Egypt to host ITU’s 2016 Global Symposium for Regulators

Organized by ITU and hosted by the Government of Egypt, the event will welcome world-class speakers with a dynamic programme focused around the hot topics challenging today’s ICT regulators.

“ITU’s Global Symposium for Regulators has quickly grown into the world’s pre-eminent gathering of the global ICT regulatory community,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “A transparent, best-practice regulatory framework is indispensable to the growth of new ICT markets and services. The GSR offers a unique opportunity for regulators to engage in a dialogue around priorities and concerns directly with industry leaders, to showcase their successes, and to learn from the experiences of other policy-makers tackling similar challenges. This is what makes GSR a must-attend event for the global ICT policy-making community.”

The Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, Brahima Sanou, expressed his thanks to the Government of Egypt and to the National Telecommunication Authority of Egypt (NTRA) for having offered to host GSR-16. “I am impressed with the event venue and the facilities, as well as the dedication of the host country team who are doing their utmost to stage a successful GSR and ensure a memorable and safe visit for all GSR-16 participants,” he said.

“This Host Agreement is a confirmation of the good cooperation and long relationship between the NTRA and ITU,” said Mustafa Abdul Wahid, acting Chairman of the NTRA, signing the agreement on behalf of the Government of Egypt. “The NTRA looks forward to implementing more projects with ITU.”

A series of GSR pre-events will take place on 11 May, including a Thematic Pre-Conference ‘Global Dialogue on Digital Financial Inclusion’ held with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and in collaboration with other partners.

A Regional Regulatory Associations Meeting and a private-sector Chief Regulatory Officers Meeting will also be held on 11 May.

The theme for GSR-16 is Be Empowered, Be Included: Building Blocks for Smart Societies in a Connected World.

May 12 and 13 will host the sessions of the Global Regulators-Industry Dialogue (GRID), which are open to regulators, policy makers and members of ITU’s Development Sector. On 14 May, there will be two parallel tracks, a Regulators’ track, open only to regulators and policy makers, and an Industry track, open to ITU-D sector members. The final closing ceremony will be open to all participants.

GSR-16 allows regulators, policy makers, industry leaders and other key ICT stakeholders to share their views, engage in interactive discussions and identify best practices moving forward, not only in the ICT/telecommunications sector, but also in terms of how ICT/telecommunications interacts with other regulation in today’s increasingly interconnected and collaborative ICT-based environment.