In just under five weeks time, ITU Telecom World 2012 will open its doors to the global ICT community for five days of debate, consensus-building and networking in Dubai. The event provides an unparalleled platform for the world's leading digital thinkers, policy-writers, decision-makers and business strategists in the ICT sector and beyond to come together and shape the future of that industry - and of the world we all live in.
That ICTs form the backbone of every industrial sector today, from finance, government services and transport to health, education and agriculture, is a commonplace - and one of which the Korean government and its citizens have long been aware. Few nations on earth are as wired, connected, technologically-developed and ICT-dependent as Korea. The development of a broadband-driven knowledge society in Korea, in particular, has served as a case study and model of best practices for other nations, including many present both at last year's ITU Telecom World event and attending this year in Dubai.
The speed of development in ICT and the products, services and applications it enables, is increasingly breathtaking, with implications for us all in how we do business, work, play and live our lives. ITU Telecom World 2012 is an opportunity for major industry stakeholders from around the world to both reassess the current transformation of the ICT industry and address the impact of that transformation in terms of the opportunities and challenges it throws up.
For the ICT industry game has changed, and is continuing to change, beyond recognition, shaped by megatrends such as ageing populations worldwide and the transfer of the economic balance of power from West to East; shifting industry dynamics as a plethora of new players emerge, in particular over the top of existing infrastructure; and new technologies such as cloud and M2M, enabling ever-more sophisticated services and apps to drive socio-economic development worldwide. These are the game changers setting the context for an industry in transformation. Exploring the implications of this radical development is at the heart of formal debates and ongoing conversations at ITU Telecom World 2012.
Discussion will focus around five key topics:
- Innovation and trust - funding, communicating and protecting the future within the exclusive Leadership Summit
- Delivering broadband - complex and innovative business models arising from the new reality
- Beyond connectivity - issues of cybersecurity, privacy, and spectrum allocation
- Smart societies - the spread of smart applications in areas such as health, education, transport and government
- Future networks - the human-centric networks of the future
Hosted by the government of the United Arab Emirates and taking place at the state-of-the-art DICEC conference and exhibition centre from 14 - 18 October, World 2012 benefits from the unique reach of ITU as the lead UN agency for ICT-related issues. The event brings together major stakeholders from across the public and private sector in a series of dynamic panel debates, ministerial roundtables, interactive workshops and keynote speeches, plus the inaugural Leadership Summit.
And beyond the formal, structured sessions of the forum, important connections will be made and conversation continued in a series of networking events and occasions. From the Leaders Dinner to networking lunches and evening receptions, from meetings planned in advance via the online event networking tool, YourSpace, to spontaneous discussions over coffee in the OpenSpace or other refreshment areas, World 2012 has connecting at its core.
Making connections on the showfloor will be made easy by industry showcases and National Pavilions, such as that hosted by the Republic of Korea, which demonstrate technological advancements, local talent and high-level investment opportunities. The Korean National Pavilion will also enable the national delegation to host private meetings, product demonstrations or social functions at the hub of the event.
Only by connecting in this way, sharing knowledge, experience and ideas, can participants gain fresh perspectives on these key issues and move towards creating policies, regulatory frameworks and competitive strategies that meet the challenges and opportunities of the industry's new realities.
In the words of Dr. Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General and chair of several debates at World 2012, "Creating awareness of the new technologies and trends revolutionizing our industry is just the beginning. We want to help people understand the impact, opportunities and challenges that these create. Above all, we want to make sure that the new ICT ecosystem which is developing is one that is fair, safe, resilient, open to all and fully transparent. I believe that ITU Telecom World 2012 is the platform to achieve these aims.”
