Leading the discussion was Gary Fowlie, Head of the liaison office of ITU in New York who led by asking us what actions can be taken by big actors – such as governments and large corporations – to address the gender divide in ICTs?

I think a great deal can be done by both governments and private industry to address the imbalance in terms of access to technology, and also the imbalance in terms of female participation in the ICT workforce. Thanks to people such as Geena and more recently Ahmed, there is more attention on this issue than ever before.

On the workforce participation side, ITU is working with its members to raise awareness at all levels – governments, industry and educators – and of course girls themselves. We have an annual Girls in ICT Day, held every year on the 4^th Thursday of April, which aims to inspire girls and young women to take up a tech career. Last year, we recorded 1,300 events in 90 countries. This time we’ve registered over 1,500 events in over 120 countries – including a hearing at the European Parliament hosted by European Commission vice-president Neelie Kroes.

In addition, ITU private sector members like Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, Nokia and others are putting a lot of effort into this area, with tech camps, awareness building activities, mentoring programmes, and shadowing days.

I think it might surprise many to learn that when large mainframe computers were first invented, it was young women who did the programming. And when computer science courses first appeared on university scene in the late 1970’s, the proportion of young men and women taking these courses was about 50:50. Today, it’s closer to 80:20.

And that’s what we want to change – and I’m optimistic that, with so much momentum gathering, we are already on our way to turning this around.

The role of governments setting up enabling environments was stressed by Ahmed and the convening power of ITU, which is made up of 193 Member States (plus some 700 Private Sector members) can be brought to bear to bring about lasting and positive change.

On the access side, governments have a key role to play. Greater inclusion means growth in GDP because greater access is linked to a country’s overall development. Intel estimates that global GDP could be increased by up to USD 18 billion, just by bringing 600 million additional women and girls online.

But it goes much broader than that. Greater inclusion means better education, greater inclusion means better healthcare. A growing number of countries are including gender as a key component of their National Broadband Plans. The most recent example is Nigeria, who just recently approved their plan, which includes promoting access and incentives for training women to use the internet.

In that area of empowering women through ICT training, my own organization has a long-standing partnership with the NGO telecentre.org, and we are on track to train one million women in elementary ICT skills. As was mentioned several times during the hang out, the workforce must reflect community.

One inspiring example is the case of Myrna Padilla, a Filipina who went from working abroad as a domestic helper to running her own graphic design business back home, employing dozens of staff. And as a result her kids have choices and opportunities that she never had.

Gender divides go deeper than just a problem in ICT access. ITU statistics show that there are currently 200 million fewer women online. But the reality is that even once a girl or woman makes it online, there is evidence that the content she may encounter contains an inherent gender bias.

Geena spoke about the vital importance of positive role models, and how little girls find it difficult to identify inspiring female characters in popular TV shows. Well, evidence suggests that online content is no better, and in some cases, may be much worse. This is another important area that needs to be addressed. We want girls to grow up happy, and proud of themselves, celebrating their talents, rather than feeling like ‘second class’ citizens.

Today we know about the Margaret Thatchers and Sheryl Sandbergs of this world precisely because they are the exceptions, as rare women at the top of their professions. I look forward to a day where we celebrate women because of their capabilities, rather than because of they are the exception to the rule.

Ultimately, with world leaders now engaged in debate around the post-2015 development agenda, we need to make sure that the role of technology to empower women and girls is clearly recognized and prioritized.

For more on our Tech Needs Girls campaign join us on Facebook or visit http://www.techneedsgirls.org/

The full Google hangout can be viewed on YouTube.

By: Doreen Bogdan-Martin

@DoreenBogdan was appointed the Chief of the Strategic Planning and Membership Department in the General Secretariat as from 1 January 2008. She was previously the Head of the ITU/BDT Regulatory and Market Environment Division and was responsible for the programmes on Regulatory Reform and Economics and Finance.

However, there is a lack of awareness among developers and manufacturers of the need for ensuring that ICTs are accessible for people with disabilities– either as part of initial universal design or through specially-adapted ICTs.

There is also sometimes a lack of awareness among people with disabilities and their support structures about the existence of technologies that could be used or adapted to help them and open up myriad opportunities and possibilities.

Furthermore, there is a lack of standardization among producers; and a lack of resources across the board – particularly financing for people with disabilities (the vast majority of whom live in developing countries) to access affordable supportive technologies.

Even where accessibility criteria and assistive technologies exist to enable people with disabilities to access ICTs, the real rate of access is actually very limited.

Access to ICTs has been vital for me to achieve full participation in all aspects of life and society.

Without access to ICTs, assistive technologies or specially-developed ICTs, people with disabilities are disenfranchised –and are denied equal access to education, culture, and everyday services. This ends up restricting their job opportunities and their possibility for independent living.   As a blind person myself, using ICTs is what enabled me to finish my school and university education and complete my academic training, Master’s Degree and internships.

Access to ICTs has been vital for me to achieve full participation in all aspects of life and society, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. I frequently use the internet and digital libraries, and can access information about basic things for independent daily living, such as public health information.  ICTs have enabled me to access books for pleasure and for education, and I benefit from audio-description to enjoy culture through cinema, museums and documentaries.

ICTs help me use my bank account through ATMs, find my way around cities on my own guided by maps and GPS, accessing crucial information such as public transport routes and timetables..  Through ICTs I benefit from e-government services and regularly make electronic payments. ICTs also make it possible for me to communicate on an equal basis with others.

If you cannot access education, you cannot get access to the labor market and you cannot achieve independent living.
Although my academic background provided me with the knowledge and skills necessary for exciting career possibilities that would not have been possible without proper access to ICTs either through universal design or through assistive technology. Therefore, ICTs are the key that opens the door to full participation for people with disabilities.

In fact, whenever there is lack of awareness, inaccessible platforms, or lack of resources for assistive technology supported by ICTs, I find I cannot carry out my work, and I experience exclusion on multiple grounds. Examples of those obstacles are websites incompatible with screen readers (such as websites programmed on flash), contact or e-business card details based on images, books and documents in image format (images pdf files), inaccessible ATMS (without voice support), inaccessible e-banking, e-government services incompatible with screen readers, and  GPS services and maps incompatible with voice. Though these are easy to solve, lack of awareness is one of the main obstacles that I have faced. If you cannot access education, you cannot get access to the labor market and you cannot achieve independent living.

ICTs are definitely the key tool for performing my professional work, and can be the key for the full digital inclusion of thousands of persons with disabilities around the world. What can you do to promote accessible ICTs and contribute to the inclusion of people with disabilities? Let’s get rid of inaccessibility, and work towards a culture of accessibility & inclusion!

Note from ITU: This blog story is part of the ICT consultation in support of the High Level Meeting on Disability and Development which will take place on 23 september 2013 in New York. The objective of this consultation is to raise awareness on the benefits of ICTs for disability-inclusive development efforts. Get involved in this consultation by answering the online survey and sharing the experiences, best practices and recommendations from your organization on how to promote the social inclusion of persons with disabilities through the use of ICTs.

By Lucía Ramón Torres

Lucía Ramón Torres is a Mexican lawyer. She works as an advisor for the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva; you can follow her in twitter @lbramon

Very little in life is ever 100% safe or certain 100% of the time. The internet is most definitely no exception. The technology continues to develop and change. When formulating programmes which address children’s and young people’s safe use of the internet it is therefore crucial to stay up to date as we strive constantly to make the experience of going online safer and better. This can be done in two main ways.

At a technical level all possible reasonable steps should be taken to protect children and young people from age inappropriate and illegal content and age inappropriate contacts with third parties, whether these be human beings, commercial enterprises or other types of organizations.

Of equal importance is the provision of educational and awareness initiatives.

These  need to  reach out to children and young people to help them understand  safe online behaviour in order to reduce  the risk of  them  coming to harm, to know how  to  identify and get out of  risky  situations  and how to seek help. Integrating internet safety awareness into the school curriculum is hugely important. Ideally it will be crafted as part of a wider digital literacy initiative which focuses on children’s empowerment and their role as citizens in the internet age.

