Thu, 11 Dec 2003 14:48:04 GMT

ITU Brokers Powerful Partnerships at World Information Society Summit.

Building on its 138-year old role as a catalyst and facilitator for better connectivity between and within countries, the International Telecommunication Union is announcing more than 15 new partnerships between governments, industry, international organizations and universities. The announcements were made at the World Summit on the Information Societ and they lay the foundation for further cooperation towards building a truly inclusive information society which is a key goal of the Summit. The ITU partnerships also set an example for other types of alliances needed to deliver the Summitâs which will be endorsed by Heads of State and governments later in the week.

The following is a snapshot of some cross-sectoral and global partnerships, all forged on the road to WSIS, in which ITU plays a key part:

• The World Health Organization (WHO)and ITU are joining forces in their Health Academy to harness ICTs for delivery of vital health information to impoverished areas across the world.
• Turkeyâs Ministry of Health and ITU are collaborating to boost health services and information across the vast and varied country by electronic means.
• To bring faster, cheaper and more reliable communication to remote, mountainous areas of Bhutan, the Government of India will help deliver e-post services to the Bhutanese Postal Service via a USD 400,000 a V-satellite network and solar panels power system. Another USD 40,000 comes from ITU with the remaining USD 10,000 in in-kind contributions from Bhutan Telecom and Post.
• Rascom is Africaâs first transcontinental satellite service, to be used for electronic communication, broadcasting and cellular services. It will support Universal Access projects aimed at bridging Africaâs digital divide through connectivity across Africa and within its cities, with a focus on low-cost solutions for rural areas.

See the ITU press release for a full list of all the partnerships.

[ITU Strategy and Policy Unit Newslog]