<font face="Calibri" size="3">
<p dir="LTR" align="JUSTIFY">
<font face="Calibri" size="3">n light of the frequency and magnitude of recent natural
disasters, and in line with the Hyderabad Action Plan adopted by the World Telecommunication
Development Conference in 2010 (WTDC-10), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
(MIC) Japan and ITU are jointly organizing a Symposium on <strong>Disaster Communications</strong><b> </b>on<b> </b><strong>16
March 2012 in Sendai City, at the </strong>Sendai International Center<b> </b>(</font><a href="http://www.sira.or.jp/icenter/english/index.html"><span lang="EN"><font face="Calibri">http://www.sira.or.jp/icenter/english/index.html</font></span></a><span lang="EN"><font face="Calibri"> and </font></span> <span lang="EN"><a href="../../../itu-d/emergencytelecoms"> <font face="Calibri">www.itu.int/itu-d/emergencytelecoms/events.html</font></a></span>)
</p>
<p dir="LTR" align="JUSTIFY">
<span lang="EN"><font face="Calibri" size="3"> The event will focus on the application
of telecommunications/ICTs for the purpose of disaster preparedness, mitigation, response
and recovery. Lessons will be mainly drawn from Japan that is currently involved in
recovery efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March, 2011. The
one-day symposium will be followed by an excursion around Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture,
one of the affected areas. </font></span>
</p>
<font face="Calibri" size="3">
<p dir="LTR" align="JUSTIFY">
<font face="Calibri" size="3">The symposium will be held back-to-back with Rapporteur
Group meetings for<b> </b>Questions 22-1/2, 10-3/2, 11-3/2, 25/2 (15 March-21 March
2012). For the full description of each Study Questions, please visit: </font><a href="../../../net3/ITU-D/stg/index.aspx"> <span lang="EN"><font face="Calibri" size="3"> http://www.itu.int/net3/ITU-D/stg/index.aspx</font></span></a>
</p>
<p>
<span style="font-weight: 700"> <font size="2">The venue for the workshop is:</font></span>
</p>
<p>
<font size="2"><span style="font-weight: 700">Sendai Internation Centre</span></font>
</p>
<p>
Aobayama,
<br>
Aoba-ku,
<br>
Sendai,
<br>
980-0856 Japan<br>
<font size="3"><font size="3">Click <a href="../../emergencytelecoms/events.html"> here</a> to
read more.</font></font>
<br>
</p>
</font></font>
<p>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=da0bb3c0-ad66-4b9d-9142-5f4d68f2a345" />
<h4 dir="ltr"><font size="3"><font size="2">Emergency satellite communications platform
bolsters global humanitarian intervention</font>
<br>
</font>
</h4>
<font size="3">
<p>
<img src="../../emergencytelecoms/images/Itu-Luxem/Photo-Min+%20Dir%20signing.JPG" align="right" border="1" height="282" width="416">ITU
and the Government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg have agreed to cooperate on strengthening
emergency telecommunications and rapid response in the event of natural disasters.
ITU and Luxembourg are members of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC),
comprising of UN agencies and other humanitarian partners.<br>
<br>
The Government of Luxembourg has developed a nomadic satellite-based telecommunication
system – ‘emergency.lu’ – aimed at assisting humanitarian agencies respond to communities
affected by natural disasters, conflicts or protracted crises. This platform will
be available as a global public good to the international humanitarian community as
of 1 January 2012, with Luxembourg funding its development, implementation, operation
and maintenance to the tune of € 17.2 million.<br>
<br>
Under the umbrella of the “ITU Framework for Cooperation in Emergencies” (IFCE), ITU
will encourage its 193 Member States to use the ‘emergency.lu’ platform and facilitate
the rapid deployment of emergency telecommunication systems in the event of a sudden-onset
disaster, or a longer-term deployment in chronic or recurrent humanitarian contexts
or as part of a preparedness strategy in developing countries. ITU will negotiate
appropriate regulatory and legal frameworks with Administrations, particularly Telecommunications
Regulatory Authorities, to assist in the deployment. IFCE is an ITU communications
initiative to assist the humanitarian community in disaster response. IFCE and emergency.lu
will be jointly and individually deployed within two hours of notification using every
possible means, including custom-fitted aircraft, depending on the nature and magnitude
of the disaster. <font size="3">Click <a href="../../../net/pressoffice/press_releases/2011/52.aspx"> here</a> to
read more.</font>
<br>
<img src="../../emergencytelecoms/images/Itu-Luxem/Lux-gov.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="102" width="306">
</p>
</font>
<p>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=f1a977ef-a12a-4117-b7d3-58ef054bb2c8" />
<p>
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) jointly with PORTRAZ a Multi-stakeholder
workshop on the use of Telecommunications/ICT for Disaster Management: Saving Lives
that took place in Harare, Zimbabwe, 28-30 November 2011. The purpose of this
event was to bring together the main stakeholders active in the dissemination of ICTs
and their use for disaster mitigation, and to serve as a forum in which they can map
out concrete strategies and adopt practical measures aimed at giving ICTs a central
role to play in disaster prevention and management, i.e. <strong>early warning, preparedness,
relief and response</strong>.