Online educational and awareness initiatives, while dealing appropriately with safety issues, always need to be couched more broadly in positive language which emphasises the enormous benefits of the internet. The internet is, among many other things, a powerful educational resource and cultural channel, a research tool and communications aid for many different types of communities as well as being a major source of entertainment. It also enables children and young people to connect with each other and with family across the globe, to connect to important information about their health, potential careers and other issues of interest to them, to discover or learn more about their rights and how to claim or assert them.

The third leg of a comprehensive educational and awareness programmes needs to be directed towards parents, teachers and others who work professionally with children and young people to help them understand how children interact with technology so they, in turn, can help and support children and young people in their use of it.

Watch a short interview with John on his recent battle in the UK over open-wifi and internet safety, filmed at the recent WSIS Forum in Geneva.

By John Carr

John Carr is one of the world’s leading authorities on online child protection. He has worked as a Senior Adviser to the ITU Child Online Protection initiative for several years, has been an adviser to the European Union and also been engaged professionally to advise several of the world’s largest and well known high tech companies on children’s and young people’s use of new technologies.

John blogs at: http://johnc1912.wordpress.com and you can follow him on Twitter at: @johnc1912 

Brazil is a country that fully embraces the multistakeholder approach to Internet Governance. Our National Internet Steering Committee is a vibrant organization, as indeed highlighted in the Secretary-General’s Report to the WTPF, which includes a reference to Brazil’s ten “Principles for the Governance and Use of the Internet”.  Nonetheless, at the international level, our view is that we still need to achieve full engagement of governments in the decision making process on Internet Governance.

The fact is that governments so far have only had a limited advisory role in international Internet Governance, and no actual involvement in the decision making process. Recent events have indicated that even long standing advice provided by governments on certain issues has had little impact on the actual decisions relating to matters of their direct interest. Regretfully, attempts to deal with this fact have suffered from the low level of participation of the majority of governments in existing international Internet Governance fora.

In this regard Brazil presented at the WTPF an opinion that points to the fact that we must together address two key issues: operationalizing the role of government in the multistakeholder framework for Internet Governance, and the need for capacity building on these issues in developing countries, particularly in the least developed countries, with the support of the ITU.

Brazil´s draft opinion entitled “Operationalizing the role of government in the multistakeholder framework for Internet Governance” stems from one previously discussed at the Informal Experts Group (IEG), which had resulted from the joint work of the drafting group led by Brazil, with the participation of a diverse group of experts from several countries.

During the course of the WTPF, Brazil conducted further extensive consultations with all interested parties, including Member States, sector members and civil society entities present at the event. As a result of a genuine effort to reflect the inputs received, a revised version of the draft opinion was presented, which we expected could have been endorsed.

The draft opinion received widespread support, including statements from Member States in all ITU regions, as seen during the plenary sessions. Despite this fact, in the end the opinion did not achieve consensus at the WTPF. Nonetheless, we did receive very positive feedback as to the importance of the issues that were raised, and a willingness to engage in further discussions, having Brazil as the focal point.

The final report by the Chairman of the WTPF indicates, as a way forward, that these discussions could take place at the ITU Council Working Group on Internet-related public policy issues. Subsequently the output of deliberations would be forwarded to the ITU Council for further consideration. Hopefully this would lead to the inclusion of the issues in the preparatory process for the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-14) and the Plenipotentiary Conference of 2014 (PP-14).

Brazil also welcomes the broadening of the discussion on these issues to forums such as the GAC, the CSTD, ECOSOC and the IGF. Interestingly, as the WTPF drew to a close with a clear message from the ITU membership and a way forward proposed by the leadership of the Union, there were indications that in the near future these very same issues will also be on the agendas of those other forums. Ensuring a meaningful role for governments and engaging them in the decision making process is in the interest of all those who aspire to a truly multistakeholder international Internet Governance.

By Daniel B. Cavalcanti

Daniel B. Cavalcanti is an Engineer and career professional with the Brazilian Government, currently a senior Policy Advisor at the National Telecommunications Agency – Anatel. Over the last decade his work has focused on broadband policy and Internet related issues.

Interview with Daniel B. Cavalcanti

It was with great pleasure that I participated in a recent event at the 66^th World Health Assembly on mHealth for Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), an important topic for all of us. ICTs have become key enablers in every facet of human activity – from healthcare and education to energy, transportation, government, entertainment, innovation and enterprise.

This new initiative on mhealth for NCDs will focus on the use of mobile technology to tackle cancer, lung disease, heart disease and diabetes – in the areas of prevention, treatment and policy enforcement and targeting specific disease risk factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet.

This partnership between ITU and WHO aims to contribute to global and national efforts to save lives, minimize illness and disability, and reduce the social and economic burden due to NCDs that are the biggest killer of our time, causing 63% of all deaths annually.

No woman should pass away when giving birth because the right information did not get to the hospital on time when we have mobile technology available.

No epidemiologic situation should get out of control because the information was not received early enough when we have more than 90% mobile coverage.

No child, no matter where it was born and regardless of the socio-economic situation of its parents, should be denied proper education when mobile coverage is at our finger tips.

Innovative ICT solutions provide new opportunities for us. By the end of 2013 there will be 6.8 billion mobile subscriptions for a world population of 7.1 billion. It is anticipated that we will have more mobile devices than human beings on this planet in 2014. This initiative is fully compatible with the broader “M-Powering Development” initiative which I launched recently and which aims to unleash the transformative potential of mobile communications to improve the of lives of every citizen, everywhere.

Through mobile phones, we can better inform young people about sporting and fitness opportunities or help people quit smoking which is the focus of the mhealth program in Costa Rica which is the first country to sign up to our initiative and has demonstrated its commitment with an active mhealth program already underway and with more developments in the pipeline.

We can also help health workers to conduct household surveys to measure NCD prevention levels and to collect and collate extensive data that will ultimately strengthen national health systems, a point that was emphasized during our panel discussion by the Minister of Health from Mali, Mr. Soumana Makadji.

We can foresee a near future where there will be a big move towards broad mhealth adoption. It will be “normal” for people to utilize mhealth solutions, to take control of their health and wellness, managing their health conditions whether this is blood pressure or glucose levels and providing actionable information that the patient can use and the caregiver can act upon.

ITU and WHO are developing an approach for countries that works at scale – the approach is based on evidence and has taken into account all the lessons we have learnt from the mhealth world over the last few years.

The initiative will take proven successful projects to scale by addressing the impeding factors through strong government ownership and leadership, development of standardized mhealth platforms and solutions, devising a generic monitoring and evaluation framework and securing a strong public-private-partnership.

Private sector contributions will be particularly important. Through their business operations and practices, expertise and products, they can reduce the global, national and individual burdens of the NCD epidemic. In essence, this initiative must succeed at the individual level – we will ensure it remains fully people focused and use mobile technology to achieve the goal of having a positive impact on the daily lives of people.

By: Brahima Sanou

Mr. Brahima Sanou was elected Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau by the Plenipotentiary Conference, 2010 in Guadalajara, Mexico. He took office on 1 January 2011.

There are more than 1 billion people living with disabilities. But this figure doesn’t provide the full picture of how disabilities impact the lives of a much broader community because in reality, if we also take into consideration family and friends who provide persons with disabilities with daily support, almost 2 billion people are affected by disabilities.

It is just impossible to exclude such a significant proportion of the world’s population from development efforts and the opportunities provided by ICTs.

To address this important segment of the population, and to correct the fact that disabilities were not included as part of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations General Assembly will hold on 23 September 2013 the High Level Meeting on Disability and Development. This meeting will gather Heads of State, International Organizations, NGO’s, civil society groups and accessibility experts among others, and will define the future roadmap to achieve a disability-inclusive agenda.

In this context, and in my role of chairperson of the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ICT), it is my pleasure to announce the launch of a global consultation to capture the best practices, experiences and recommendations on how the use of information and communication technologies can support the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society. The consultation is a joint initiative from the Broadband Commission, G3ICT, the International Disability Alliance, ITU, Microsoft,  the Telecentre.org Foundation and UNESCO.

