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ITU hosts Conference on Space and the Information Society
GLIS 2016 aims at ushering new era of connectivity through space
Geneva, 8 June 2016 – The Global Conference on Space and
the Information Society – GLIS 2016 – was held at the International
Telecommunication Union in Geneva, 6 - 7 June 2016 drawing attention to the fact
that space and space applications have a major role to play in the shaping of a
future “connected” world. GLIS 2016 was organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
“I believe the outcomes of this conference will definitely
contribute to the advancement of space technologies for our societies,” said
Kiyoshi Higuchi, President of IAF.
The international community faces substantial challenges:
digital divide, disaster management, cybersecurity, big data analysis and
climate change, to name a few. The next years will see governments, industry,
academia and NGOs work together in a new era of connectivity. A combination of
factors, such as the implementation of the UN Space Development Goals, the
deployment of new mega constellations and the launch of new digitalized systems
will strongly contribute to reaching this goal. International organizations,
such as the United Nations and its agencies, ITU and UNOOSA, along with the IAF,
aim to extend cooperation in space to achieve a better connected world.
“This is an exciting time in
space,” declared Jennifer Warren, Lockheed Martin
Corporation Vice President for Technology Policy &
Regulation Trade & Regulatory Affairs in her keynote
address. Karsten Geier, Head, Cyber Policy
Coordination Office, Germany’s Federal Foreign
Office, emphasized the importance of cybersecurity,
noting that “outer-space based as well as cyberspace
programmes can present challenges to international
security”.
“ITU is committed to
maintaining right of access to the radio-frequency
spectrum and satellite-orbit resources, and to
ensuring their rational, equitable, efficient and
economical use, free from harmful interference,”
said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “Through our
concerted efforts, we can help remove the obstacles
that impede the development of new satellite
networks and applications and bring them into
operation to connect the unconnected around the
world.”
“Activities in space contribute
enormously towards shaping the information society,”
said François Rancy, Director of the ITU
Radiocommunication Bureau. “These involve the
production of big data, the provision of global
positioning information, the distribution of
television programmes, the provision of emergency
services, the prevention and mitigation of natural
and man-made disasters, the forecasting of weather,
the understanding, monitoring and protection of
Earth natural resources and the connection of the
world population to broadband services. Indeed,
satellite systems play a critical role in supporting
each and every one of the 17 sustainable development
goals adopted last year by the United Nations.”
Rancy added that the decisions of the ITU World
Radiocommunication Conferences are aimed at
maintaining a stable, predictable and universally
applied regulatory environment that secures
long-term investments for the multi-trillion dollar
ICT industry including outer space activities.
For more information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations & Public Information, ITU
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Grace Petrin
Communications Officer, ITU Radiocommunication Bureau
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