</p>
<p>
Venue :
</p>
<p>
Rainbow Towers Hotel
<br>
Jacaranda 3
<br>
Harare
<br>
</p>
<p>
<font size="3"><font size="3">Click <a href="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emergencytelecoms/events.html"> here</a> to
read more.</font></font>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=eb5728ce-a8e1-4176-be9e-6eeb87ac32e0" />
<p>
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) participated in the five-day workshop
- “Emergency Communications, Climate Change, E-Waste and Cyber Security Awareness
Workshop” organized by the Zambia ICT Authority (ZICTA). The event was held
in Lusaka, Zambia from 28 November to 02 December 2011.
</p>
<p>
The Forum brought together country representatives, international organizations, civil
protection and enforcement agencies, academic institutions and other stakeholders
involved in disaster management, envionment, regulation, cybercrime and cybersecurity
to discuss the role of telecommunications/ICTs in improving lives. The Forum’s
main goal was to sensitize the stakeholders in Zambia in relation to topics covered
during the five day workshop.
</p>
<p>
The event raised many important issues, including:
</p>
<p>
Role of telecommunications/ICTs in disaster management<br>
Tampere Convention, the importance of its ratification<br>
National Emergency Telecommunications Plan, Early Warning System<br>
Country experiences in disaster management<br>
Cybercrime and Cybersecurity<br>
ICT Regulation and Enablement<br>
e-Waste Management and Environment<br>
Climate Change Adaptation and ICTs
</p>
<p>
<font size="3"><font size="3">Click <a href="../../emergencytelecoms/events.html"> here</a> to
read more.</font></font>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=415381af-9a23-4612-bd0c-8fea453ddffe" />
<p>
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will actively participate at the second
forum on standardization . The theme of the Forum - “Saving Lives through Emergency
Telecommunications” is organized by the Agence des Télécommunications de Côte d’Ivoire
(ATCI). The event will be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast from 16-18 November 2011.
</p>
<p>
The Forum will bring together country representatives, international organizations,
civil protection agencies, academic institutions and other stakeholders involved in
disaster management to discuss the role of telecommunications/ICTs in saving lives.
</p>
<p>
The event will raise some important issues, among others as:
</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>
Role of telecommunications/ICTs in disaster management
</li>
<li>
Tampere Convention, the importance of its ratification
</li>
<li>
National Emergency Telecommunications Plan
</li>
<li>
Country experiences in disaster management
</li>
</ul>
<p>
The event will be conducted in French.
