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19th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference closes
with celebration of new spirit of cooperation
Delegates elect new management team, approve four-year Strategic and
Financial plans, establish the Connect 2020 Agenda and extend Union’s
mandate to new areas including gender & youth
Busan, 07 November 2014 — ITU’s 19th Plenipotentiary
Conference closed its doors today with delegates from around the world
resoundingly reaffirming ITU’s essential role in global ICT development, and
extending the Union’s mandate in emerging areas including harnessing ICTs to
promote gender empowerment and to help address urgent issues such as youth
unemployment, global disease control and aeronautical safety.
The conference attracted a record 2,505 delegates from 171 countries.
Dignitaries present included the President of the Republic of Korea, Park
Geun-hye, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, 76 government ministers, 36 deputy
ministers, and 56 ambassadors.
The positive climate of collaboration that pervaded the marathon three-week
negotiations was hailed by all delegates as a bright new chapter in ITU’s solid
150-year history as the world’s impartial global steward of shared ICT
resources.
PP-14 further strengthened ITU’s mandate across existing work areas including
bridging the digital divide, strategies to accelerate broadband roll-out, green
ICT strategies to help combat climate change, the role of ICTs in disaster
response, and the use of ICTs to promote accessibility for persons with
disabilities.
The conference also agreed new areas of work, including the addition of an
agenda item for the forthcoming World Radiocommunication Conference on spectrum
allocations for improved flight tracking, and collaborative work to harness the
power of ICTs to combat the Ebola epidemic and future global health crises.
The Conference formally adopted ITU’s Strategic Plan 2016-2019 and 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 2018
Plenipotentiary, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates.
In his valedictory address to assembled delegates on Thursday 6 November,
outgoing Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré told delegates that the Busan
conference represented a new coming together of countries determined to
collaborate even more closely, as ICTs increasingly serve as the cornerstone of
global economic and social development.
“ICTs are playing a vital role in each and every one of the great challenges
facing humanity, from the MDGs and the SDGs to climate change, healthcare,
education and good governance,” he said. “In the 21st century, ICTs are always
part of the solution.”
NEW SPIRIT OF CONSENSUS
The conference took place from 20 October to 7 November at BEXCO conference
and exhibition centre in the heart of Korea’s second city, Busan, under the
expert chairmanship of Mr Wonki Min, Assistant Minister at Korea’s Ministry of
Science, ICT and Future Planning.
“PP-14 accomplished so much and produced so many fruitful outcomes,” said Mr
Min. “Over 400 proposals were submitted to the conference by ITU Member States,
generating thousands of hours of negotiations, with small drafting groups often
meeting through the weekends and evenings,” he said.
Mr Min went on to congratulate delegates for their strong commitment to
finding global consensus. “ITU has a long tradition of consensus-building, but
it is not until you experience it in person that you really understand and
appreciate how effective and valuable this tradition is,” he said.
At the official closing ceremony this afternoon, the Minister of Science, ICT
and Future Planning Choi Yanghee noted that “PP-14 came at a critical time, with
ITU celebrating its 150th anniversary next year, so it was an especially great
honour for Korea. Korea promises to play its role with a grave sense of
responsibility in contributing to future ICT development in partnership with
ITU.”
His address was followed by a speech from Busan City Mayor SUH Byung-soo, who
expressed his satisfaction with the choice of Busan as host city for the PP-14
conference. “During PP-14, the Republic of Korea and the City of Busan have been
at the centre of the global ICT arena. Our city was very fortunate to have the
eyes of the world on us as this year’s host city, and I hope that the City of
Busan will be remembered not only as the venue for PP-14, but also as the site
where a historic milestone for the development of mankind was achieved.”
CONFERENCE STRUCTURE
This year’s conference comprised three substantive working committees:
Committee 5 (Policy & Legal) chaired by Frédéric Riehl of
Switzerland
Committee 6 (Administration & Management) chaired by
Caroline Greenway of Australia
The Working Group of the Plenary chaired by Musab Abdullah
of Bahrain.
