“Innovating together: connectivity that matters” – ITU Telecom World ‘19

The International Telecommunication Union in conjunction with partners is holding the ITU Telecom World ’19, in Budapest, Hungary from the 9th to the 12th of September 2019.

The theme of this edition is ‘Innovating together: connectivity that matters’ and brings a cross spectrum of participants from governments, private sector, practitioner and academia. The 5 day events will see dynamic sessions, parallel sessions, interviews, ITU Telecom Awards and the exhibition.

FAO is supporting three sessions during this week. These are

Wednesday, 10 September 2019

Theme: Developing Digital Agriculture Strategies in Europe and Central Asia Session

Summary: Held within the framework of the ITU Regional Initiative for Europe on Information and Communication Technology-centric Innovation Ecosystems, which aims to establish a sustainable culture of innovation through concrete strategic actions using ICTs as an enabler,&nsbp;this session will bring together high-level stakeholders from ICT and agriculture ministries and regulatory bodies. It will provide a unique opportunity for dialogue and discussion between ITU, FAO, ministers and regulators in the e-agriculture domain, focusing on sharing best practices and case studies, highlighting gaps and identifying sustainable funding models to support e-agriculture. It will create a platform to strengthen national, international and cross-sectoral cooperation in e-agriculture strategies and cross-border regulation systems.

Moderators

• Ms Sophie Treinen, Information and Knowledge Management Officer, FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia

• Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe, International Telecommunication Union

Wednesday, 10 September 2019

Meeting on International Digital Council for Food and Agriculture

Summary.This workshop will be held within the framework of the GFFA communique , whereas on 19 January 2019, the agriculture ministers of 74 nations adopted a number of resolutions stated in a political communiqué about digitalization in agriculture issued during Forum. The common voice of the ministers states the need for an International Digital Council for Food and Agriculture that will take action on global digitalization of agriculture and food sector and ask FAO in consultation with other stakeholders including ITU, the World Bank, African Development Bank, IFAD, OECD, WTO, OIE and CTA to draw, based on this communiqué, a concept for considering the establishment of the Council, that will advise governments and other relevant actors, drive the exchange of ideas and experiences and consequently help everyone harness the opportunities presented by the digitalization.

The workshop will aims to gather a broad range of stakeholders, understand their perspectives and invite them to collect and share ideas and draw recommendations regarding the guidance principles, roles, involved stakeholders and functionalities that would be needed in building an International Digital Council for Food and Agriculture.  

The session consists from two main aspects: 

1. Discuss on the existing progress and agree on already pre-designed guidance principles, roles, stakeholders and functionalities; and
2. Streamline and highlight different ideas from officials regarding guiding principles, roles, stakeholders and functionalities.

Wednesday, 10 September 2019

Accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Europe: ICT4SDG Regional Initiatives

Summary: Cooperation and collaboration are crucial accelerators for ICT development and digital transformation. Given the lack of barriers characterizing the digital world, standardization, sharing experiences and harmonisation of practices are essential to build a better world. Understanding and exchanging common and best practices in the UN system is a key component to accelerating achievement ofthe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This session aims at enhancing knowledge on the issues and good practices faced by UN institutions in achieving and delivering the SDGs through ICTs. It provides an opportunity to address common issues and provides a space to strengthen further collaboration and create new partnerships within the system, especially, but not only, in the European Region. 

Moderators

• Mr. Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe, International Telecommunication Union