This consultation is a unique opportunity for all relevant stakeholders working on inclusive ICTs to speak up and be heard by global policy makers at a time when the future development framework is being shaped. I invite you all to visit www.itu.int/accessibility and take part in the survey, which will be open until 10 June 2013.

Let’s work together to build an inclusive society for all through the use of information and communication technologies.

By Ambassador Luis Gallegos Chiriboga, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations Office in Geneva. Ambassador Gallegos is a strong advocate of the rights of persons with disabilities, and is Chairperson of G3ICT.

The growth is most evident in wireless communications technologies included in a variety of applications, particularly in “4G” systems, secure communications, IP services and improvements in transmission systems. Many of the most highly-valued applications include inventions considered to be candidates for new standards under development, and therefore potential Standard Essential Patents. 

The EPO continues its cooperation with SDOs such as ITU with a view to ensuring that the patent and standardisation systems are able to work in harmony. This has proven particularly successful in the telecommunications industry, and resulted in high market penetration by offering highly attractive leading-edge products, including many of the latest inventions in what appears to a consumer to be a single multifunctional “Smartphone” product. This is the result of high degrees of interoperability arising from standardisation throughout the value chain, uniting many key players in a highly complex industry.

The EPO’s cooperation with SDOs includes the incorporation of standards-related documentation in its prior art searches to maintain a high quality in substantive patent examination and grant patents only for those inventions that strictly fulfil the criteria of novelty and inventiveness, and which contribute significantly to the prior art. In addition, the EPO is eager to maintain an active dialogue with the major stakeholders of the patent and standardisation systems, including the European Commission, and aims to promote development of synergistic practices between the two systems, including appropriate Intellectual Property Rights policies.

During the last year, growth in EPO patent filings was fuelled mostly by Asian countries, which today contribute over half of the world’s new patent applications. Samsung (South Korea) became the first-ever Asian company to be the EPO’s Number 1 applicant. As patent applications continue to grow on a global scale, the EPO intensifies its efforts to ensure that the patent system continues to support the needs of applicants and society alike. The EPO’s Patent Translate system, developed in cooperation with Google to deliver the most advanced machine translation services for patent documents, already supports 13 European languages as well as Chinese. The Cooperative Patent Classification developed in cooperation between the EPO and USPTO (the The United States Patent and Trademark Office) was launched in January 2013, and is considered to be the most refined patent classification system in the world. Both services are pillars of the EPO’s patent information system which is already considered to be the most comprehensive service of its kind at the global level.

The most significant development of 2012, however, was the EU’s adoption of the European patent with unitary effect, which will be granted and administered by the EPO. The first such patent can be requested as soon as the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court enters into force. The agreement enters into force as soon as 13 states, including France, Germany and the UK have ratified the agreement. The European patent with unitary effect will provide unitary legal protection for inventions in 25 EU member states on the basis of a single patent application filed with the EPO. Moreover, it will no longer be necessary for patent owners to have their patent validated individually in each member state by filing translations in the respective national languages, and to pay separate renewal fees. Together with the dedicated unified patent litigation system, the unitary patent will simplify post-grant administration and streamline litigation procedures, which are expected to lower the costs for patent owners and add to the legal certainty.

Since 2010, the EPO has developed a dedicated patent classification scheme to facilitate the access to patents for climate change mitigation technologies. It includes areas related to specific clean energy technologies, and also buildings, transportation and smart grids technologies, such as remote network operation, smart metering, electric and hybrid vehicles interoperability, and energy trading and marketing.

All the latest statistics and trends can be found in the EPO’s Annual Report 2012 , which is published on the EPO website.

By: Michel Goudelis and Gerald Owens, European Patent Office

Michel Goudelis is Director in Telecommunications in the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich

Ged Owens  is Coordinator for Public Policy Issues at the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich

Despite significant efforts to curb known dangers, the permeability of cyberspace continues to frustrate attempts to tighten control. The result has been the quasi unimpeded expansion of a thriving underground economy operating just outside the reach of legitimate jurisdictions. Working according to its own self-regulated anarchy, this digital black market regularly spawns sophisticated threat technology: Exploit Kits, Zero Day Attacks, Botnets, Remote Access Tools, Command and Control Servers, among many other innovative tools. The nefarious proliferation of organized cybercrime has in its turn encouraged the rise of brazen state-sponsored espionage and a new era of digital warfare.

Clearly, cybersecurity has a crucial role to play in restraining the onslaught of cyber threats. The past decade has shown that social, policy and regulatory efforts are just as important as technical measures in deterring online risks. Cybersecurity is not simply about reactive solutions and defensive positioning; it also includes pro-active efforts and offensive action. Integrating a wider range of elements, such as risk management, continuous training, data governance, cross-sector cooperation, intelligence gathering and information sharing, is fundamental for the creation of a robust and durable cybersecurity strategy.

Undeniably, building such a framework requires a multi-disciplinary approach and the participation of governments in tandem with businesses. Considerable work in promoting cybersecurity has already been undertaken by numerous parties in diverse fields: technical groups, regulators, standardization bodies, nation states, non-governmental organization, etc. These existing efforts need to be further encouraged through public-private partnerships. The value of such collaborations lies in bringing together the acumen and knowledge of distinct but equally important participants.

It is in this spirit that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and ABI Research have entered into a partnership to jointly develop a Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI). The GCI will measure the cybersecurity development capabilities of sovereign nation states. The referential will be based on five categories: Legal Measures; Technical Measures; Organizational Measures; Capacity Building; and Cooperation.

The goal of the GCI is to assist nations in benchmarking their current cybersecurity development efforts against recommended best practice standards in the five different fields. This index will enable them to assess where they need to make further improvements and how far they are from implementing an acceptable level of cybersecurity.

The partnership will lean on the respective strengths of both parties in order to develop a comprehensive index. The ITU is an organization based on public-private partnership since its inception, with a current membership of 193 countries and over 700 private-sector entities and academic institutions. It has a long-standing agenda for developing cybersecurity capabilities at the government level. The IMPACT (International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats) collaboration and capacity building worldwide is a token of the ITU’s efforts to foster international cybersecurity development.

ABI Research is a market intelligence company specializing in global technology markets through quantitative forecasting and analysis of key metrics and trends. Uniquely competent in providing forward-looking insight and actionable, timely, real-world data points in the technology sector, ABI Research has core skill sets in strategy development, competitive intelligence, business planning, development and prioritization, technology assessment and industry benchmarking.

By harnessing existing efforts and integrating them into a comprehensive measurement tool, the GCI represents a significant step in supporting the creation of a global culture of cybersecurity. The index will allow nation states to better address their security needs and to tackle vulnerabilities more effectively. Cooperation and preparation are key elements for consolidating cybersecurity and can play a decisive role in throttling the pernicious growth of cyber threats.

By: Michela Menting

Michela Menting is a senior analyst at ABI Research, covering the Cyber Security Research Service. She is currently completing a PhD part-time at King’s College London on cybercrime and international legislation

These major events attract nearly 3000 people and many partners took the opportunity to confirm their support for the BYND 2015: Global Youth Summit ( #BYND15 ) to be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, from 9 to 11 September 2013. Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General, announced the first partners for the Summit which will gather some 500 youth in addition to engaging millions more online through leveraging our collective community networks.

The Secretary-General gathered everyone at ITU headquarters to thank them for their contributions and review preparations for the Summit, including: UNICEF,  Kofi Annan Foundation and One Young  World, Microsoft, America Movil/Claro, Cisco Systems, Telecentre.org, Ooredoo, The Walt Disney Company, Azerbaijan, PricewaterhouseCoopers, ICTQatar and Intel.

See details about the contributions of each partner.

The Global Youth Summit will not be a typical UN event of speeches and protocol. Youth and mentors will come together on-site in Costa Rica for interactive sessions and workshops, highlighting the work of inspiring youth that are changing their world for the better using ICTs. Key themes include Get Ahead, Be Smart-Be Safe, Be Healthy, Protect Your Environment and Change Your World. The Summit will also feature a “HacktheMDGs”, 48 hour hackathon where young developers will be given the challenge of developing solutions to social and economic problems they face in their communities. But this is just the beginning.

