ITU Telecom World 2015 accelerates global ICT innovation to help improve
lives
Event provided unique international platform to hold dialogue, exchange
and exhibit ideas, forge partnerships between government, industry and SMEs
Budapest, 15 October 2015 – ITU Telecom World 2015 closed
its doors today at Hungexpo, Budapest following an exceptional week of dialogue,
debate, networking and showcasing. The event, which welcomed over 4,000
participants from 129 countries this week, brought together an impressive
line-up of top-level government representatives, leaders of industry – from
established players to SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and young start-ups,
from emerging and developed markets – along with high-level representatives of
international organizations, entrepreneurs, accelerators, incubators and
academia. Among these were over 235 ICT leaders from around the world.
The exhibition included big names, countries and SMEs from across the world.
Some 50 countries, regions and their SMEs were represented including Argentina,
Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, China, Djibouti, Egypt,
Germany, Ghana, Hungary, India, Iran, Indonesia, Kenya, Republic of Korea,
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Romania,
Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland,
Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA,
and Zimbabwe. Gabon, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda came together within the Smart
Africa zone on the show floor.
Top global exhibitors and sponsors participating included Airtel, Alibaba,
ATDI, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Ericsson, Etisalat Nigeria, GEW
Technologies, Fujitsu, Huawei, Intel, KT, LS telcom, Magyar Telekom, Microwave
Vision Group, Rohde and Schwarz, Sonatel-Orange, TDIA, UPC and ZTE.
The Event Opening day, which took place in the presence of H.E János Áder,
President of Hungary and H.E Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s Prime Minister, was
preceded by the launch of a special commemorative stamp issued by Magyar Posta,
on the occasion of ITU’s 150th anniversary.
“This week we have marked the 150th anniversary of the foundation of ITU,
hosted by Hungary – one of our original 20 founding members. We have also marked
the first step in ITU’s new focus; to provide an international platform for
SMEs, governments and major industry players to connect, share views, challenges
and experiences and hold meaningful dialogues,” said ITU Secretary-General,
Houlin Zhao. “Together, with all these stakeholders, we have explored how SMEs
are the engine for much innovation, where their ability to take risks and move
fast can be key. We hope that now this will lead to a greater cross-pollination
of ideas and forging of new relationships between SMEs, governments and
established ICT players to help scale and deliver innovative solutions globally,
and improve lives.”
"ICT and telecommunication play a crucial role in Hungary's economy, thus
hosting ITU Telecom World this year was a great opportunity for our domestic
companies. Innovation is the bridge to the future, and due to this event the
Hungarian start-ups and relevant corporations have been linked more intensively
into the global ecosystem. The Next Generation Day provided an astonishing
example of the creativity of the experts of the future,” said H.E. Miklós
Seszták, Hungary’s Minister of National Development.
Spotlight on global innovation
The event’s core themes of accelerating innovation for social impact and they
ways in which SMEs are driving this innovation were in evidence throughout the
event.
A total of 238 exhibitors made their mark at ITU Telecom World’s exhibition
space. National Pavilions and world-famous technology brands demonstrated their
innovation and talents alongside start-ups and SMEs from across the world.
“Intel believes that driving innovation is an essential goal for government
and businesses from all around the world. Solving global problems starts with
affordable access, active use of technology and capacity building. Therefore we
are supporting great ideas and programmes – such as the Young Innovators
Competition – that bring together young innovators and give them the chance to
present themselves to the international audience at this event,” said Gordon
Graylish, Vice President and General Manager, Governments and World Ahead, Intel
Corporation and a key ITU Telecom World 2015 participant and speaker.
The event showcased sponsored sessions from KT, GTI, China Mobile and TDIA,
Japan’s MIAC, Huawei and Intel, covering a range of different areas from
5G-enabled applications to TD-LTE, the future potential of the Internet of
Things (IoT), industry policy hotspots and trends and technological innovation,
as well as tackling the global challenge of youth unemployment.
A number of activities and social events helped participants meet, network
and connect throughout the week, including the Opening Ceremony, the Leaders
Lunch, a vibrant Welcome Reception, the Smart Africa Panel Lunch discussion
hosted by Uganda on behalf of the SMART Africa countries, Nigeria Night, the
Gabon networking lunch and the Enterprise Europe Networking matchmaking event.
Over 140 media accredited from 21 countries to learn more and speak to the
Heads of State, entrepreneurs and industry figureheads representing the ICT
community. Press announcements kept the focus on innovation, an example being
Argentina’s ARSAT and AFTIC space satellite programme, which reached a milestone
as it moved its second satellite into position 36,000 kilometres from the earth
during the event. Workshops, cocktails and on-stand demonstrations kept a flow
of visitors involved and entertained on the lively show floor.
