The 2006 World Telecommunication Development Conference of the International Telecommunication Union has closed with the adoption of The Doha Action Plan. This initiative, which sets out five global initiatives and other lines of action, aims to encourage the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) as a way to promote development and bridge the digital divide.
The conference, which took place in Doha and brought together 969 participants, was the first global conference after the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held in November 2005 in Tunis. Many of the lines of action set out by the summit have been followed by Doha Action Plan, especially in respect to ICT development, policy and regulation, electronic applications, radio spectrum management and universal access.
The six programmes put forward by the plan focus on the following areas:
- Regulatory reform;
- Information and communication infrastructure and technology development;
- E-strategies and ICT applications;
- Economics and financing, including cost and tariffs;
- Human capacity building;
- Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Emergency Telecommunications.
The plan also highlights the importance of women, youth and children, indigenous people and communities, people with disabilities and isolated communities in actions that go to achieve universal access. In addition, ITU has included in its programme for the next four years the study and evaluation of the question of access to telecommunication services for people with disabilities.
In view of recent natural disasters, many of which had a dramatic impact on less developed countries, emergency telecommunications, and in particular early-warning systems and disaster preparedness and mitigation systems, have now been included in the programme for least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS). Other subjects of study include communication network security issues and the impact of telecommunication development on job creation.
The Doha Action Plan also sets out regional initiatives, aimed at integrating development activities into long term projects with high potential for impact. The different regions agreed by consensus to group their initiatives into five categories and to select five projects that best serve the region’s priorities. In this way the countries involved will be in a better position to attract the large-scale investment needed for many of their projects.
In his closing remarks, Mr Hamadoun Touré, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, affirmed that, "Doha has set the pace for the objectives of the World Summit on the Information Society to close the digital divide and harness the full potential of information and communication technologies to achieve the development goals by 2015."
Further information:
- World Telecommunication Development Conference, 7 to 15 March 2006 (Doha, Qatar) http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/wtdc06/index.html
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- ITU - International Telecommunication Union https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=66695
