2014 ITU
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, in anticipation of the successful hosting of the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, shared its status on agenda preparation and special events, and revealed plans on major diplomatic activities regarding the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Directorship and the ITU seven council member status.
The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, being held every four years, is the ITU member’s top policy-making conference attended by ICT ministers of 193 member nations. This year’s meeting will be held in Busan from October 20 until November 7 for three weeks. In the main meeting (plenary) and sub-committee meetings, members will decide on global ICT policies for the next 10 years, and will elect a secretary-general, high ranking officials, and council member nations.
Three Weeks of Events to be Held
The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference can be called the ICT Olympics, consisting of the inter-state plenary and committee meetings, and 3 weeks of variety of events will take place including ICT related big scale exhibitions, conferences and hands-on events to be enjoyed by everyone in industrial, academic, and research circles.
In the first week, starting on October 20, 2014, the conference will kick off with the events “World IT Show 2014”, “Mobile 360”, “5G Global Summit”, “Big Data World Congress”, and “U-Clean Concert.”
The “World IT Show 2014” is the biggest local ICT exhibition similar to world class exhibitions like America’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Spain’s Mobile World Congress (MWC).
For four days from October 20, all ICT-related domestic and overseas technologies and items will be displayed, to be followed by export consultation sessions.
“Mobile 360” is a mobile communication global conference hosted by the Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA), which has 1,000 member companies around the world. The event, in link with the World IT Show, features a leadership conference, forum, and network events under the themes of Near Field Communication (NFC), mobile commerce, and Long Term Evolution (LTE) October 20 and 21.
Also to be held is the “5G Global Summit,” where diverse topics will be covered such as each nation’s long term strategies on 5G mobile communication, R&D programs, and the research status of major companies. The “Big Data World Congress” intends to effectively and creatively utilize big data as a new growth driving force. “U-Clean Concert” will help to cultivate a wholesome digital culture by inviting youth and experts from the relevant fields.
The second week consists of the events “Global ICT Premier Forum,” “Health-It Fusion Exhibition,” “ClOUD EXPO,” “IPIN Conference,” and “u-Paperless Conference.”
The “Global ICT Premier Forum” is scheduled for October 27 and 28 for two days, where international ICT experts and CEOs will lecture on a variety of subjects under the theme of the “Creative Economy’s Performance and Observations on its Tasks and Future.” Diverse discussions will be exchanged from the perspectives of the Creative Economy’s principals: citizens, companies, and governments.
“Health-IT Fusion Exhibition” is a specialized exhibition in the field of Health-IT, the most representative case of fusion between IT and another industry.
From October 27 to 29, new products and technologies will be showcased and promoted in the areas of digital hospitals, u-health, and biotechnology, boasting of Korea’s superb ICT technology.
To be accompanied is the simulation wing where one can witness the fruits of many government-led R&D businesses, digital hospital systems, and smart home care, helping to assess the future of healthcare.
The “CLOUD EXPO” is a specialty exhibition aiming at invigorating and expanding cloud computing industry markets. The “IPIN Conference” is the world’s one and only academic meeting to be joined by some 300 navigation experts, whereas the “u-Paperless Conference” is the Asia’s biggest electronic document conference.
The conference will end its last week with the “Korean Science Creativity Festival,” which offers a forum where people can experience all kinds of scientific culture.
The festival will showcase the latest trends, where ICT goes beyond its comfort zone to incorporate scientific technology. It will display the hottest scientific technologies offered by some 300 schools, and offer over 400 programs where spectators can participate from November 3-8.
People can also have fun and enjoy the festivities through different musical concerts and talk shows that are offered in many corners of the site.
S. Korea to Lead the Agenda
The Korea-led agenda also just might get the green light and get accepted as the Asia Pacific region’s joint resolution.
Korea will lead the main agenda covering many issues including the fusion between ICT and other industries, Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP), and information protection grading.
Korea proposed the agenda as a resolution through the first (Seoul) and second (Australia) Asia Pacific region preparation meetings, and is trying to make the upcoming third preparation meeting (Malaysia) in June choose their agenda as the region’s joint resolution.
Korea proposing the agenda for the Plenipotentiary Conference is the first since the joining of the ITU, and if the agenda were to be chosen, it would contribute a lot in enhancing domestic companies and their technologies by putting Korea at a vintage point in terms of international standardization as well as leading and stimulating research on relevant areas.
Lee Sang-hak, deputy secretary general of the ITU preparatory committee, said, “The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference has been an important meeting even for the UN, since the former discusses mid to long-term global policies. This is a once-in-a-100-year opportunity for Korea, so we should thoroughly prepare for it to make it an impetus for our ICT field’s phenomenal growth, as well as making it the best ITU conference in its 150 year history.”
In the meantime, during the conference, elections will be held for 65 positions including ITU secretary general, deputy secretary general, directors in three segments, and radio regulation board members.
Among these, the most important elections are for secretary general, ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) director, and radio communications board director, and Korea is zeroing in on ITU-T directorship.
The general director position gets the final call on international information communication standardization and sets the direction of the ICT industry.
Vice Minister Yun Jong-rok at the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning has been actively meeting ministers and vice ministers of some 10 countries at the World Telecommunication Development Conference (3/29-4/1), and his efforts will be relayed to the Minister Choi Moon-ki, who will invite many ambassadors to Geneva, Switzerland in May to ask for their support in electing Korea’s candidates.