International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has lined up activities to celebrate 150 years of excellence in connecting the world to the benefits of telecommunications and information and communication technologies.
ITU has developed a series of activities to promote this landmark 150th anniversary amongst which is the ITU150 poster competition in three categories: 5-7 years; 8-11 years; and 12-16 years open for applications, with the deadline set for 1 May 2015.
We are delighted to launch ITU’s historical timeline, which recounts a well-researched history of telecommunications starting in 1772 with the Semaphore system – the first ‘telegraph’, progressing through key moments in world history intertwined with ITU’s own historic development and contributions to global communications.
Six ‘nuggets of information’ are attached to each key milestone, providing insights into this fascinating history.
The new ITU 150th Anniversary smartphone App includes an interactive quiz on the history, development and structure of ITU as well as access to ITU’s historic timeline, monthly feature stories, ITU150 news, international events and connection to the worldwide #ITU150 community. The ‘ITU 150th Anniversary App’ is available on iTunes, Windows and Google Play stores.
On 17 May, a special ceremony will take place in Geneva to commemorate the founding of ITU with the signing of the International Telegraph Convention in 1865.
The event will include the ITU 150 Awards ceremony, high-level speeches and talks, technical and innovation demonstrations, and a special video showcasing the innovative use of ICTs around the world. Register to attend this special celebratory event here.
Each month, ITU tells a personal story to highlight the monthly theme showcasing the positive impact of ICTs and how they are transforming lives around the world. For February’s theme ‘Youth and Innovation’, Fatoumata Kebe, winner of the ITU Telecom World 2014 Young Innovator Competition, told us how she is using the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) to deploy smart irrigation solutions to address the looming food crisis and empower women in Mali. For the theme in March, ‘Innovation and Intelligent Transport Systems’, James Fu introduced us to the driverless car that he and researchers at the Singapore-MIT Alliance have developed. In April, Alja Isakovic explained how she is helping to engage women in ICTs through coding for the theme ‘Girls and Women and Innovation’.
A series of Google Hangouts provides a forum to express opinions related to the monthly themes. ITU Telecom asked a panel of entrepreneurs about best practices for growing a start-up for February’s theme ‘Youth and Innovation’.
April’s panel for ‘Girls and Women and Innovation’ will discuss methods to promote and enable female innovation in technology.
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