ITU will also be launching a shared online platform with partners to consult and give a voice to millions of youth so they can share their vision for the #post2015 UN development goals. This will be the biggest, most ambitious undertaking of its kind. We will give them a direct channel to world leaders: youth will develop a crowd-sourced message that the President of Costa Rica will deliver to the UN General Assembly in September, directly after the Youth Summit. To help generate momentum and interest, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was in ITU’s studio yesterday to launch a series of online dialogues with youth, in partnership with One Young World, on hot topics around skills, jobs, leadership, political engagement and the environment.

And there is more, much more, to come….

Things are moving fast. If you are interested to get on board or to know more please contact bynd2015@itu.int or visit our website at www.itu.int/bynd2015.

By: Christopher Clark

Christopher Clark is Head of Sector Membership at ITU and is coordinating the BYND2015: Global Youth Summit.

Perhaps taking a cue from the visual design around the World Telecommunication Policy Forum, the motif of building bridges and moving forward together was a constant and consistent message as delegations provided their opening statements and preliminary comments to the Secretary General’s report. The report is compiled with the support of the Informal Experts Group – made up of ITU members and non-members alike across all sectors including civil society – and is the main input document to the conference.

During the opening statements the UK delegate expected “discussions this week relating to fostering an enabling environment for greater broadband connectivity, to underscore the ITU’s pivotal role, firstly, in developing the infrastructure that will ensure the benefits of the global information economy are fully realized by all states; and secondly in fostering competitive, well-regulated telecommunications markets.”

India stated that “supports participation of all stakeholders in the global internet governance” noting that “factors of governance such as standardization, high level policy formulation and management of critical resources, require various levels of expertise and therefore, stakeholders need to play specific roles in accordance to their expertise, ability and mandates.”

Canada’s view was that “the Report of the Secretary-General, as well as the positive outcome of the Strategic Dialogue, will provide all participants with greater understanding and appreciation of the issues associated with the theme of this year’s Policy Forum [International Internet-related public policy matters].”

Several delegations recalled the recent deliberations at the treaty-making World Conference on International Telecommunication held last December in Dubai and felt that the time is now ripe to take stock and work together to achieve real digital inclusion and greater access to the internet.

Singapore noted that in the discussions on Internet-related policies in the run-up to, during and after WCIT-12 “there were concerns about the inclusion of Resolution 3, which seeks to foster an enabling environment for the greater growth of the Internet”. The delegate continued to say that “In Singapore’s assessment, the reference to the Internet was practical and relevant in the present operating environment. Indeed, the Internet infrastructure today is crucial to telecommunications, whether national or international. It is a critical development in reshaping the traditional modes of international telecommunications and the services that are delivered. It would thus be unrealistic to totally exclude mention of the Internet from discussions at a technical platform such as WCIT-12. In our opinion, this Resolution does not purport a move away from the multistakeholder model. We believe it serves to encourage all stakeholders to continue.”

Reinforcing the post-WCIT spirit of collaboration the European Commission delegation stated that it “believes that the better resourced countries should offer some sort of technical assistance vehicle to countries with fewer resources, a mechanism to digest information and make it [outcomes of WTPF] useable. The European Commission is willing to play a very active role in achieving this objective” – and the ITU will of course stand ready to work with all its partners and stakeholders to accelerate progress in “accessing the future”.

In its deliberations to plenary the US delegation echoed what many had noted, and commended the fact that “the Opinions attached to the Secretary General’s report were prepared with input from a broad range of stakeholders because the IEG was open to all those who wished to participate”. The US delegation went on to say that it fully endorsed the work of the IEG “and the carefully crafted opinions before us” and in doing so “believe that all participants will leave this forum enriched by the discussions and better equipped to achieve our shared goal of an Internet that flourishes and provides the economic growth and social welfare we all deserve”.

All statements to the Opening Plenary of the WTPF-13 are available online. In addition you can view videos from the forum on the ITU’s YouTube channel where this is a specific WTPF Playlist. On Twitter please join the conversation on the #WTPF hashtag and a selection of social media content is being curated on the ITU Storify page.

By: Paul Conneally

@conneally is Head of Communications and Partnership Promotion Division at the ITU.

‘Building our Broadband Future’ is a subject very close to my heart. In the first session of the Strategic Dialogue we will explore whether broadband access constitutes a fundamental right, a human right or a civil right, and how best to go about connecting the remaining two thirds of the world’s population who still have no access to the Internet, let alone broadband.

ITU’s latest data show that broadband is still too often the preserve of industrialized countries, with a global average of just ten per cent in terms of fixed broadband penetration worldwide.

This has to change – and indeed will change, with the rapid uptake in new technologies such as mobile broadband – so that developing countries can experience the vital benefits of broadband in areas such as health and education, and participate fully in the digital global economy. And that is precisely what the second session of the Strategic Dialogue will focus on – the power of broadband to drive development, improve people’s lives, and help achieve the MDGs. These are all key messages driving the work of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development, which we founded back in 2010.

We have a very exciting line-up of top executives and policy pioneers coming to ITU on Monday. With a speaker from every ITU region, the Strategic Dialogue is well-placed to convey a global perspective on the current status and policy directions for broadband deployment around the world. I look forward to hearing – and learning – from many of them about how the benefits of broadband can best be extended to more of the world’s people, and I hope you do too.

I know I speak on behalf of all panellists and key speakers when I say I am looking forward to a very lively debate. See you there!

By Dr Hamadoun I. Touré

Dr Hamadoun I. Touré has been Secretary-General of the ITU since January 2007; he was re-elected for a second term in October 2010. He has wide professional experience in both the public and private sectors. A national of Mali, Dr Touré is committed to ITU as an innovative, forward-looking organization adapted to meeting the challenges created by the rapidly-changing ICT environment, and to continuing to spearhead ITU towards implementing the resolutions of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Dr Touré is married with four children and two grandchildren.

ITU will host a high-level Strategic Dialogue featuring key speakers on 13 May 2013, the day before the opening of the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (#WTPF) 2013.  The Strategic Dialogue will discuss our shared future built on broadband, the importance and challenges of investing in infrastructure, and the changing nature of broadband policy and regulation.

The Internet overflows with information services, content and applications that currently involve some 42,000 networks. An intricate host of different commercial transit and peering arrangements shape the Internet as we know it today.  Broadband is critical infrastructure, vital for national competitiveness in the modern global economy. The role of broadband for promoting economic growth, productivity and trade is undisputed and it is increasingly clear that no country can do without broadband infrastructure.

Although the networks are not themselves public goods, the information, knowledge and education that can be provided via broadband services are commodities with potentially global reach.  Broadband is disrupting and transforming how healthcare and education are delivered in developed and developing countries alike, and promises to improve people’s lives and livelihoods and accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Worldwide, however, 4.5 billion, or around two thirds of the world’s citizens, are yet to be connected – many of these are the same people for whom progress in delivering the MDGs is most relevant. Opinion is still divided however as to whether broadband – and the much-improved access to services that it can enable – represents a basic need, fundamental right or even a ‘nice-to-have’ luxury.

In this complex web of overlapping networks, should there be regulation, self-regulation or no regulation of broadband networks and/or the services carried by broadband networks?  Converged regulators are increasingly common, as distinctions between infrastructure and content become blurred, but it is not always clear that policy-makers can keep up with the scale and growth in modern data traffic and social media.  What is the role for public policy, and do national broadband plans really matter?  And who is really driving change –policy-makers, operators, content providers, or end-users?

This year’s Strategic Dialogue at the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum 2013 will sketch tantalizing visions of how the Internet might evolve, and debate all the associated opportunities and risks.  The Strategic Dialogue offers perspectives from top industry leaders and policy pioneers for building our broadband future, and explores some of the challenges and tentative predictions for realizing that future.

By Phillippa Biggs

Phillippa ‘Pippa’ Biggs is an Economist specializing in ICTs and works for the ITU as a policy analyst. Pippa is the coordinator for the Strategic Dialogue which will be held in Geneva on the 13th of May as a curtain raiser to the World Telecommunications Policy Forum (#WTPF) from 14-16 May.

