands of users in terms of quality and greater choices of services at affordable prices. It is ultimately the responsibility of every country to develop and update its own social and economic policies, bearing in mind its different priorities, benchmarks and circumstances. 

Last but not least, individuals throughout the world — the “haves” and “have-nots” alike — should respect each other and seek digital opportunities together to make the world a better place in the ICT era.

The Finance session discussed how to obtain financial assistance for poverty eradication; how to create an enabling environment (for example, through regulatory institutions); and how to improve capacity through training and direct assistance to projects such as e-health initiatives. It also examined the role of financial institutions and investors; the risk and returns associated with debt and equity instruments; relationships between service providers, consumers, investors and potential partners; the relationship between ”risk and return”, as well as between the demand for services and the supply of funds to finance such services and projects; types of resources, for example, the resources which the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (ITU/BDT) provides to developing countries through technical assistance and human capacity building in a bid to help them create an ”enabling” environment that attracts investment; entrepreneurial aspects of Internet business, including start-ups; and defining a vision of a business future and a firm commitment to success.

All three sessions received the support of several distinguished thinkers — experts who comprise the brain trust of the Youth Forum.

Three lunchtime sessions were hosted by Cisco Network Academy, Vodafone and Intelsat, giving the youth a unique opportunity to hear about different technologies.

The ASIA 2002 Youth Forum came up with an important Declaration which will be conveyed to all ITU Member States in Asia and the Pacific and to the policy-making forum of the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003.