Happy 40th birthday, ITU Telecom

As the United Nations Agency for ICT, ITU is unique in its ability to attract the leading players in the global ICT sector

8 October, 2009

By ITU staff

From its birth in 1971, as an "exhibition of telecommunication equipment to promote the benefits of telecommunications, and demonstrate recent technological advance", Telecom was seen as presenting a window on the world of technology. As the United Nations Agency for ICT, ITU is unique in its ability to attract the leading players in the global ICT sector, from top-name ICT companies and their executives to ministers, regulators and other key players. These are the players that give ICT life and ITU Telecom is the arena for global ICT agenda setting. In keeping with its mandate, ITU Telecom will once again gather the ICT community in 2011 and provide a platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and technology for the benefit of the global community.

ITU Telecom's 40th celebrations will acknowledge: the history of ITU Telecom and its role in global telecommunications; the development of the ICT sector; and global networking and partnerships for global development.

Getting underway

ITU Telecom staff are currently busily working to provide an exciting, varied and relevant set of ways to be a part of ITU Telecom 40th anniversary. For the event, ITU will continue to build on the success of previous participation packages and define a set of options which will more than ably fit the needs of the global ICT sector, and help ensure that time spent at ITU Telecom 40th will be as beneficial as possible.

Meanwhile, posters, banners and digital displays at World 2009 will all help build excitement about ITU Telecom's 40th anniversary. To ensure you are a part of the event, we invite interested parties to either visit an information counter onsite and complete a postcard or, alternatively, visit www.itu.int/telecom40 and do so online.

Building a successful 40th anniversary event

As the United Nations Agency for telecommunications, ITU is unique in its ability to attract the leading players in the global ICT sector, from top-name ICT companies and their executives to ministers, regulators and other key players.

"I look forward to building a dynamic ITU Telecom 40th anniversary, to celebrate this milestone for ITU Telecom, and to bringing all the key global players together to be a part of it," says Houlin Zhao, ITU deputy secretary-general and acting executive manager, ITU Telecom. "Working together with the Canton of Geneva and all its partners, I am confident that we will create a successful event experience for all."