​​PP-14 Highlights

Issue N°11. 5-7 November 2014: Connect 2020: A global ICT agenda from Busan
The ITU 19th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) ended on 7 November, with 150 countries having signed its Final Acts. More than 51 resolutions, including 21 new resolutions were approved by PP-14 and address the current and future ICT agenda of the global community...

Issue N°10. 4 November 2014: Busan responds to global issues that need global solutions
Committees 3 (Budget Control), 5 (Legal and Policy) and 6 (Administration and Management), and the Working Group of the Plenary completed their work on Tuesday, 4 November. Many revised and new resolutions are now with the Editorial Committee (Committee 4) for refinement before their submission to the plenary for final approval. This issue of the Highlights looks at the final work done in some of these committees, as well as in the Working Group of the Plenary. It also gives a snapshot of Tuesday's plenary...

Issue N°9. 3 November 2014: Conference moves into top gear as it enters final week
The conference began its third and final week on Monday, 3 November by approving a number of revised and new resolutions submitted for its endorsement by its Working Group of the Plenary (WGPL), Committee 5 (Legal and Policy), and Committee 6 (Administration and Management)...

Issue N°8. 29-31​​ October 2014: Global flight tracking for civil aviation
The loss of Malaysia's Flight MH370 has spurred worldwide discussions on global flight tracking and the need for ITU and other relevant organizations to coordinate action within the scope of their respective mandates. On 30 October, the Plenipotentiary Conference which has been addressing this matter through its Committee 5 approved a new resolution titled "Global flight tracking for civil aviation"...

Issue N°7. 28​​ October 2014: Gender equality and mainstreaming - Winners of the GEM-TECH Awards 2014
Seven winners received the Gender Equality and Mainstreaming Technology (GEM-TECH) Awards 2014 here in Busan on 28 October at a plenary session of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. ITU and UN Women launched this new global annual technology award in June 2014 to recognize individuals or organizations that demonstrate a commitment to advancing gender equality and women's empowerment through information and communication technologies (ICT)...

Issue N°6. 27​​ October 2014: Conference elects new Radio Regulations Board and ​​​ITU Council Member States for 2015-2018​
On 27 October, the conference elected the new 12-member Radio Regulations Board (RRB) and the 48 Member States that will constitute ITU Council for the next four years, concluding one of the key items of the PP-14 agenda...

Issue N°5. 24​​ October 2014: Conference completes elections of top ITU executives​
Week one of the conference ended with the elections on 24 October of Malcolm Johnson as the next Deputy Secretary-General of ITU, François Rancy re-elected as Director of ITU's Radiocommunication Bureau, Brahima Sanou re-elected as Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau, and Chaesub Lee elected as Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. Secretary-General Elect Houlin Zhao was elected on 23 October...

Issue N°4. 23​​ October 2014: Conference elects Houlin Zhao as the next Secretary General of ITU​
Elections got under way on 23 October 2014, with the conference electing Houlin Zhao as the next Secretary-General, with 152 votes out of 152 countries present and voting. The required majority was 77. Mr Zhao was sole candidate for the post. "I feel deeply moved that you have unanimously and enthusiastically elected me as the new Secretary-General of ITU, entrusting me the honour of leading our beloved organization for the next four years...

Issue N°3. 22 October 2014: Spotlighting resolutions on emergency telecommunications, ​the environment and climate change...
The first meeting of the Working Group of the Plenary (WGPL) took place on Wednesday, 22 October 2014, under the group's Chairman Musab Abdulla (Bahrain). Mr Abdulla gave an overview of the proposals allocated by the Plenary to his group (Document DT/7). In total, WGPL will review 81 proposals and 334 pages of text in 15 sessions, representing 33 hours of work. In view of this workload, the Chairman sought the support of all delegations to limit the number of ad hoc groups...

Issue N°2, 21 October 2014: Busy day in run-up to elections
A special breakfast with women ministers took place on 21 October, ahead of the first edition of the joint ITU and UN Women Gender Equality and Mainstreaming in Technology Awards (GEM-Tech Awards). GEM-Tech Awards aim to recognize outstanding performers and role models in gender equality and mainstreaming in information and communication technologies...

Issue N°1, 20 October 2014: Building digital bridges in Busan
President Park Guen-hye of the Republic of Korea graced the opening of ITU's 19th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) with her presence.  The three-week conference (20 October-7 November) got off to a dynamic start at BEXCO Center in the coastal city of Busan. The opening ceremony was addressed by the Republic of Korea's Minister for Science, ICT and Future Planning, Yanghee Choi; the Mayor of Busan City, Byung-soo Suh;  ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré; United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon via a video message;  and President Park  (in that order)...