FYI, from http://www.itu.int/AFRICA2008/
ITU PRESENTS ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2008
Comprising a high-calibre Exhibition, a Forum and a whole
lot more, ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2008 will provide a major networking platform for
Africa's top ICT names to come together to focus on the core issues relating to
ICT expansion across the region.
KEY EVENT DETAILS
The Date: 12 - 15 May 2008
The Venue: Cairo International Convention and Exhibition
Centre (CICC), Cairo, Egypt
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FORUM - CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
http://www.itu.int/AFRICA2008/forum/cfa.html
ICTs in Africa: a Continent on the Move
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is pleased
to announce its sixth Regional Event for Africa, ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2008, to be
held in Cairo, Egypt, from 12-15 May 2008.
During ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2004, speakers and delegates of
the Forum noted that following the global telecommunication and information and
communication technology (ICT) industry downturn of the late 1990’s, the
industry was rapidly recovering, thus providing a new window of opportunity for
the African continent. Leaders who gathered at the event agreed that there was
a huge potential for growth in the ICT sector and that emerging economies and
developing countries now had the potential to leapfrog the technology gap,
thanks in particular to the rapid deployment of wireless communications.
Three years later, these predictions have been confirmed,
not only in the ICT sector but also in many other aspects of the African
economy. With a new generation of entrepreneurs, the booming of new
technologies, the design and implementation of new business models and
initiatives, Africa is becoming a competitive and exciting market, and in some
cases, a pioneer of new and far-reaching practices.
The adoption of a new ICT culture by the younger generation
has changed the way Africa is developing; from its image, its cultural scene or
its social development, to its perception of the world and of its own role in
the future.
Such fundamental changes not only offer the opportunity to
develop new commercial approaches. They also challenge the way policies are
established, regulations are developed and applied, and markets are governed to
ensure transparency and smooth development.
In view of the extraordinary wave of change on the
continent, the Forum at ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2008 will focus on innovation. The
ITU TELECOM Forum Committee will consider all proposals discussing really
innovative approaches in the fields of technology, regulation, policy, business
models, economy, finance, agriculture, development, culture, health, life and
society, up to the changes and challenges witnessed on the African continent.
Africa is basing its growth on a new generation of
entrepreneurs and leaders, waiving the traditional and old-fashioned models. If
you consider that you are up to this challenge, please submit a proposal to the
Forum Committee.