</p>
<p>
Should you have any questions regarding the organization of the seminar or need any
further information, please contact:
</p>
<p>
Doua Pascal<br>
Sous Directeur de l'homologation et de la Normalisation<br>
Agence des Télécommunications de Côte d'Ivoire(atci)<br>
Marcory Anoumanbo<br>
Tel +22520344202<br>
doua (at) atci.ci
</p>
<p>
<span style="font-weight: 700"> <font size="2">The venue for the workshop is:</font></span>
</p>
<p>
Complexe CRRAE UMOA
<br>
Avenue Botreau Roussel
<br>
Abidjan Plateau<br>
<a href="http://g.co/maps/gw22q">Google map</a>
</p>
<font size="3"><font size="3">Click <a href="../../emergencytelecoms/events.html"> here</a> to
read more.</font></font> <img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=ee916705-c614-46e6-8576-b9b41431d0f5" />
<p class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal">
<span lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt"><font color=#000000 size=2>When it comes to
disaster management, there are quite a few aid organizations around the world who
arrive quickly to the spot to help with whatever help required starting from food,
to medicines and even ICT.<br>
<br>
But Japan’s worst earthquake in decades that is leading to a nuclear crisis as well
has raised a peculiar problem. How do international agencies reach with aid, particularly
technology aid, when a disaster has the potential to endanger the lives of the helpers
who are not locals?<br>
<br>
In Japan for instance, Télécoms San Frontières</font><font color=#000000 size=2> (TSF)
-- or Telecom Without Borders -- the France-based NGO that specializes in setting
up emergency telecommunications in disaster hit areas around the world, was one of
the first international aid agencies to reach Japan for setting up an emergency telecommunication
network in the affected areas.<br>
<br>
But when Japan’s beleaguered nuclear power plants started spewing out nuclear radiation,
TSF had to hastily retreat. According to TSF, concerned by the threat its staff faced
due to the radiation hazard, TSF was forced to pull out yesterday; with bag, equipments
and baggage, so to speak.<br>
<br>
One organization that was able to tackle this eventuality smartly was UN’s </font><a href="http://www.itu.int/net/about/index.aspx" target=_blank><span style="COLOR: #941d20"><font size=2>International
Telecommunication Union</font></span></a><font color=#000000><font size=2><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> (ITU).
ITU too dispatched its emergency telecommunications equipment to areas severely affected
by the tsunami within 24 hours of Friday’s devastating earthquake.<o:p></o:p>
</font></font></span>
</p>
<p>
<span lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font face=Verdana color=#000000 size=2>But
instead of sending its own people, it sent its equipment with detailed and lucidly
composed instruction manuals so that the
<br>
</font></span><span lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font face=Verdana color=#000000 size=2>local
agencies operating on spot could deploy them easily.</font></span>
</p>
<p>
<span lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font face=Verdana color=#000000 size=2>Click <a href="http://www.digitalcommunities.com/blogs/international/ITU-Deploys-Emergency-Communication-to-Japan.html">here</a> to
read more.</font></span>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=d59b10e8-9fc9-4135-97c1-1f77ce8fd430" />
<h3 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=left><font size=2>Satellite broadband terminals
deployed following tsunami and volcanic eruption</font>
</h3>
<p>
<b>Geneva, 1 November 2010</b> - ITU has deployed a hybrid of 40 broadband satellite
terminals in an effort to restore vital communication links in the aftermath of a
tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake and a volcanic eruption that hit the
Indonesian archipelago in two separate incidents.
</p>
<p>
As aid and rescue workers battle rough weather and difficult terrain to reach tsunami
victims in the remote Mentawi islands off Sumatra, Mount Merapi continues to spew
super-heated gas and debris on villages in Central Java. The natural disasters have
wreaked havoc, causing untold death and destruction in their wake.
</p>
<p>
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré expressed his solidarity with the people of Indonesia
and offered his condolences to the bereaved victims of the disaster. “The loss of
life and destruction of property as a result of two natural disasters is a matter
of deep concern and I offer my heartfelt condolences to the victims and to the people
of Indonesia,” Dr Touré said. “ITU will do its utmost to provide assistance to people
in the disaster-affected areas by re-establishing telecommunication links which will
be vital in the rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the days ahead.”
</p>
<p>
Click <a href="http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/42.aspx"><font color=#0000ff>here</font></a> to
read more..
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=a6333714-a4d0-4bd1-827b-8f483e88aea1" />
<p itxtvisited="1">
<span class=first-letter itxtvisited="1">P</span>akistan is flooding. People are dying
and being displaced. Food aid distribution is lagging.
<br>
But can they make phone calls?
</p>
<p itxtvisited="1">
An unusual question, perhaps. But a crucial one, nonetheless.
