| T.2-1 Bridging the standardization gap (e.g. remote participation, fellowships, establishment of regional study groups) |
| T.2-2 Workshops and seminars, including offline and online training activities, complementing the capacity-building work on bridging the standardization gap undertaken in ITU-D |
| T.2-3 Outreach and promotion |
T.2-1 Bridging the standardization gap (e.g. remote participation, fellowships, establishment of regional study groups)
Regional Groups: Regional Groups within ITU-T Study Groups have proven effective mechanisms to assist in bridging the standardization gap by stimulating effective participation in ITU-T Study Groups and increasing the number and quality of contributions from various regions. ITU-T has 15 regional groups (13 groups are active): six for Africa (Study Groups 2, 3, 5, 12, 13, and 17), three for the Americas (Study Groups 2, 3 and 5), three for the Arab region (Study Groups 2, 3 and 5), two for Asia and the Pacific (Study Groups 3 and 5) and one for the Regional Commonwealth in the field of Communications.
The successful hands-on capacity-building training conducted by SG3 since early 2014 will be extended to cover the coming activities of other study groups and their regional groups.
Mentoring: ITU-T continues to offer a mentoring programme for new delegates to ITU-T study groups. Remote participation is offered during all study group meetings at no cost to the user (using a call-back option). Closing plenaries benefit from full interpretation. Contributions to study groups can be translated into six languages if received at least two months before a meeting. Some of the Recommendations approved by AAP are also being translated. Full or partial fellowships are awarded to facilitate participation from Least Developed Countries or Low-Income Developing Countries, depending on budget availability.
National Standardization Secretariat (NSS): TSB provided technical assistance to Zambia ICT Authority (ZICTA) in November 2015 to undertake an assessment of its national standardization secretariat. The NSS in Zambia has established technical committees mirroring Questions in ITU-T study groups 2, 5, 12, 13, 15 and 16. Training on how to establish an NSS was also given at the ITU Regional Standardization Forum for Asia Pacific Region from 27 to 28 October in Jakarta, Indonesia, attended by some 30 participants from 11 countries.
T.2-2 Workshops and seminars, including offline and online training activities, complementing the capacity-building work on bridging the standardization gap undertaken in ITU-D
The
'BSG Hands-On Study Group effectiveness training' is a new ITU-T training programme under Resolution 44 (WTSA-12) for delegates from developing countries. The training focuses on the development of practical skills to maximize the effectiveness of developing countries' participation in the ITU-T standardization process, covering topics including strategies for participation in Study Groups, drafting Contributions, presenting proposals, collaborative working methods and means of gaining support and building consensus. The first two Geneva-based trainings were held on 19 and 22 January 2016, for delegates to Study Groups 2, 9, and 12. 40 participants from 22 countries participated, and further trainings have been requested.
TSB and BDT jointly organize annual Regional ICT Standardization Forums as part of activities under WTSA Resolution 44 on bridging the standardization gap. The Forums discuss current activities of ITU-T study groups, regional groups and ITU-T focus groups, with the objective of engaging more developing countries in ITU-T standardization work.
The following Forums took place in 2015: Regional Standardization Forums in Africa (24-25 March 2015), Americas (21 September 2015, back-to-back with PCC.I meeting), Asia-Pacific (27-28 October 2015), and the Arab Region (20 December 2015). In 2016, further Regional Standardization Forums are planned in the regions to engage more developing countries in ITU-T standardization work.
Since the 1990s, TSB and BDT have been jointly organizing Regional Economic and Financial Forums that are held back-to-back with meetings of regional groups within ITU-T Study Group 3. Every year, four such joint meetings are held in the regions of Africa, Asia-Oceania, the Arab States, and Latin America & the Caribbean.
T.2-3 Outreach and promotion
ITU-wide newslog pages are well visited and often spur media attention. Six of the ten most-read stories on the ITU-wide newslog in 2015 were ITU-T-focused and produced by TSB.
Fifteen ITU-T-focused ITU press releases were issued in the period between May and December 2015. Levels of worldwide coverage were highest for the announcement of the establishment of ITU-T Study Group 20, as well as announcements of the formation of the ITU-T Focus Group on IMT-2020 and the extension of the Focus Group's lifetime. Press releases are distributed with supplemental notes to technical editors in certain cases, a return to past practice valued by media outlets covering standardization.
The ITU blog (called "
itu4u") was introduced in 2012 to carry by-lined 'opinion' pieces. Four of the five most-read stories on the ITU blog in 2015 were standardization-focused and produced by TSB.
In the second half of 2015, two events led by ITU-T were organized as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations (
http://itu150.org/event-listing/), "Let's roam the world: The ITU Global Strategic Dialogue on International Mobile Roaming" at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, 18 September 2015; and
ITU Kaleidoscope 2015: Trust in the Information Society hosted by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, 9-11 December 2015.
