Players from all walks of life to collaboratively design a Manifesto for a Connected World

Geneva, 15 March 2011 – This year’s forthcoming ITU Telecom World 2011 event will play host to industry CEOs and world leaders, government ministers and technology gurus, city mayors and grassroots technology pioneers, who will come together to share vision, knowledge and build consensus and solutions to real world challenges.

Taking place at Geneva Palexpo from October 24-27, ITU Telecom World 2011 will welcome major players such as Airtel, Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, China Mobile, Cisco, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Intel, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung, Swisscom, Verizon and more.

The event, which celebrates 40 years of ITU Telecom’s serving the ICT industry, has been overhauled for 2011, expanding its focus to high-level networking, knowledge sharing and consensus building, away from the more exhibition-centred format of previous years. For World 2011, ITU Telecom will call on global citizens to share, shape, debate, propose new ideas and create a Manifesto to demonstrate how connected technologies have the power to truly change lives.

“As the leading UN agency for ICT issues, ITU is uniquely positioned in being able to bring the public and private sectors together for ITU Telecom World 2011, opening doors that would otherwise remain shut, stimulating debates that without it would remain silenced and creating networks of industry peers who together can drive real global change,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré. 

Highlights of ITU Telecom World 2011 will include:

•A Broadband Leadership Summit for Heads of State and Government, CEOs of major companies and Heads of UN agencies.

•A Digital Cities Conference to address how the wider industry can address the key challenges of urbanisation.

•Forum debates and knowledge sharing discussions on major industry themes such as innovation, the business of spectrum, broadband access and cybersecurity.

•National and Thematic Pavilions showcasing innovations and advancements in connected technologies and how they are being used to improve quality of life in areas such as healthcare, education, finance and entertainment.

For more information on how organisations and individuals can become involved in ITU Telecom World 2011, visit www.itu.int/WORLD2011.