GSS adopts its conclusions and calls for strong collaboration mechanisms

Panel discussion on ICT innovation with Malcolm Johnson . Click for more pictures.

Yesterday’s Global Standards Symposium (GSS) resulted in the adoption of a set of key conclusions (available here) providing guidance and food for thought for ITU-T’s decision-making World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, set to start today.

Three expert panels focused on innovation in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and its impact on standardization; the opportunities and enabling effects of ICT in other economic sectors, such as transportation and healthcare – and the challenges that come with it; and the status of collaboration between national, regional and international standards organizations, forums and consortiums.

CTOs discuss standards challenges, SDN and smartphone security

CTO Meeting 2012, group picture

Some 20 high-level industry executives exchanged their views with the senior management of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau in advance of WTSA.

Topics under discussion included: the landscape of standards development organizations, software-defined networks (SDN), machine-to-machine communications (M2M), smartphone security, conformity and interoperability. A communiqué will be released shortly.

More pictures of the event are available on the ITU-T Flickr stream.

Mobile web apps at WTSA and WCIT

ITU is piloting mobile optimised web pages for the upcoming World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-12) and World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai, UAE.

The apps will feature meeting agendas, the composition of committees and their contributions, and mechanisms to establish email contact with other event participants. Also crucially allowing for the retrieval of the latest meeting documents in real time, the apps are designed to engage delegates in a way that enables more informed participation and consequently more productive events.

The apps are available here:

wtsa.itu.int

wcit.itu.int

Facts and Figures, #2

106
Number of candidates for Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of ITU-T Study Groups and the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG).

See the candidates.

Side events at WTSA-12 to advance new ITU-T study areas

Delegates attending ITU-T meeting in January 2012

WTSA-12 will host three side events to feature e-health standards, innovation and network resilience. In addition a showcasing event will exhibit state-of-the-art products meeting ITU-T standards.

e-Health, 21 November, will build on ITU-T’s new collaboration with the World Health Organization in advancing the rollout of international e-health and telemedicine standards to overcome current interoperability concerns.

ICT Innovations, 22 November, will draw on the findings of ITU-T’s Focus Group on “Bridging the Gap: from Innovation to Standards”, discussing the reciprocal relationship between innovation and standardization, and means for international standards to capture the best of innovations rooted in developing countries.

Disaster Relief Systems, Network Resilience and Recovery, 23 November, will offer expert opinion on measures to bolster the resilience of critical communications infrastructures in the face of natural disasters. The event will contribute its findings to ITU-T’s Focus Group on Disaster Relief Systems, Network Resilience and Recovery, a group established primarily to distill lessons learnt from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

More information on these events and an online registration form can be found here.

As reported earlier in The Assembly, the opening day of WTSA-12 will feature an interactive workshop introducing activities undertaken by the ITU-T, its membership and secretariat to engage with universities and research institutes.

Interviewed: Malcolm Johnson

In the run-up to WTSA-12, The Assembly discusses the importance of WTSA with Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau.

Facts and Figures, #1

474
Number of pre-registered participants, as of 31 October 2012.
More information about registration is available here.

Photo by NHS Confederation, CC BY 2.0.

Global Standards Symposium – draft programme and registration online

The Global Standards Symposium (GSS) will take place one day prior to WTSA-12, on 19 November 2012 – in the same venue. The GSS is a one-day event where ministers, regulators, heads of other international, regional and major national standards bodies, and industry from the different regions of the world will discuss global ICT standards challenges.

GSS 2012, the second of its kind, will  focus on the intersection of the ICT sector with other sectors such as healthcare, utilities, and transport. A detailed draft programme is now posted on the GSS website.

The GSS Chairman, H.E. Mr Nasser Bin Abood Al Falasi (Chief Government Relations & Communications Officer, Etisalat Group) will present the symposium’s conclusions to the first Plenary meeting of the WTSA.

The event is open to the interested public – register here.

Panelists at Global Standards Symposium 2008

Event to showcase opportunities for academic standards makers

Local University Exhibition at ITU Kaleidoscope 2010, Pune, India

The opening day of WTSA-12 will feature an interactive workshop introducing activities undertaken by the ITU-T, its membership and secretariat to engage with universities and research institutes.

The academic event will highlight the importance of standards and participation of academics in ICT standardization. Related initiatives including academia membership, ITU’s academic conference Kaleidoscope and  standards education campaigns will be presented and discussed. Some ITU academic members will showcase how they engage in the ITU standards making process.

ITU members and non-members, in particular representatives of universities and R&D labs are invited to participate in the event.

The event will take place from 12:00 to 14:00 on 20 November 2012. A registration form is available here.

Briefing Sessions on Proposals submitted to WCIT-12 and WTSA-12

Briefing sessions for ITU members on proposals submitted to WCIT-12 and WTSA-12 will be held at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, on 8 and 9 October 2012. The WCIT-12 session will take place the full day on Tuesday 8 October and the morning of 9 October and the WTSA-12 session will follow that afternoon.

These meetings will provide participants with the opportunity to explain their proposals, exchange views and have a better understanding of each other’s proposals and positions. The Secretariat will provide two documents, one for WCIT and one for WTSA, showing the consolidated proposals submitted by 1 October 2012.

For further information please refer to Circular 1025.