Programme

Master of Ceremony

• Bilel Jamoussi, Chief of ITU-T Study Groups, ITU

09:00 – 09:15

Welcome and Opening

Objectives

The Global Standards Symposium (GSS) was adopted by the ITU Plenipotentiary
(by Resolution 122, Antalya 2006) as a one-day round-table and coordination meeting, to serve as a forum for high-level policy discussions and to provide relevant conclusions to the WTSA.

• H.E. Ms Nele Leosk, Ambassador-at-Large for Digital Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia
• Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General, ITU

09:15 – 09:20

Keynote

• H.E. Mr Nizar Ben Neji, Minister, Ministry of Communication Technologies, Tunisia

09:20 – 10:00

Session 1: World Standards Cooperation Update on Sustainable Digital Transformation for the SDGs

ISO, IEC and ITU have been coordinating and collaborating on the standardization activities related to sustainable digital transformation in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This session will provide a high-level overview of these endeavors and trace the path for the future standardization trajectory to be embraced globally. 

Moderator

• Emmanuelle Ganne, Senior Analyst, World Trade Organization (WTO)

Panellists

• Philippe Metzger, General Secretary and CEO, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General, International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• Chaesub Lee, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), ITU

Q&A

10:00 – 11:00

Session 2: High Level Dialogue on Unlocking the full potential of digital transformation for the SDGs with international standards

Digital transformation is fundamentally altering the global approach to sustainable development adopted by governments, organizations, and industries. International standards are crucial for aligning this unguided journey to the targets of the SDGs to ensure that the benefits of digital transformation trickle down all strata of society across the World. This session will examine the evolution of digital transformation processes in cities and countries and will also delve into the role of international standards in realizing its full potential.

Keynote: H.E. Ms Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister, Ministry for Communications and Digitalisation, Ghana

Moderator

• Bilel Jamoussi, Chief of ITU-T Study Groups, ITU

Panellists

• Martín Olmos, Undersecretary of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Arg​entina
• Joan Ribó, Mayor, Valencia, Spain
• Olga Algayerová, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
• Safder Nazir, Senior Vice President – Digital Industries, Huawei
• Barbara Kolm, Vice President, Austrian Central Bank
• Lars Eggert, Chair, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

Q&A

11:00 – 11:15

Keynote

• Marcus Shingles, CEO, Exponential Destiny, “How the next generation network – an immersive and experiential Metaverse – can “bring to life” and support the SDGs and why interoperability standards are key to achieving success“

Q&A

11:15 – 11:35

Coffee break

11:35 – 12:20

Session 3: Towards people-oriented cities and communities: Driving cross-sectoral digital innovation and transformation

Setting the stage for significant digital transformation requires urban stakeholders to prioritize the needs and concerns of citizens over the implementation of technologies. The agricultural sector, along with other urban verticals, is particularly vulnerable to the disruptive nature of technologies and is burdened by global challenges including sustainability and climate change. This session will explore how digital innovations can be leveraged to meet the demands of citizens and build resiliency in key sectors within smart cities and communities.

Keynote: Okan Geray, Strategic Planning Advisor, Digital Dubai

Moderator

• Javier Garcia Diaz, Director General, Spanish Association for Standardization (UNE), Spain

Panellists

• Cristina Martinez, Deputy Head for Smart technologies for communities, European Commission
• Ramy Ahmed Fathy, Co-Chairman, Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) for Digital Agriculture (FG-AI4A)
• Alexandre Bosshard, Coordinator and Project Manager, Pully, Switzerland
• Bettina Tratz-Ryan, Vice President Research, Gartner
• Hee-Dae Kim, Director General in Digital Transformation Agency, Daegu Technopark

Q&A

12:20 – 12:30

U4SSC Ceremony with Cities

• Chaesub Lee, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), ITU
• H.E. Ms Karoline Edtstadler, Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution, Austria
• Jung Hae-yong, Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs, Daegu, Korea (Republic of)
• Gil Reichen, Mayor, Pully, Switzerland
• Maher Shirah, Director General, Smart City Department, Royal Commission for Riyadh City, Riyadh (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

13:00 – 14:00

Lunch

14:00 – 14:45

Session 4: How can we make digital transformation sustainable? 

While digital transformation has significant potential to reduce global carbon emissions and accelerate other global goals, its negative environmental impacts are growing steadily in parallel. Successful digital transformation needs to focus on operational efficiency while take integrating the tenets of sustainability linked to environmental presentation and socio-economic growth. This session will shed light on this important topic and will discuss how international standards can be leveraged to make digital transformation more sustainable.