Conversation is at the heart of human experience – and at the heart of ITU Telecom World 2013.

#ITUWorld, which will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 19 -22 November this year, is ITU Telecom’s annual platform for the global ICT community. It brings together international experts, policy-makers, decision-takers, government leaders and industry representatives at the very highest level to debate the radical transformation of the ICT industry.

To engage with each other, share knowledge, information and ideas through an expertly-curated forum of interactive discussion, through carefully-crafted networking events, spaces and social occasions, and through national and industry showcases and innovations on the central showfloor.

This year #ITUWorld will focus on “Embracing Change in a Digital World“, explored from the contrasting perspectives of business, technology and regulation. Conversation will revolve around five main areas of change:  

• changes in the way people communicate;
• the need for new business models as we move increasingly towards data and away from voice;
• shifting industry dynamics as new players emerge;
• the dramatic impact of new technologies; and
• the need for new regulatory and standardization approaches in response.

It’s billed as the one conversation that matters.

Why does it matter? Because sharing experience and knowledge through conversation enriches all parties. Sharing information across sectors and borders opens up new ideas and opportunities. And seizing those opportunities, developing them in the form of new markets, models, policies and strategies, is critical.

Critical to drive the success of the ICT industry – and to address world socio-economic challenges through the unique power of that industry to transform lives all over the world.

#ITUWorld is a platform for collaboration and a springboard to the future. Working together, we can make a positive difference to the ICT sector, and to the world. 

That’s the power of conversation, of collaboration, of common purpose.

That’s why you need to be part of the conversation that matters; and why I look forward to welcoming you in Bangkok this November.

By Blaise Judja-Sato

Blaise Judja-Sato is the Executive Manager of the Telecom Secretariat at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and oversees the leading ITU Telecom World event, an annual highlight in the global ICT events calendar.

Throughout his career he has been involved with organizations and projects which use information and technology to address global societal challenges and provide economic opportunities for all, working with the likes of  AT&T International, the Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation, Google.org and VillageReach, a US-based social enterprise with field operations in three African countries. 

 

At the launch of this year’s report, an ITU webinar was held on Thursday April 18. The event featured two of the organization’s regulatory experts, who introduced the report’s findings and answered questions submitted by online participants.

Citing the report, Nancy Sundberg, Senior Programme Officer in the Regulatory & Market Environment Division, described ICT networks as “the backbone of modern services from banking and commerce to public services like education and health care.”

With governments now acknowledging the vitally important role of technology in building national prosperity and international competitiveness, ICT regulation has risen on the list of national priorities in countries across the globe. With 160 countries having now set up independent ICT regulatory agencies, the challenge now is to find ways of managing increasingly complex, trans-border markets. Future ICT policies, she explained, will need to focus on consumer needs and concerns, such as increasing transparency, and the industry will have to accommodate services consumer behavior in mind.

“It is clear that the game is changing,” said Mario Maniewicz, Chief of the Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and E-Applications Department. “While domestic regulatory policies are important in creating a level playing field for national competitors, regulators also need to take a broader transnational perspective. National networks are vital, but so too is strong international connectivity. Regionally harmonized spectrum policy can greatly assist in fostering strong mobile growth, as we now move toward mobile broadband.”

Major topics covered in depth in this year’s report include net neutrality, emerging spectrum policy management models, mobile roaming prices, global and regional IP connection, and the challenges and opportunities raised by widespread adoption of cloud services.

The net neutrality debate continues to be muddied by the fact that no definition of the term is yet agreed among regulators. Some recommendations are made about what types of traffic management are acceptable, and what types could be considered uncompetitive. “The main issue now concerning net neutrality is to ensure that service providers do not downgrade some traffic by using traffic management practices that consumers may not be aware of,” Sundberg added. “This can ensure access to the internet for everyone under reasonable terms and conditions.”

Maniewicz pointed out that, in the area of spectrum policy, the constant pressure on spectrum availability caused by the mobile boom continues, with a prediction of an 18-fold growth in mobile traffic between 2011 and 2015, driven by machine-to-machine communications, ‘over-the-top’ (OTT) services like VoIP, and new types of cloud service. He identified two key measures, expected to prevail until the next World Radio Communication Conference in 2015: spectrum management best practices and spectrum licensing.

Current spectrum management best practices include re-farming, re-use, and liberalization of current management frameworks. To ensure that frequencies are put to their most efficient and highest-value use, spectrum licensing is increasingly moving toward market-based policies such as auctions, in-band migration, spectrum sharing and spectrum trading, to supplement or even supplant older, slower bureaucratic processes.

Mobile roaming charges were a key issue during the recent update of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) in Dubai in December 2012. At present, retail prices for international mobile roaming remain high, have no linkage to domestic mobile prices, and do not reflect the actual cost of delivering the service, explained Maniewicz. Empowering consumers through greater pricing transparency is one suggested remedy.

Sundberg concluded with a description of new regulatory challenges raised by the fast-growing field of cloud computing, such as ensuring privacy and affirming clear ownership of personal and corporate data, dealing with unauthorized third party use of stored data, determining legal jurisdictions (if data is stored on servers in different locations), and avoiding anti-competitive lock-in of users of different types of cloud services. Cloud-based traffic continues to grow strongly, and is expected to represent at least two thirds of all network traffic flows by 2016.

So, what can be done to better protect the privacy of consumer data? “While we recommend that people be informed and exercise caution in engaging with any services that they use, ultimately, the only effective way to ensure principled and consistent legislative and policy frameworks is to secure global agreement on these issues,” concludes Maniewicz.

An Executive Summary of the report in English is available online and the complete publication can be ordered online via this link. The full webinar is archived in full at: http://itu.adobeconnect.com/p3il57c35l8/ and the video-taped discussion be viewed on a higher quality resolution on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/LtcX8njwTvg

By Mengting Li

Mengting Li is a communications officer with the ITU.

ITU has launched the third edition of its annual Young Innovators’ Competition offering talented social technopreneurs the opportunity to present their ideas to industry leaders at ITU Telecom World 2013 in Bangkok this November – as well as to win funding, mentorship and ongoing support.

Open to 18-26 year-olds worldwide, the Young Innovators Competition is looking for concrete solutions using cutting-edge technology to one of six Global Challenges developed in partnership with specialized UN agencies and leading private sector players:

• Improve employment opportunities for young people and migrant workers
• Reduce food and water wastage at individual and retail level
• Facilitate access to public services for the elderly
• Improve natural disaster prediction and response
• Improve road safety for both drivers and pedestrians
• Protect sensitive personal data and inspire the creation of local digital content

The Challenges reflect the most urgent spheres of life where ICTs could have a significant and wide-ranging impact. The competition seeks pragmatic, market-oriented, scalable solutions making use of connected technologies, such as augmented reality, mobile apps, 3D printing or geospatial tracking.

Submissions may be either in the form of a concept, well-researched or documented ideas which have not yet been implemented, or a start-up, which is already up and running but in need of funding to take it to the next stage.

Ten finalists selected by a committee of experts will win the chance to attend ITU Telecom World 2013, the platform for high-level debate, networking and knowledge-sharing, as well as an ICT showcase, which will be held 19-22 November in Bangkok, Thailand, on the theme “Embracing Change in a Digital World“.

Finalists will work with our partners from both public and private sectors to develop their initiatives and refine their solutions within the global market in the run-up to ITU Telecom World 2013. At the event itself, they will enjoy mentoring and pitching sessions, workshop training on entrepreneurial skills, opportunities to meet and network with leading ICT players, and the chance to showcase their projects on a dedicated showfloor pavilion.

Prize money in the form of seed funding will be awarded up to USD 10,000 to implement and bring to scale winning start-ups, and up to USD 5,000 to realize winning concepts.

Applications can be made by simply completing the application form available at and sending it to young.innovators@itu.int with “2013 Young Innovators Competition” in the subject line. The deadline for initial submissions is 30 June 2013, 24:00 GMT +2.

For further details and the application procedure, please see http://world2013.itu.int/event/innovation/. You can also visit the Young Innovators Facebook page or contact us directly at young.innovators@itu.int.

