ITU’s 150th anniversary celebrations
in full swing
ITU150 poster competition: deadline 1 May
Geneva, 15 April 2015 – This year ITU celebrates 150 years
of excellence in connecting the world to the benefits of telecommunications and
information and communication technologies.
ITU has developed a series of activities to promote this landmark 150th
anniversary.
The ITU150 poster
competition is open for applications, with the deadline set for 1
May 2015. The competition is in three categories: 5-7 years; 8-11 years; and
12-16 years.
We are delighted to launch ITU’s historical
timeline, which recounts a well-researched history of
telecommunications starting in 1772 with the Semaphore system – the first
‘telegraph’, progressing through key moments in world history intertwined with
ITU’s own historic development and contributions to global communications. Six
‘nuggets of information’ are attached to each key milestone, providing insights
into this fascinating history.
The new ITU 150th Anniversary
smartphone App includes an interactive quiz on the history,
development and structure of ITU as well as access to ITU’s historic timeline,
monthly feature stories, ITU150 news, international events and connection to the
worldwide #ITU150 community. The ‘ITU 150th Anniversary App’ is
available on iTunes, Windows and Google Play stores.
On 17 May, a special ceremony will take place in Geneva to commemorate the
founding of ITU with the signing of the International Telegraph Convention in
1865. The event will include the ITU 150 Awards ceremony, high-level speeches
and talks, technical and innovation demonstrations, and a special video
showcasing the innovative use of ICTs around the world. Register to attend this
special celebratory event here.
Each month, ITU tells a personal
story to highlight the monthly
theme showcasing the positive impact of ICTs and how they are
transforming lives around the world. For February’s theme ‘Youth and
Innovation’, Fatoumata Kebe,
winner of the ITU Telecom World 2014 Young Innovator Competition, told us how
she is using the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) to deploy smart
irrigation solutions to address the looming food crisis and empower women in
Mali. For the theme in March, ‘Innovation and Intelligent Transport Systems’, James
Fu introduced us to the driverless car that he and researchers at
the Singapore-MIT Alliance have developed. In April, Alja
Isakovic explained how she is helping to engage women in ICTs
through coding for the theme ‘Girls and Women and Innovation’.
A series of Google Hangouts provides a forum to express opinions related to
the monthly themes. ITU Telecom asked
a panel of entrepreneurs about best practices for growing a
start-up for February’s theme ‘Youth and Innovation’. April’s panel for ‘Girls
and Women and Innovation’ will discuss methods to promote and enable female
innovation in technology. You can follow the hangout live at 16.00 CET on Friday
17 April 2015.
ITU Members can sign a
Golden Book, send in their
birthday
greetings by video and follow the ITU150 community at
http://itu150.org/itu150-community. Members can also submit
activities related to the ITU 150th anniversary at
http://itu150.org/worldwide-events/.
Many ITU Members have come forth to lend their support to the 150th
anniversary celebrations and will be recognized during the events planned
throughout the year:
Gold partners: Ministry of Communications and High
Technologies from Republic of Azerbaijan, Communications and Information
Technology Commission from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority (TRA) from United Arab Emirates.
Silver partners: The Telecommunications / ICT
Regulatory Body of Côte d'Ivoire (ARTCI), Ministry of Communications from Ghana
and Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) from
Republic of Zimbabwe.
Bronze partners: Inmarsat Global Limited; Close Joint-Stock
Company National Radio Technical Bureau; Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, OJSC
Rostelecom; Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co KG; Telecommunications Regulatory Agency
from Central African Republic and NTT Group.
In order to join ITU as a partner, please contact
itu150@itu.int.
Tag all your activities with #ITU150 and join the Community buzz at
http://itu150.org/itu150-community
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpoIPNlF8P2MUzrxbG9dJFrEQouH9R22N
Flickr Collection:
www.flickr.com/photos/itupictures/collections/72157650251534637
For more information, please see
http://itu150.org/ or
contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
|
|
|
About ITU...