The statutory committees of PP-14 comprised Committee 1 (Steering) chaired by
Wonki Min (Republic of Korea); Committee 2 (Credentials) chaired by Timofey Kim
(Kazakhstan); Committee 3 (Budget Control) chaired by Paarock Vanpercy (Ghana);
and Committee 4 (Editorial) chaired by Imad Hoballah (Lebanon).
MAIN OUTCOMES & ACHIEVEMENTS
- Approval of the Strategic Plan and Financial Plan for
2016-2019, which sets out the Union’s workplan and funding for
the coming four-year period.
- A new ‘Connect 2020’ resolution that sets out a clear vision
and shared objectives for the future of the ICT sector through
measurable new statistical targets.
- Revisions to key resolutions on Internet-related matters
(Resolutions 101, 102, 133 and 180) which further enhance ITU’s
engagement with all stakeholders. In an important change to
previous working methods, ITU’s Council Working Group on
International internet-related public policy issues has been
empowered by this Plenipotentiary to conduct both physical and
online consultations, allowing the group to benefit from
perspectives brought by stakeholders from all nations.
- Renewed emphasis on the need for affordable international
Internet connectivity for all the world’s people, as well as the
importance of nurturing a truly multilingual Internet.
- A decision to open the Working Group on Child Online
Protection to all stakeholders, underlining ITU members’ global
commitment to ensuring safety and confidence online.
- Agreement to maintain the
contributory unit for ITU Member States at
CHF 318,000 for the period 2016-2019.
- Other notable new and modified resolutions included:
-
initiatives to identify
global spectrum to facilitate flight tracking
- using the power of ICTs to combat Ebola
- ITU’s first resolution on youth and ICTs
- strengthening of Resolution 70 on ICTs and
gender equality
- combating counterfeit ICT devices
- measures to promote development of
software-defined networks
- ongoing work on technologies to support the
‘Internet of Things’
- the setting up of an Expert Group on the
International Telecommunication Regulations
(ITRs)
For the first time since 1992, the conference made no amendments to the ITU
Constitution and Convention, the global treaty that governs the work of ITU.
NEW INNOVATIONS FOR PP-14
The conference saw a number of new side-events designed to engage members
from government, the private sector and civil society in ITU’s work in
cross-sectoral issues, including:
- The first-ever
GEM-Tech Awards, organized by ITU in
conjunction with UN Women, which recognized seven outstanding
organizations and individuals and six ‘Global Achievers’.
Watch the video
showcasing the seven GEM-TECH winners
here.
Watch a movie showcase of the
37 shortlisted nominees
here, and an overview of PP-14 GEM-TECH
activities
here
- The
Young ICT Policy Leaders programme,
generously supported by the City of Busan, which provided a
platform for young policy makers to network and meet global
leaders from the ICT sector, and to nurture knowledge and skills
exchange at the international level. Busan Metropolitan City
sponsored the participation of 35 young delegates from
developing countries to ensure true global participation in this
new programme. The initiative also resulted in the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding between Busan
and ITU aimed at further developing youth training
opportunities.
- An invitation to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to address
the 11th Plenary session of the conference on Tuesday 28th
October and present an open letter from the
Broadband Commission for Digital Development,
which he co-chairs with Mexico’s Carlos Slim. The President also
joined delegates later that day to present awards to leading ICT
and gender advocates at the first
GEM-TECH Awards Gala Dinner organized by
ITU supported by UN Women and partners Oman, Rwanda,
Switzerland, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Cisco Systems
and Facebook.
- A series of five
'Connect 2020 Roundtables’, held during
PP-14 lunch breaks and hosted by ITU’s five top officials, which
focused on the key Connect 2020 themes of Growth, Inclusiveness,
Sustainability and Innovation, as well as a session on
Monitoring, reflecting ITU’s role as a key statistics-gathering
agency of the UN family.
ELECTION OF ITU TOP MANAGEMENT
The Plenipotentiary Conference formalized the new team of elected officials
of the Union at a swearing-in ceremony on Thursday 30 October. Former Deputy
Secretary-General Houlin Zhao was acclaimed as newly elected Secretary-General,
along with new Deputy Secretary-General Malcolm Johnson, who was formerly
Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB). Current
incumbents François Rancy (Radiocommunication Bureau) and Brahima Sanou
(Telecommunication Development Bureau), along with newly-elected Director of
TSB, Korea’s Chaesub Lee, received their letters of appointment. All will
officially commence their new terms of office on 1 January 2015.