By: Regina Sipos

Ms. Regina M. Sipos  is the ITU Telecom Young Innovators focal point. Passionate about open innovation, she is primarily responsible for organizing and curating the Young Innovators Programme, functioning within the annual ITU Telecom World event.

The group’s goal is to improve the current statistics regarding the numbers of women in the ICT sector as well as to alter the stereotype held by many young girls that ICT is a man’s field.

Girls in ICT Rwanda consists of women of all ages working in the field ICT including entrepreneurs, professionals and university students. The group has visited a number of schools in Rwanda including Lycee de Kigali and Gashora Girls School. During these visits, the group’s members speak to teenage girls to encourage them to consider ICT as a career option as well help them to understand and appreciate the importance of developing ICT skills in any career.

Recently we organised a Networking Night for female ICT entrepreneurs, professionals and students to network with ICT government institutions, private sector and civil society as well as a host of invited guests from the national and international community. The Guest of Honour was Ann Mei Chang, the Senior Advisor for Women and Technology in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US Department of State.

Session with Ann Mei

Ann Mei began by telling the group about her background in technology including a story of how, at the age of 24, she became the youngest manager at a tech company. She later worked at a number of companies including Google for 8 years where she managed engineers from all over the world.

Ann Mei highlighted several studies addressing the gender gap when it comes to women’s access to technology, particularly access to internet. She pointed out that ICT is one of the fastest growing sectors and that US Department of Labor projections indicate half of the jobs being created in the next 5 years will go unfilled given current talent growth. She said that women could help fill that gap.

A young lady asked Ann Mei if women have to have an interest in computer programming – specifically coding – and if they have to be a tomboy to work in the tech industry. Ann Mei said that women should study and work at what they are passionate about – not simply what they expect will bring in the most money. She also pointed out that women in tech fields sometimes feel pressured to fit in – to be one of the boys. She advised women to be true to themselves: if you’re a tomboy, great and if you’re a fashionista, that’s great, too – just be who you are.

Another participant asked for recommendations for people who have an interest in ICT but who don’t have time to take long term courses. Ann Mei suggested taking short courses in mobile app development.

One woman asked what needs to be done to improve the education system in order to attract more teenage girls to ICT. Ann Mei said that many universities have outdated course requirements – e.g. an A level in Physics – and that this needs to change. She also discussed the cultural barriers: because the field remains male dominated, the culture in ICT academic and professional environments has naturally evolved to be more attractive to men and boys.

Girls In ICT Rwanda Calendar

After the session with Ann Mei, Girls In ICT Rwanda officially launched their calendar, which was presented by Consolata Nakure from the Ministry of Youth & ICT. The most imminent event on the calendar was the upcoming celebration of Girls in ICT Day on 25 April 2013. The group is planning a Career Fair where women, both entrepreneurs and professionals, from different areas of the ICT sector – computer programmers, graphic designers, mobile app developers, etc. – will talk to female students about the various career opportunities in the sector.

The activities on the calendar also included an essay competition for school girls with a focus on ICT as well as an ICT holiday camp for young girls.

If you are interested in partnering with Girls In ICT Rwanda for any of the events in the calendar, or if you would like more information about the group visit their Facebook page: facebook.com/GirlsInICTRW, Twitter page: twitter.com/GirlsInICTRW or send an email to girlsinictrw@gmail.com.

To follow the story of Girls in ICT Day 2013 as it unfolds, check: http://storify.com/ITU/girls-in-ict-day-2013. Follow on twitter: #GirlsinICT and facebook.com/TechNeedsGirls.

By: Akaliza Keza Gara

Akaliza Keza Gara is the founder of Shaking Sun – a multimedia company – and a proud member of Girls In ICT Rwanda. She loves open source software, animated films and chocolate milkshakes.

Follow on Twitter: @AkalizaKeza

This article was originally published on March 29, 2013 on Aljazeera.com

With the end of the Cold War and the rise of the global internet, mankind witnessed the collapse of the bipolar, zero-sum world that had dominated international relations for the better part of a century. The system that replaced it included new forms of communication and information sharing that defied traditional understandings of geographical boundaries and power relationships. And as governments around the world have begun to understand the disruptive power of this new paradigm, many are attempting to assert control over the global internet.

The media and pundits have responded to this phenomenon by pronouncing the dawn of a “digital Cold War,” between online freedom and digital repression. However, other than the renewed ideological sparring of old foes, there is little evidence actually indicating that such a paradigm exists.

The digital Cold War narrative attempts to fit the messy world of global internet politics into a binary model: governments either promote the free flow of information online internationally, or they seek to break up the global internet in national bits and impose control over it, violating citizens’ rights. But like most clean dichotomies, this one is false. It is also harmful.

It’s not just punditry; the framing of this issue matters. Debates over internet governance are coming to a head in the next few years and perpetuating this false paradigm could lead to a political showdown that results in more governmental control of the flow of information online.

Sticky WCIT

Those advancing the digital Cold War narrative tend to point to the outcome of the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), a conference held in Dubai last December. At WCIT the world’s governments gathered to renegotiate an outdated international telecommunication treaty. WCIT was controversial because a number of governments wanted to use the treaty to create an internationally sanctioned regulatory regime for the internet that could have been used to justify surveillance, censorship, and other forms of heavy-handed regulation.

Ultimately, the treaty that was adopted was neither as draconian nor as forceful as some feared. It didn’t contain the most problematic proposals, such as those contained in the submission put forth by Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Iraq, and Sudan, which called for an increased role for governments in internet regulation, and could have led to restrictions on content, access, and privacy rights.

But certain provisions on spam, security, and a non-binding resolution on the internet–which could be interpreted as inviting the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the UN body that organised WCIT, to play a larger role in internet policy–were enough to prevent some countries from signing. This left 89 countries that signed the treaty and 55 that did not.

At first glance, the breakdown of signatories does resemble a Cold War-like divide. China, Iran, and Russia, and much of the developing world signed on, while the US, the European Union countries, Canada, Australia, and Japan all refused.

But that analogy is full of holes. Argentina, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, and Uruguay also signed the treaty, while Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Kenya, and the Philippines did not. And many of these countries–signatories and non-signatories–are thought leaders on internet governance issues, not merely pawns in a digital Cold War.

Applying the Cold War analogy to understand the breakdown of signatories also misses a critical fact: all countries with a national internet penetration rate of less than 30 percent who ere eligible to sign the treaty, did.

It’s possible that the treaty’s explicit recognition of a country’s right to access to international telecommunications services was a more powerful inducement than any fear of increased state control.

While the framing of the language is problematic (in international human rights law individuals are the bearers of rights, not governments) it is not difficult to see how some governments might have gone to WCIT with a development agenda and felt that they were advancing a legitimate national priority by signing. Additionally, given the gaping digital divide and the fact that large U.S and European based companies and telcos dominate the economy of the internet, it is a natural and justifiable response for smaller, less powerful countries to turn to the UN.

Perpetuating the digital Cold War myth could create one, and that’s not a good thing

By grouping together governments who genuinely seek to restrict online communications with those for whom affordable access is a priority, the digital Cold War analogy fails to recognise legitimate concerns and risks alienating a significant portion of the developing world. Perpetuating this false binary may push governments in the middle to choose sides. And that won’t help the open web: as WCIT demonstrated, that those who prefer the status quo of openness are outnumbered by those who prefer reform, whatever their motivations.

So where does this narrative come from? It’s worth looking at who benefits: governments, politicians, the military and intelligence services, and the private sector. A story of digital hostilities and political blocs mean funding, reaffirmation of state powers, and justification for surveillance. And who loses? Pretty much everyone else, because when governments are caught up in arms races, lobbying, and surveillance, there are little resources left for investing in the infrastructure that is sorely needed in much of the world.

And although WCIT is fresh in the minds of observers, it was neither the beginning nor end of global posturing over the internet. A decade ago, very similar battles over internet governance played out at a pair of high-level UN meetings, the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS). WSIS concluded with consensus that a decentralized and distributed form of governance, rather than a government-dominated system, was best.

