The sixth regional ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2004 Exhibition and Forum was held at The Cairo International Conference Center (CICC), Egypt, May 4 - 8, 2004. The event, which was inaugurated by the Egyptian President, Mr. Hosni Mubarak, brought together leading players from government, regional and international operators, manufacturers, regulators and investment bodies to participate in a major exhibition and forum.
The theme of the event was “Access Africa,” a theme under which participants explored the tremendous potential which Africa’s telecommunications market has to offer, examined key trends which have defined the region’s telecoms industry to date and forged constructive alliance to help to shape the industry of the future.
Participants shared their vision on key regional topics such as: successful business models, new infrastructure financing, market liberalization, attracting local and foreign investment, the role of broadband, extending access to education and much more.
The event included keynote speakers such as: Mr. Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), H. E. Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Nazif, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, CEO of Commonwealth Telecommunication Organization (CTO), Ghana, H. E. Mr. Atef Ebied, Prime Minister of Egypt, Mr. Markus Kummer, Head of Secretariat of UN Working Group on Internet Governance, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland.
The United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has chosen Mr. Kummer, a Swiss diplomat, to head the Secretariat for the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). The Working Group is the result of the United Nations Working Group to be established on Internet Governance, resulting from the Declaration of Principles and Action Plan adopted December 12, 2003, at the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
Mr. Kummer made a presentation, in the ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2004, under the theme, Internet Governance: The Way from Geneva to Tunis. Mr. Kummer summarized Geneva WSIS and provided a work plan for the WGIG till Tunis in November 2005 as follows:
- During the first preparatory phase, both the Secretariat and the WGIG will need to be set up. The Secretariat should be fully operational by October 2004. Its first activity will be to assist the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Annan, with the appointment of the Chairperson of the WGIG by June 2004. The remaining members will be selected by the Chairperson. The composition of the WGIG should be completed by October 2004.
- The second phase would begin in October. The WGIG will hold 3 or 4 meetings and two rounds of consolations with all governments and stakeholders in an open-ended format. The WGIG may wish to draw on selected persons and advisers as well as on regional or thematic meetings and workshops, already undertaken or to be held in the future. The report on the 2nd phase of WSIS should be issued not later than July 2005.
- The third phase would begin after the publication of the report. As there would be no further meeting activities of the WGIG, the Secretariat would be scaled down gradually. The WGIG and a core group of Secretariat members would accompany the process until Tunis Summit in November 2005.
ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2004 was organized by the ITU, the specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for telecommunications.