A full summary of election results for each round of voting is available
here.
The conference also elected the twelve members of the
Radio Regulations Board (RRB), the body which deals with
global radiocommunications matters which fall under the purview of ITU.
A backgrounder on the ITU election process can be found
here. A backgrounder explaining how the ITU is governed can
be found
here.
NEW STATUS FOR PALESTINE
Proposed revisions to two resolutions concerning Palestine were a potential
source of discord on the penultimate day of the conference, however assiduous
negotiations by delegates from many countries, led by ITU Secretary-General Dr
Touré and PP-14 Chairman Wonki Min were successful in reaching compromise texts
that achieved consensus. The revised Resolutions, Resolution 99 and Resolution
125, provide for increased participation of the State of Palestine in the work
of the Union.
The new rights afforded by amendments to Resolution 99 also allow the State
of Palestine to be seated alongside delegations of Member States in French
alphabetical order, give the delegation the right to present proposals in its
own name, (with the exception of amendments to the ITU Constitution, Convention
and General Rules), and allow representatives from the State of Palestine to
serve as Chairs or Vice-Chairs of technical study groups and focus groups.
“I am delighted that this potentially divisive issue was able to be resolved
in a short space of time through the concerted efforts of ITU Members,” said
Secretary-General Dr Touré. “This positive outcome is a shining example of ITU’s
culture of global collaboration and bridge-building, which has kept us at the
forefront of the industry we serve for 150 years.”
CONFERENCE STATISTICS
This year’s conference:
- Heard
107 policy statements from ITU Member
States.
- Organized 800 meetings dealing with a total of 452
proposals.
- Accredited a record 650+ local and international journalists
– more than four times as many as at any previous
Plenipotentiary Conference.
- Followed
more than 4,000 people posting over 13,000 tweets
during the event, reaching over 17 million twitter accounts
worldwide. Tweets tagged #Plenipot14 had a potential reach of
close to 75 million views.
- Hosted 100,000 visits to the
PP-14 website, with half a million page
views.
- Generated over 2,000 online images, and more than two
million views on
ITU’s PP-14 Flickr site.
- Created more than 100 videos and podcasts posted online on
the
ITU YouTube Channel, Virtual Video Newsroom
and
SoundCloud, which have been watched more
than 5,000 times.
- Generated over ten terabytes of data passing through the
conference network, with over 6,000 unique wireless and wired
LAN devices online.
- Created 120 hours of
live broadcast webcasts, representing over
800 hours of audio/video archives (in 6 languages).
- Required around 1,500 hours of interpretation to accommodate
the six working languages of the Union.
- Generated nearly six thousand pages of translated documents.
- Was supported by close to 2,400 local staff and almost 240
staff from ITU’s Geneva headquarters.
The 19th Plenipotentiary Conference closed with the signing of the
Final Acts.
PP-14 was hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning
(MSIP).
The Republic of Korea is widely recognized as the world’s most connected
country,
topping ITU’s ICT Development Index for the past four consecutive years.
Full PP-14 Highlights can be read
here.
Watch a farewell photo tribute to outgoing Secretary-General Dr
Hamadoun I. Touré here.
Follow @ITU and the hashtag #Plenipot14 for the latest updates. Go to
www.itu.int/pp14/social
to access all PP-14 social media channels.
Download conference photos:
www.itu.int/pp14/photos
View conference videos:
www.itu.int/pp14/videos
Get social:
www.itu.int/pp14/social
Watch the archived webcasts:
www.itu.int/pp14/webcast
Read backgrounders on conference topics:
www.itu.int/en/plenipotentiary/2014/newsroom/Pages/backgrounders.aspx
Read the PP-14 Special Edition of ITU’s bimonthly magazine, ITU News,
here.
Find more information on the
PP-14 Newsroom
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Paul
Conneally
Head, ITU Corporate
Communications, ITU
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For Korean-speaking journalists:
Hayoung KIM
Korean Media Liaison, MSIP
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