Andrew Rugege
Ghana is set to host the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Development Forum for Africa under the theme: “ICT4SDGs: Towards the implementation of World Telecommunication Development Conference 2017 (WTDC17) outcomes”.
This year’s forum will commence from 18th to 20th July, 2018, at the Accra International Conference Centre.
Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the event, the Regional Director for Africa for the ITU, Andrew Rugege, indicated: “The Regional Development Forum is a platform that provides people, members and non members alike an opportunity to dialogue on the potential of technologies, their role in transforming our economies, entire states and the way people live”.
“Every four years, we have the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) for the ITU development sector where members come together and decide policy for the union. Members make their priority areas known and we develop a strategic and operational plan for the four years coming,” he explained.
He said the RDT would afford members of the ITU the opportunity to share and discuss the achievements, experiences, work programmes and partnership among ITU members and interested partners for the effective implementation of the regional initiatives.
The Deputy Minister of Communications, George Andah, disclosed that the forum would discuss in detail five regional initiatives approved by the WTDC17.
He stated: “These initiatives provide members an opportunity to exchange experience and best practices in the implementation of the regional initiatives within the scope of the ITU rolling strategic plan for 2017-2020”.
This year’s discussion will focus on building digital economies and fostering innovation in Africa; promotion of emerging broadband technologies; building trust and security in the use of the telecommunications; information and communication technology; strengthening human and institutional capacity building; as well as management and monitoring for the radio frequency spectrum and transition to digital broadcasting.
The ITU was established in 1565 and has reaffirmed its reputation as one of the most resilient and relevant organizations and specialized agency of the United Nations for telecommunications and information and communication technologies. It is a unique neutral platform for organizations to network and collaborate with industry, governments, regulators and academia.
By Abigail Owiredu-Boateng