2010 Annual Spring Meeting of the Broadband Commission

Date

July 11, 2010

Location

Geneva, Switzerland

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Commissioners met in private session in Geneva on 11 July to set about defining a vision for accelerating the deployment of broadband networks worldwide, with the aim of improving the delivery of services across a huge range of social and business sectors, and accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Commission is co-chaired by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Mr Carlos Slim Helú, Honorary Lifetime Chairman of Grupo Carso, with ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré and UNESCO Director-General, Ms Irina Bokova, serving as joint vice chairs.

It will deliver its outcomes to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 19 September 2010 at an official side event of the UN MDG Summit in New York, which starts on September 20.

These outcomes will be presented in the form of two reports, the first of which will reflect expert input from the Commissioners, and the second of which will comprise in-depth analysis of the challenges and opportunities in deploying broadband across a range of different types of economies.

“The global deployment of broadband networks will be as powerful a transformational force for the 21st century as the progressive installation of electricity networks was in the first decades of the 20th century. Just as connection to the power grid is now seen as a basic element of social and economic empowerment, so ubiquitous connectivity to broadband networks will be vital to the ongoing development of every nation worldwide.”

“The latest information and communication technologies (ICTs) have created new opportunities for the creation, preservation, dissemination and use of information. We aim to go further, towards the construction of inclusive knowledge societies in which people can transform information into knowledge and understanding that empowers them to improve their livelihoods and contribute to their social and economic development. Universal access to broadband-enabled applications will be vital for achieving this goal.”

ITU, UNESCO host top names from industry, UN agencies and civil society at first meeting in Geneva
Millennium Development Goals