</p>
<p itxtvisited="1">
You see, the United Nations has a division -- the International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) -- that is responsible for rushing into disaster zones to help resurrect
vital telecom infrastructure that has been destroyed. Why is that important?
</p>
<p itxtvisited="1">
We're not talking about allowing people to engage in idle gossip at steep monthly
rates.
</p>
<p itxtvisited="1">
<span class=first-letter itxtvisited="1">W</span>e're talking about cellphone towers
losing electricity or falling into crevices, about shifting tectonic plates rupturing
fixed-line phone service, about rooftop antennas in crowded urban areas collapsing
into rubble, about flood waters shutting down power generators to various parts of
a mobile network.
</p>
<p itxtvisited="1">
Without any of this, government agencies can't distribute all the aid your donations
have provided, can't co-ordinate with humanitarian agencies to figure out where the
need for medical services is the greatest and can't, in short, respond to the crisis
properly.
</p>
<p itxtvisited="1">
For citizens, it's even more frightening. During the Haiti earthquake, as with many
disasters, family members didn't know whether their loved ones were alive. People
were texting SOS messages from beneath the rubble -- and having their text messages
join a long queue created by the strained wireless networks (a data backlog situation
that also happened, if you recall, when Sidney Crosby scored his momentous goal for
Team Canada). That's why there's other groups, as well, such as Télécoms Sans Frontières.
</p>
<p itxtvisited="1">
For more in this article please go to: <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/globe-on-technology/food-shelter-phone-service/article1684892/">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/globe-on-technology/food-shelter-phone-service/article1684892/</a>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=e311a836-ae3b-447f-a6e3-72f8ea0bd343" />
<div id=PhotoHolder style="WIDTH: 180px"><img title="" src="http://www.un.org/News/dh/photos/2009/23-09-2009itu.jpg" border=1>
<p class=phtocaption>
</p>
</div>
<p>
<span class=fullstory>3 February 2010 – </span><span class=fullstory>Three weeks after
the earthquake in Haiti, the International Telecommunication Union (<a href="http://www.itu.int/en/pages/default.aspx"><strong><font color=#993300>ITU</font></strong></a>),
the United Nations’ oldest agency, is still trying to re-establish reliable telephone
and internet connections in the country, but also has long-term plans to help build
state-of-the-art telecommunication networks there.
</p>
<p>
“We are working with the Haitian Government and operators to put in place telecommunication
infrastructure that could be used for efficient and effective disaster management
and for the general socio-economic development of the country,” Cosmas Zavazava, Chief
of Emergency Telecommunications at the ITU, told the UN News Centre.
<p>
“Our aim is to help Haiti mobilize and deploy different kinds of technologies to mitigate
the impacts of disasters. Reliable telecommunication systems can be complemented with
remote sensing and GIS [geographic information systems] technology. In disaster management,
a hybrid of these technologies is important,” Mr. Zavazava added.
</p>
<p>
<br>
For more information, go to UN News Centre at: <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33668&Cr=haiti&Cr1">http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33668&Cr=haiti&Cr1</a>
</p>
<p>
>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=c57b8da3-3a7f-4477-8763-f5db1f7601b9" />
<p>
<strong><em>Phone lines and cell phone towers are among the casualties in Port-au-Prince,
after the worst earthquake in the region in 200 years. The International Telecommunication
Union, the ITU, has announced that it is deploying equipment and experts to establish
emergency telecommunications services in the affected areas. Bissera Kostova spoke
to ITU's Chief of Emergency Telecommunications, Cosmas Zavazava, about the operation.</em></strong>
</p>
<p>
Zavazava: <a href="http://www.itu.int/home/">ITU</a>, as the specialized agency of
the United Nations in providing information and communications technologies has allocated
a budget of slightly over one million US dollars for purposes of deploying telecommunications
resources by way of satellite based solutions, which are capable of providing voice
communications and high speed data, which can be used, of course, for telemedicine
facilities to help the injured and those who are maimed.
</p>
<p>
For more information, go to UN Radio news at: <a href="http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/89075.html">http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/89075.html</a>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/emt/newsroom/aggbug.ashx?id=aac285af-4579-41b1-a4ad-173909336a0f" />
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