Keynote: H.E. Mr Teodoro Willink, Vice -Minister, Telecommunications Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), Costa Rica

Moderator

• Beniamino Gorini, Chairman, ETSI EE

Panellists

• Philippe Tuzzolino, Senior Vice President, Orange
• Per Beming, Vice President, Standard & Industry Initiatives, Ericsson AB
• Paolo Gemma, Co-Chairman, Focus Group on Environmental Efficiency for Artificial Intelligence and other Emerging Technologies (FG-AI4EE)
• Leila Devia, Director, Regional Center for Training and Technology Transfer under the BASILEA Agreement, UNEP
• Susanne Pedersen, Director, UNEP DTU Partnership

Q&A

14:45 – 15:15

Session 5: Artificial intelligence for Road Safety

AI capabilities are turning data on vehicles, road conditions, and other data sources into actionable insights for enhancing road safety. AI, along with other emerging technologies are also contributing to the development of assisted driving functions and autonomous vehicles. This session will delve into how AI can be harnessed to ensure road safety, while preparing the scene for the adoption of international standards and regulatory frameworks on smart and safe mobility.

Keynote: Jean Todt, UN Special Envoy for Road Safety 

Moderator

• Bryn Balcombe, Chairman, Focus Group on AI for autonomous and assisted driving (FG-AI4AD)

Panellists

• James Bradford, Global Technical Director, International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP)
• William Gouse, Director, Federal Program Development, SAE International
• Arianna Legovini, Director, Development Impact Evaluation (DIME), World Bank
• Nhan Tran, Head of Safety and Mobility, World Health Organization (WHO)
• Caitlin Dolkart, Managing Director, Flare, Kenya

Q&A

15:15 – 15:30

Coffee break

15:30 – 16:15

Session 6: Digital health technologies for equitable access to healthcare services

Digital health innovations are making healthcare services more efficient, accurate, and accessible. To bridge the digital divide in healthcare and to cater to an aging global population, digital health technologies can provide functional independence, speedy medical interventions and improve accessibility to basic medical services.  This session will explore the critical role of digital health technologies in enhancing healthcare services for aging population, persons with disabilities and promoting accessibility and the well-being for all.

Keynote: H.E. Ms Khumbudzo Phophi Silence Ntshavheni, Minister, Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies, South Africa (Republic of)

Moderator

• Masahito Kawamori, Project Professor, Keio University, Japan

Panellists

• Petra Wilson, Senior Advisor, Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHA)
• Thomas Wiegand, Chairman, Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (FG-AI4H)
• Leonidas Anthopoulos, Professor, University of Thessaly, Greece
• Yong-Jick Lee, President, Center for Accessible ICT, Korea
• Ivan Caballero, Founder and CEO, Citibeats
• Stefan Germann, CEO, Fondation Botnar

Q&A

16:15 – 17:00

Session 7: Boosting financial inclusion for all with digital transformation 

One of the central promises of the SDGs is to leave no one behind. Digital financial inclusion can directly impact the underserved population, who are at the highest risk of being left behind, by giving them access to formal financial services, which could eliminate poverty, close the gender gap, and initiate inclusive and sustainable growth. This session will examine the role of digital transformation in enhancing financial inclusion and explore how international standards can be implemented could expedite this process.

Moderator

• Ahmed Said, Senior Expert, National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Egypt

Panellists

• Mahesh Uttamchandani, Practice Manager for Financial Inclusion, Infrastructure & Access, World Bank
• Assaf Klinger, Klinger Consulting
• Abbie Barbir, Co-founder, Accountable Digital Identity Association (ADIA)
• Paula Hunter, Executive Director, Mojaloop Foundation
• Liv Marte Kristiansen Nordhaug, Co-Lead, Digital Public Goods Alliance, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Norway
• Deon Woods Bell, Senior Advisor, Global Policy, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Q&A

17:00 – 17:30

Session 8: Adoption of GSS report and closing

The objective of the final session is to adopt the conclusions of the GSS that will include recommendations for action by the ITU membership. The report on conclusions prepared by the GSS steering committee, will be presented to WTSA-20 for appropriate action.

• H.E. Ms Nele Leosk, Ambassador-at-Large for Digital Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia and GSS-20 Chairman