But nearly ten years after WSIS there is an effort underway to review the summit, which could reopen these old debates. And in an upcoming ITU plenipotentiary meeting in 2014, the body will renegotiate its Constitution and Convention, presenting another opportunity for governments to reassert their sovereignty over the global internet.

Some will argue that it’s a fait accompli: the war for the internet has already begun, and the focus should be on winning rather than averting it. But that is simply not true. Some of the most influential emerging global powers still have not decided on which side of the supposed ‘digital iron curtain’ they fall.

Over the last two years India, for example, has shifted its position from supporting proposals for the creation of government-dominated bodies for internet policy-making to not signing the WCIT treaty because of the inclusion of the non-binding resolution on the internet. Similarly, Brazil and South Africa have also been refining their position on global internet governance reform over the last few years.

Rather than erecting digital iron curtains, now is the time for all sectors, all countries to work together to bridge divides, face reality, and tackle real issues. This means addressing the unpleasant truth that there are immense inequalities in the distribution of access and power when it comes to the digital age. Let’s reject this invented conflict, learn from history, and focus on the real problems.

By Deborah Brown

Deborah Brown is a Policy Analyst for Access ( www.accessnow.org ), where she focuses on the intersection of internet governance policy and human rights. Previously, as the Leo Nevas human rights fellow with the UN Association of the USA/UN Foundation she conducted research on the role of the UN system in promoting and protecting human rights online. You can follow Deborah on Twitter  @deblebrown

It is with the deepest regret that I announce the death of my colleague and close friend, Dr. Cynthia Waddell, a lifelong advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities and a world-renowned expert in disability rights law, public policy and electronic and information technology.

The improving accessibility of technologies, the built environment and the job market owes an incredible amount to Cynthia’s achievements over a lifetime dedicated to enhancing social inclusion for the roughly 650 million people across the world living with some form of disability.

Cynthia served as Executive Director of the International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet (ICDRI), an organization with a mission to increase opportunities for people with disabilities by identifying barriers to participation and promoting best practices and universal design of technology for the global community. 

Cynthia was the author of the first accessible web design standard in the United States in 1995 that led to recognition as a best practice by the federal government and contributed to the eventual passage of legislation for Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards. In addition, she served as the built environment and accessible technology expert for the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee during the drafting of the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and was Co-Editor and Co-Author of the ITU/G3ict e-Accessibility Toolkit for Policy Makers Implementing the UNCRPD.

She played advisory roles in countless international organizations and public and private-sector forums, and the ITU membership will remember the instrumental role Cynthia played in the development of Resolution 70, “Telecommunication/information and communication technology accessibility for persons with disabilities”, adopted by 2008’s World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-08). WTSA-08 Resolution 70 was the first ITU text embracing the topic of accessibility, setting the tone for further affirmation of the importance of this work in Resolutions 58 and 70 of 2010’s World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-10) and Resolution 175 of 2010’s ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.

Cynthia’s seminal paper, “The Growing Digital Divide in Access for People with Disabilities: Overcoming Barriers to Participation” (1999) was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Science Foundation for the first national conference under President Clinton on the impact of the digital economy. She also co-authored two books: Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance (Apress 2006) and Constructing Accessible Web Sites (Glasshaus 2002, reprinted Apress 2003). These best practices and technical resources include the first global surveys of laws and policies in countries addressing accessible web design.

Cynthia was held in the highest esteem by all those fortunate enough to have worked with her. She will be sorely missed by her colleagues, friends and the millions of people around the globe to have benefited from her tireless advocacy and activism. In the wake of her passing, her family and I have been immensely grateful for the many kind words received from those who knew and loved Cynthia, and below I have enclosed just two testaments to the character of this remarkable woman.  

Gerry Elllis, Feel the BenefIT, Ireland, and active alongside Cynthia in IGF’s Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability (DCAD):

“We all knew Cynthia as a trojan fighter in every corner of the world for the rights of people with disabilities. She was not very tall; a David facing down nay-sayers and cynics. And yet she was a Goliath in the field of accessibility. I met Cynthia on several occasions at meetings and conferences in various parts of the world. Her knowledge and enthusiasm never failed to bowl me over. Everywhere she went she was known and everyone wanted to spend time with her. One could hardly pay her a bigger compliment than that.”

Michael Burks, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet (ICDRI):

“Cynthia was a tireless advocate for people with disabilities.  She had the ability to analyze technical issues and distill them down so that everyone could understand them no matter what their view.  She analyzed the first Web issues and produced an analysis that helped everyone to understand the situation and to produce solutions.  She was true and courageous and was willing to do whatever was needed to accomplish the goals that she felt were important.  Her efforts and accomplishments helped to improve the lives of people everywhere, regardless of their location, their situation in life, or whether or not they had a disability.  The world will be a poorer place without her presence.”

I was able to visit Cynthia this past February and relay the results of WTSA-12 and the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12). I explained that her logic was at the forefront of my mind as WCIT-12 succeeded in the inclusion of the first-ever Article on accessibility in the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs). She was pleased to hear the news of the Article but laughed out loud with joy upon hearing that captioning was offered at both WTSA and WCIT, in all six official languages of the Union. That captioning was offered on a multilingual basis and for transcripts (not just for deaf people) meant to the both of us that captioning for international meetings had now been mainstreamed. 

For me personally, her passing makes me realize that we all have to keep moving forward in educating people on the importance of accessibility, ensuring that advances in technology include accessibility features for as many people as possible. The designs of new innovations or codes must integrate accessibility features right from their outset, always prioritizing global interoperability.

Cynthia and I worked together many times in life, all over the world, and in death she has inspired me to carry on so that what she and I and many others believe should be so, becomes so. 

Over the last forty-eight hours, I have received countless messages of condolence from Cynthia’s many friends.  I have answered all of you as best as I can. Please post your comments on this blog as it would make all those who knew her, and especially her family, very happy to see how much her work meant to all of us.

Cynthia is survived by her husband, Tom, her daughters, Elizabeth and Christina, and her granddaughter, Julia.

By Andrea Saks

Andrea Saks is an international telecommunications specialist for the deaf. She has been a key person in the creation of all ITU accessibility initiatives and events including the convener of the Joint Coordination Activity on Accessibility and Human Factors and the coordinator of the Internet Governance Forum’s Dynamic Coalition on Accessibility and Disability. In 2008 she was given the ITU World Telecommunication and Information Society Award and made a Laureate for her lifelong work in accessibility to telecommunications and ICTs for persons with Disabilities.

It is hard to believe that WCIT-12 was already three months ago.

In the intervening weeks, we have had time to celebrate the holidays and enjoy some well-earned time with our families. But there has also been time for our mutual delegations to reflect on the outcome of the Conference and the ongoing work that is ahead of us.

In my remarks today, I will offer some views on where we go from here. These views are my own, as an individual, since I have recently completed my WCIT Head of U.S. Delegation role.

I believe there is much to do in order to build on the legacy of WCIT-12, and I hope to offer some suggestions on how interested parties can focus on that work.

Positive Outcomes

As I indicated in the week immediately after the Conference ended last month, the U.S. Delegation has never regarded WCIT-12 as a failure. Rather, from our perspectives there were several significant positive outcomes.

The U.S., joined by 54 other countries – including the majority of Europe – was able to make a strong statement about the criticality of Internet freedom – in both its human rights and economic development aspects.

Nations which favored adding state-oriented provisions to the ITRs were largely unsuccessful in converting the treaty into a vehicle for instituting governmental control over key aspects of Internet governance and operations.

The revised ITRs contain positive language regarding international telecommunications, reaffirming the era of private-sector investment, commercial traffic agreements, competition and liberalization.

The Conference brought into the open a much-needed dialogue on how the Internet’s IP-based networks, interconnection, services and content will thrive in the future – allowing the U.S. to make a strong case for multi-stakeholder models.

WCIT brought to the fore the need to engender greater openness and transparency, and it signaled the arrival of civil society and multi-stakeholder groups as factors in ITU decision-making, along with industry and governments.

Bottom Lines

One bottom line outcome is that WCIT-12 has crystalized the need to focus on greater Internet access and infrastructure development, particularly in developing countries. I believe you will find the US is committed to working with other countries to foster accelerated growth of the Internet sector in these countries.

