Johnson to discuss role of public sector @ Telecom World’11

Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has been confirmed as one of the key speakers to lead discussions on the vital role of public sector in networks roll-out.

ITRealms Online, reliably gathered that Mrs. Johnson would be on this panel with the Serbia’s State Secretary for Digital Agenda, Jasna Mati and Phil Laven, Chairman, Digital Video Broadcasting, with the European Broadcasting Union.

Also, the panel would focus on the vital role played by the public sector in driving the roll-out of networks and services.

This is coming as over 250 global leaders are warming up for this year’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-organised Telecom World in Geneva, Switzerland.

Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU, Sarah Parkes, made this disclosure, saying that the event would be a star-studded occasion.

A press statement made available to ITRealms Online, Parkes noted that with an action-packed agenda focusing on the major global issues reshaping the information and communication technology (ICT) landscape, ITU Telecom World 2011, holding between October 24 and 27, will bring together Heads of State and government, ICT ministers and regulators, global business leaders and some of the industry’s brightest young innovators for a dynamic series of debates led by some of the industry’s biggest names.

She also said that delegates and media would have the chance to hear from CEOs and leaders of global technology and telecoms companies from around the world including Alcatel Lucent, AT&T, China Mobile, Du, Ericsson, Etisalat, Fujitsu, Huawei, Intel, KDDI, Microsoft, NTT Corporation, NTT DoCoMo, Q-Tel, Swisscom, Telkom SA, Türk Telekom, Verizon and ZTE.

Parkes noted that the event would kick off with a Broadband Leadership Summit featuring Heads of State, Heads of Government and ICT ministers, who would join luminaries including Mexico’s Carlos Slim; Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission; Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD; Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO; and many members of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development.

Internet pioneer Robert E. Kahn will join Web 2.0 innovators such as Juliana Rotich, CEO of Ushahidi, an open source project which allows users to crowd source crisis information via mobile devices, in sessions such as the power of social media and the Internet of the future.

The Director-General of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, would lead another stimulating debate on the evolution of frameworks for intellectual property and convergence of online content.

In the development sphere, she said, a strong mix of speakers like Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization; Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund; Doyle Gallegos, Global Practice Leader, Connectivity Infrastructure at the World Bank; and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General for the Millennium Development Goals, reinforces the fact that ICT access has become central to development across a whole range of spheres.

Secretary General, ITU, Dr. Hamadoun Touré, was quoted as saying that the agenda for ITU Telecom World 2011 is compelling and brings together some of the most important, insightful and powerful figures in the global ICT ecosystem.

“Over four days in Geneva, we’ll be providing unrivalled opportunities to network, collaborate, build consensus and create real vehicles for change that open up markets, empower innovation and transform lives,” he said.

Remmy Nweke
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