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ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum opens in Geneva
Consensus-oriented multi-stakeholder debate around Internet issues
Geneva, 14 May, 2013 — Over 800 delegates from the private
sector, government, NGOs and Internet-related organizations are meeting in
Geneva this week for ITU’s fifth
World
Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum, a regular multi-stakeholder
event designed to stimulate debate around hot topics affecting the fast-evolving
technology sector.
The event opened this morning at Geneva’s
International Conference Centre with addresses by Dr
Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General; Doris Leuthard, Minister, Department
of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Switzerland; Fadi Chehadé,
President and CEO, ICANN; and Robert E. Kahn, Chairman, CEO and President, CNRI
and one of the fathers of the Internet.
This year’s Forum focuses on the topic of Internet-related Public Policy
Issues, and will consider the adoption of six draft Opinions developed during
three preparatory meetings of the
WTPF Informal Experts
Group (IEG):
Opinion 1: Promoting
Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) as a long term solution to advance connectivity
Opinion 2: Fostering
an enabling environment for the greater growth and development of broadband
connectivity
Opinion 3:
Supporting Capacity Building for the deployment of IPv6
Opinion 4:
Supporting IPv6 Adoption and Transition from IPv4
Opinion 5:
Supporting Multi-stakeholderism in Internet Governance
Opinion 6:
Supporting operationalizing the Enhanced Cooperation Process
Speaking to assembled delegates at the opening session this morning, ITU
Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré noted that the WTPF is one of ITU’s most
free-thinking events – “a chance to pause, reflect and debate the emerging
issues in telecoms and ICTs, and their significance for us all.
“We stand at a ‘tipping point’ between the Internet as a vital enabler of
social and economic progress in the industrialized world and the Internet as a
valuable global resource and a basic commodity of human life everywhere,” said
Dr Touré. “By the end of this year, there will be almost as many active mobile
cellular phones as there are people on the planet, and some 2.7 billion people
will be using the Internet – with 2.1 billion active mobile-broadband
subscriptions. But at the end of this year almost 70% of people in the
developing world will still be offline,” he said, urging delegates to focus
their discussions on ways to improve global connectivity.
The WTPF was established by ITU’s governing body, the Plenipotentiary
Conference,
back in 1994, as a venue to discuss and exchange views and
information on emerging ICT policy and regulatory matters.
Topics for
each WTPF are chosen by ITU members.
Structure of the Forum
This fifth WTPF is chaired by Ivo Ivanovski, Minister of Information Society
and Administration, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, supported by
six
vice-chairs.
“The WTPF is unique among ITU events in providing an open and informal cross-sectoral
platform for government, industry and civil society to get together to forge a
common vision around the issues that affect all stakeholders. I am looking
forward to the upcoming discussions during the conference, where the
participants will have a chance to voice their opinions on significant topics
for the future development of the Internet,” said Ivanovski.
The principal input document to the WTPF is the ITU
Secretary-General’s Report, which incorporates the 75 contributions
received from government and private industry during the preparatory process.
Also discussed will be contributions received from ITU’s membership submitted
directly to the Forum. The purpose of Secretary-General’s report is to serve as
a starting point for discussions; it will not be amended as an output of the
Forum.
More than
180 experts participated in the work of the IEG, which was open to
all interested parties. Chaired by Petko Kantchev of Bulgaria, the IEG met twice
in 2012 (5 June, 8-10 October), and once in 2013 (6-8 February).
The WTPF was preceded yesterday by a
high-level
Strategic Dialogue around the topic of broadband, featuring
prominent speakers from industry, civil society and government. Session One,
Building Out Broadband, examined the role of broadband as critical
infrastructure in the modern global economy for promoting economic growth,
productivity and trade. Session Two, Broadband Driving Development, looked at
broadband applications for development in areas like e-health and e-education,
as well as the scale of the business opportunity for the private sector looking
to invest in under-served markets.
The WTPF and Strategic Dialogue are webcast (live and archived) in all six
official UN languages at:
www.itu.int/en/wtpf-13/Pages/webcast.aspx
The WTPF opening press conference can be viewed at:
www.itu.int/en/wtpf-13/Pages/webcast-pc.aspx
The Forum structure including the full list of Working Groups and
Working Group Chairs and vice-Chairs can be found at:
www.itu.int/en/wtpf-13/Pages/structure.aspx
Media backgrounders on the key topics being discussed at the
Forum and Strategic Dialogue are available on the WTPF Newsroom:
www.itu.int/en/wtpf-13/Pages/newsroom.aspx
Speeches and official policy statements are available at:
www.itu.int/en/wtpf-13/Pages/speakers.aspx
Photos from the WTPF and Strategic Dialogue can be viewed
and downloaded at:
www.flickr.com/photos/itupictures/collections/72157633439495845/
View video footage on the WTPF 2013 playlist at ITU’sYouTube
Channel: http://bit.ly/12giDR5
Broadcast media can download HD-quality video from ITU’s
Virtual Video Newsroom at:
www.itu.int/en/newsroom/Pages/videos.aspx
The Secretary-General’s Report can be downloaded at:
www.itu.int/md/S13-WTPF13-C-0003/en
A full list of members of the Informal Experts Group is
available
here.
For more information please contact:
Paul Conneally
Head, Communication &
Partnership Promotion
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Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations & Public
Information, ITU
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