“This is a unique opportunity for us to be present with such a great number
of like-minded individuals, and for an SME like us, it gives us a wonderful
insight to see what our counterparts and peers are coming up with, and of course
the main value is to network and gather as much experience and knowledge as we
can in these few days,” said Maté Toth, business developer with the company
Personal Video, and showfloor participant at the event.
Smart ICTs for Sustainable Development
ITU’s own Smart ICTs for Sustainable Development Pavilion, led by the
organization’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, was one of the hubs of the
showfloor, with a packed programme of activities. Daily presentations were held
at the Pavilion’s Speaker’s Corner on diverse subjects such as drones and
innovation for agriculture; healthy lives and well-being through e-health;
‘smart cities’; the power of mobile technologies for sustainable development;
and how e-commerce requires new flexible, secure and user friendly solutions for
digital financial services. At the country level, Estonia shared its success in
e-governance, explaining how its government Cabinet is now working 100% digital
and paperless, while Egypt highlighted its efforts to use ICT for empowering
persons with disabilities.
In parallel, the Pavilion featured more than 20 Exhibition Pods from a wide
range of stakeholders including Bupa health care, Kyushu University in Japan,
Grameen Intel Social Business Ltd, Inmarsat and Intervale. A number of
Co-creation Sessions were held for show participants, who had the chance to join
in-depth discussions on new ideas for harnessing ICTs for sustainable
development.
Leadership Summit and Forum
Some 247 speakers from 62 countries took part in plenaries, panel debates,
workshops, high-level roundtables and networking sessions in the Forum and at
the Leadership Summit. Speakers, who spanned leaders of government, industry,
SMEs, entrepreneurs and innovators, the initiatives supporting them,
international organizations and academia, provided truly global perspectives and
viewpoints, from developed and developing countries.
Discussions launched with the Leadership Summit, on 12 October, which brought
highly influential participants together to share views and debate how best to
accelerate ICT innovation, open up the digital economy to all the world’s
citizens, and work together to enable digital entrepreneurship as a driving
force for socio-economic development.
Sessions moderated by leading media included the Leadership Summit
Opening, moderated by Jeremy Wilks of Euronews, and the Forum plenary on
Bridging the innovation divide: accelerators, incubators and fostering
national technology champions, moderated by BBC’s Dan Simmons. World
Economic Forum (WEF)’s Alex Wong moderated a plenary session on Reaching the
last mile: innovative solutions to remaining connectivity issues, and WEF
also took the occasion to hold a high-level meeting at the event.
Forum discussions covered hot topics such as 5G, IoT, reaching the last mile,
optimal spectrum usage, redesigning public service, scaling ICT
entrepreneurship, big data and trust. Conversations at the event extended around
the world with over 2,255 tweets by 839 contributors reaching over eight million
people.
Crucial dialogue
Dialogue between government and start-ups, and between established industry
players and SMEs, took centre stage at the event, with dedicated sessions
enabling these players to connect and examine issues in-depth. SMEs from Ghana,
Nigeria and the Middle East spoke with Minsters and international organizations
from around the world about the challenges they each face, and how to best
create a fertile environment where entrepreneurship can flourish. The SME and
Industry dialogue saw an interactive exchange between on how both sides of the
industry can work together and the best steps to help foster innovation.
The Business-to-Government (B2G) dialogue wrapped up with the launch by ITU
Secretary-General of the Emerge Partnership, designed to facilitate
public-private collaboration. Large multinationals, start-ups and SMEs outlined
key priorities and requirements for government policy-makers to provide a vital
enabling environment for innovation and private enterprise.
The Ministerial Roundtable, which convened representatives from around the
world, closed with the endorsement of the Budapest Call for Action
emphasizing the importance of fostering innovation entrepreneurship and inviting
all stakeholders to implement innovative solutions, technologies and
partnerships aimed at bridging the digital divide and ensuring global
connectivity for all.
Young Innovators Competition
The inspirational Young Innovators Competition winners showcased their
technologies, pitched ideas and took part in an action-packed programme of
activities, workshops and collaborations aimed at accelerating innovation. They
also took part in the
Acceleration Platform, a specially-designed day of
dialogues between government, industry and SMEs, including capacity-building,
networking and pitching sessions for competition winners and SMEs participating
at the event.
“The skills we are learning, and connections we are making at ITU Telecom
World 2015 this week are going to change how I work. I always knew what I was
looking to do as an entrepreneur, but this has shown me the best ways of how to
do it. After this, I'm sure that we will be able to make an even bigger change
for the young people we work with,” said Silvia Dusa, CEO RandomStartup, 2015
Young Innovators Competition Winner.
Next steps for the Young Innovators Programme include a challenge on applying
technology to improve lives of refugees, launched in cooperation with GIZ and a
challenge with SAP acting on the mandate of the SAP University Alliances
programme, which was announced at the event.