Meanwhile, the US and other like-minded democracies, including those in Europe, I believe, remain fully committed to a free Internet with free flow of information, governed and shaped by a broad-based, open and transparent multi-stakeholder environment.

WCIT-12 was not the beginning or end of the global dialogue on the future of international telecommunications and the Internet – although it may have marked a sharpening and defining of the issues involved.

Follow-Up and Next Steps

Part of my message today is to reassure you about my confidence in the future. I am confident that the US will continue to support increased connectivity and access to the Internet around the world. For a start, I believe you will find the US continues to be engaged on this issue at upcoming ITU-related forums:

• World Telecommunications/ICT Policy Forum in May of this year;
• ITU Plenipotentiary conference in 2014;
• World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) “Plus 10” conference in 2015.

The US will use these and other conferences as a fresh opportunity to shape a positive agenda for international telecommunications, focusing on ways to expand access to broadband infrastructure and Internet services.

Meanwhile, I believe you will find the US continues to be a partner with like-minded countries in Europe and elsewhere in engaging in dialogue with all countries (regardless of whether they are treaty signees or not) on:

• How to strengthen arguments for multi-stakeholder and decentralized governance and development of the Internet sector.
• How to assist developing countries to set and reach development goals for Internet access and network infrastructure.

In my view, there are several areas for near-term and mid-term exploration within the US and in discussions between the US and other administrations. These include:

Treaty Outcome/Interpretation

• Discerning the ways that the Internet is, or is not, implicated in the revised treaty
• Characterizing the effect of the newly created “authorized operating agency” term (and advancing an interpretation with limited scope and breadth).
• Assessing the effect of adding a new, state-level “right” of network access in the ITRs’ preamble.

Internet Policy and Governance Issues

• Continuing to foster Internet governance as an issue of mutual concern with allies and through key regional organizations, such as the EU and NATO.
• Identifying additional venues/forums for governments and multi-stakeholder organizations to meet and discuss Internet policy discussions.
• Finding ways to support such organizations as IGF, so that they become more widespread, open to broader membership and increasingly relevant to all stakeholders.
• Identifying best practices to foster enhanced access to ICANN, the Internet Society, IGF and other pillars of the multi-stakeholder governance model.

Cybersecurity Issues

• Identifying the most pressing and disruptive cybersecurity issues in developing, as well as developed, nations.
• Identifying private sector, multi-stakeholder approaches and entities that currently address, or could address, cyber-security concerns, including through technical means.
• Identifying best practices/approaches for the US government to work with these private sector/multi-stakeholder groups in the US and abroad, to address pressing cybersecurity challenges.

Internet Access Issues

• Identifying the most pressing issues for developing countries with regard to Internet access investment and liberalization.
• Developing a new, global infrastructure “2.0” agenda, bringing together best practices in network sharing, spectrum allocation and sharing, universal service programs, public-private partnerships and other ways to promote economic activity.
• Developing a set of best practices to promote and sustain local-level, native-language content and application generation.
• Identifying and partnering with leading countries and governments around the world (e.g., Kenya, Singapore, Colombia, etc.) to share best practices.

Building & Renewing Ties with International Institutions

• The US government should remain actively involved in all three ITU sectors (ITU-R, ITU-T and ITU-D) and their working groups, and should foster a healthy working relationship with current and future ITU leadership.
• The US should explore how to strengthen the IGF, and how to aid efforts by ICANN and other multi-stakeholder institutions to attract wider and deeper international participation, particularly from developing countries.

These suggestions are based on discussions and analysis that our delegation has developed since they arrived back in the U.S. from Dubai. We are bolstered by a sincere conviction that the effort that went into the WCIT negotiations was not a forlorn hope – and that in the long run, it will bear fruit internationally. We certainly hope that this confidence is shared in other administrations, as well.

Conclusion

To sum up, I believe you will find the United States will continue to build on the positive outcomes of WCIT-12. Rather than withdrawing from the world stage, the United States will “double-down” on engagement and dialogue.

The United States will use its leadership position to effectively listen to developing countries, identify effective public-private sector approaches and support multi-stakeholder organizations and forums. Where needed, the United States will explain and advocate the multi-stakeholder model to other countries, because we know it works and already is contributing to the ever-accelerating growth of Internet access around the world.

Moreover, we continue to believe in, and will defend, the human rights principle of freedom of expression and the free flow of ideas over international telecommunications media, including the Internet.

We will seek to do this in a collegial manner, not a divisive one. The world will not benefit from an “us vs. them” attitude – nor is there any reason to support such a narrative. In fact, there continues to be widespread and nearly universal support for the goals of:

• Developing more widespread access to the Internet via advanced networks.
• Supporting a flourishing, global telecommunications sector based on interoperable networks, competition and open markets.
• Creating an end user environment in which consumers can rely on resilient, efficient and affordable network services.
• Bolstering international cooperation on issues such as spam and network security (outside the framework of the ITRs).

We can build upon these basic goals, continuing the dialogue over how best to achieve them. When the U.S. comes to international forums with constructive proposals, I believe they can expect to receive a fair hearing for them, and we will respond in kind.

WCIT was just a beginning. The global dialogue will continue, and we should dedicate ourselves to moving forward in good faith.

After six months and many unsuccessful job applications later, Syed found himself – like so many his age – frustrated and anxious about his future.

Many firms based in the Middle East have little to no knowledge of how to connect with university students and Syed found, through his own personal experience, that many of the current job websites in the region did not really cater to the needs of young people.

Existing employment websites were either too difficult to use or simply didn’t provide any job opportunities for graduates coming straight out of university.

Towards the end of 2011, Syed and his business partner Iba Masood developed an idea to create a careers portal online that specifically caters for young students and university graduates.

Together, they founded Gradberry which has evolved into the Middle East’s leading careers portal website. The website connects employers, universities, students and graduates through the utilization of social hiring techniques.

Gradberry assists in planting fruitful careers for its users by providing career advice and industry insights through their online blog, as well as internships and job opportunities through the site’s careers portal.

Currently, the start-up is based in the UAE, and is now also posting jobs and internships from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ireland and the UK.

Since winning the ITU Young Innovators Competition at ITU Telecom World 2012 in Dubai in October last year, Gradberry has grown from strength to strength.

Not only has the online platform’s user base grown, but in addition, Gradberry 2.0 will be launched in May 2013. Gradberry 2.0 will provide an improved experience for all its users with added functionality to help both students and employers better connect with each other on the website.

Gradberry has also further expanded into online education after successfully completing its first pilot test of the Gradberry Academy – an interactive online learning platform – in early February 2013.

As of March 2013 the Gradberry Academy has become a fully-fledged part of the Gradberry careers portal.

The Academy aims to assist students and graduates who wish to gain additional skills to improve their career prospects and land that dream job. It offers graduates and students industry skills that employers look for when hiring. Currently the Academy offers affordable courses in Social Media Marketing and Digital Marketing, with new courses being added every month.

Based on the knowledge and experience gained at ITU Telecom World 2012, Gradberry has been able to fulfill its vision to not only provide students and graduates with a platform to find jobs but also a platform to instill the right knowledge needed for those jobs.

With soaring levels of youth unemployment becoming a major cause for concern around the world, ITU is proud to be involved in supporting and empowering young entrepreneurs from all around the world to come up with creative solutions which challenge society.

The search for innovative ideas to tackle youth unemployment and other challenges in society is continued in the ITU Young Innovators Competition 2013. There are six Global Challenges prospective applicants will be asked to solve.

ITU Telecom Young Innovators Competition provides young people with great ideas with the platform to win funding, and provides them with mentorship and ongoing support to ensure that their ideas become a reality.

If you are inspired to learn more or even to take part in the ITU Telecom World 2013 competition yourself, please click here for more information, visit our Facebook page or e-mail us at young.innovators@itu.int

By: Dimitrina Todorova 

Ms. Dimitrina Todorova works for the Young Innovators Programme at ITU.  A recent graduate of the London School of Economics herself, she is passionate about including young people in the key conversations and highlighting their contribution to development through the use of ICTs.