Geneva, Switzerland, 1 October 2014 – The Award Ceremony of the Telecommunication 50Development Sector, a yearly event held in the framework of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group, took place on 1 October in Geneva.
"This is a great moment for us," said Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau. "Today we recognize the contribution of those Members who have, together with Member States, accompanied us to make changes at the grassroots level."
"The changes we made in people's lives would not have been possible without their support and contribution," continued Mr Sanou. Addressing the laureates, Mr Sanou said: "I would also like to use this opportunity to thank all my predecessors who have introduced you to ITU-D."
The Award Ceremony recognizes the contribution made by Sector Members during their 10 years of membership.
The recipients are:
Mr Luis Jorge Romero Saro, Director General, ETSI, European Telecommunications Standards Institute, France
"It is a pleasure for us to contribute to the work of ITU-D. Let's continue to be engaged. The work of ITU-D brings benefits to the people of the world"
Mr Marcelo López Arjona, Secretary-General of the Association of Andean Community Telecommunications Enterprises, Ecuador
"As members, we have participated in the Study Groups, in workshops and seminars as well as regional and international events. I am honoured to receive this Award before this audience of highly regarded international experts"
Ms Ruxandra Obreja, Chairman and President of Digital Radio Mondiale, UK
"This award is a great sign of recognition of our activities of the past ten years. With our work, we bring more choices, more information, more education to countries across the world"
Mr Paul Wehrli, Head of Field ICT Services of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Switzerland
"The work of ITU allows the Red Cross to act and intervene, especially in war zones"
Ms Belinda Exelby, Head of Institutional Relations of the GSM Association, UK
"The telecommunication world has undergone huge changes. There are two ITU initiatives that we particularly value: the m-Powering initiative, through which we do valuable work in promoting social benefits with the mobile, and the ITU Academy"
Mr Paul Steele, Senior Vice President MER & Corporate Secretary of the International Air Transport Association, Canada
"This year we will transport over 3 billion people on nearly 30 million flights between 45,000 cities. There is no way we could do that without a dedicated, harmonized interference-free telecommunications platform."
Ms Anastasia P. Ositis, President of the International Telecommunication Academy, Russia
"We will continue to work together to improve the living conditions of the people of the world"
Mr Enknsaikhan Munkhjargalan, Director of Enterprise Business Sector & corporate Product Marketing Sector of Mobicom Corporation, Mongolia
"It is a honour to receive this Award. We have always be supported by ITU"
Mr Mohammed AL KINDI, Executive Manager, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the Oman Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
"ITU has worked hard to create an umbrella of cooperation and information sharing between various members. We look forward to our future cooperation"
Mr Andrew Barendse, managing Executive Regulatory Affairs of Vodacom SA (Pty) Limited, South Africa.
"These are extraordinary times in policy and regulatory environments. This means extraordinary participation and interaction with ITU-D in particular and ITU in general"
Some Sector Members, who also marked 10 years of membership, were unable to join the Award Ceremony. They are:
- Africell Ltd, Gambia
- Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe
- Inter-American Telecommunication Commission
- International organization for Standardization
- International Union of Radio Science
- SabaFon, Yemen
- Union africaine de radiodiffusion
Their profile can be found at http://www.itu.int/net4/ITU-D/CDS/SectorMembersPortal/index.asp
Award Ceremony photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/itupictures/sets/72157647838086528/
Award Ceremony webcast: 1 October, http://www.itu.int/ibs/ITU-D/201409tdag/index.phtml 10:00 session (Ceremony start at minute 1:50)