Next Generation Day
On the closing day of the event, ITU, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade and the Ministry of National Development of Hungary jointly organized an
open day entitled Next Generation Day for university students, young
entrepreneurs and ICT professionals.
From short presentations through guided tours of ITU Telecom World 2015 to
interactive workshops, the young visitors enjoyed a wide range of activities.
The Hungarian Pavilion was bustling with activity, showcasing some of the best
Hungarian entrepreneurs who have made a name for themselves not only nationally,
but also all around the world. In the workshop area the Global Shapers and NESsT
organised a World Café and panel discussion on the possible role of technology
in social change. MMCluster organized a string of workshops covering a range of
topics and formats at its HITS@ITU Pavilion. The Programme also included a
‘town-hall meeting’ with keynote speech from H.E. Tibor Navracsics, European
Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.
Inaugural ITU Telecom World Entrepreneurship Awards 2015
The Closing Ceremony of the event also saw the much-awaited announcement of
the winners of the ITU Telecom World Entrepreneurship Awards 2015. In keeping
with ITU Telecom World’s focus on fostering ICT-based SMEs and digital
entrepreneurship, this year’s event introduced these awards, recognizing the
most innovative and promising SMEs and initiatives using ICTs for social impact.
Three awards were presented: the People’s Choice Award,
as voted by event participants via the Event App; the National Award
celebrating Hungarian innovation and ingenuity; and the ITU Telecom
World Entrepreneurship Award for the best SMEs and initiatives
exhibiting at the Event as selected by an expert jury.
This year’s award winners were:
People’s Choice Award
National Award
- Codie Labs
- Shiwaforce.com
- Exuberant Group
ITU Telecom World Entrepreneurship Award
- Dot Incorporation
- IRIENCE
- M-Shamba
- Practech LLC
- Totohealth
Speaking on winning the ITU Telecom World Entrepreneurship Award, Khalid Al
Nasser, Founder & CEO, Practech said: “It gives us a sense of validation,
knowing how to benchmark yourself, knowing how we can build on what happens
after. It is great for us and our team as well so we know that we are on the
right track. This is important for us, we are open to new ideas and opinions and
seeing that being validated is huge.”
A recognition of excellence was awarded to the very best of the SMEs and
Pavilions exhibiting at the event:
- Federal Authority for Information and Communication
Technologies (AFTIC), Argentina Pavilion
- Bethclip, Azerbaijan Pavilion
- Aliyun Computing Co. Ltd, China Pavilion
- Iroley Smart City, Djibouti Pavilion
- Logiscool, Hungary Pavilion
- GyanSetu - Centre for Development of Telematics, India
Pavilion
- Japan Battery Regeneration, Inc, Japan Pavilion
- Toto Health, Kenya Pavilion
- Irience, Korea Pavilion
- Padoko Technologies, Malawi Pavilion
- Cooltoon Ltd, Rwanda Pavilion
- The Centennial Fund, Saudi Arabia Pavilion
- Jokko$ante, Senegal Pavilion
- Carl TV project /DBTI, Tanzania Pavilion
- Jaguza Livestock App, Uganda Pavilion
The awards were presented at the event’s closing ceremony in the presence of
H.E. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, H.E. István Mikola,
Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and H.E. Mr. Ákos Kara, Minister of State
for Info-communication and Consumer Protection of the Ministry of National
Development.
m-powering Development and Smart Sustainable Development Model
As part of the pre-event programme, the Third Advisory Board Meetings of the m-Powering
Development and Smart
Sustainable Development Model (SSDM) Initiatives* were held on the
eve of ITU Telecom World 2015 on 11 October. The Advisory Boards reviewed the
reports prepared by the SSDM Task Forces and the m-Powering Working groups
during the past year. The reports focus on advocacy efforts, global dialogue,
innovation and resource mobilization. The boards also discussed future
activities, which will be based around promoting the benefits of mobile
technology for sustainable development and strengthening the relation between
ICT for development (ICT4D) and ICT for disaster management (ICT4DM). The
meetings marked the end of the first cycle of the Advisory Boards, with the
composition of the new boards to be announced soon.
ITU Telecom 2015 numbers at a glance
- Over 4,000 total participants from 129 countries
- 239 leaders
- 247 speakers from 62 countries
- 142 accredited media from 21 countries
- 238 exhibitors from 54 countries
- 23 Pavilions
- 49 partners and sponsors
* Note to editors:
The m-Powering Development Initiative is designed to create a resource and an
action plan to deploy ICT services, from m-Health, m-Learning, m-Governance to
m-Commerce and m-Sport. The Smart Sustainable Development Model Initiative
(SSDM) seeks to ensure that information and communication technologies are used
for both development and for disaster management with the aim of improving the
lives of millions of people across the globe.
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