World Telecommunication and Information Society Award for protecting children
online
Geneva, 15 June 2009 — President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva of Brazil visited
ITU today where he received the World Telecommunication and Information Society
Award.
Accepting the award, President Lula said he was pleased to see international
recognition for the efforts of the Brazilian government to promote digital
inclusion and a safe and democratic virtual space, especially for children and
adolescents. "We are determined to fight digital exclusion, which is today one
of the major constraints in the quest for development," President Lula said.
"To reduce inequalities we need to increase access to modern communication
technologies to a larger number of people. Access to technologies should go
beyond the communications infrastructure dimension. People should be able to
use these technologies in a critical and interactive way. This is important to
promote the involvement of all people in the knowledge society."
President Lula described measures by his government to promote digital
inclusion, such as connecting urban public schools to broadband Internet,
distributing portable computers to students and teachers in elementary public
schools and establishing telecentres where students can learn, study and
entertain themselves. He said Brazil has reduced taxes on IT solutions and
promoted open software to reduce cost and to build an inclusive people-centred
information society linked to development.
President Lula congratulated ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré for
launching the Global Cybersecurity Agenda. He noted that the World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS) had given ITU a mandate to strengthen
cybersecurity and said ITU is the right place to coordinate this endeavour. He
said, "The challenge of cybercrimes demonstrates the importance of discussing
and debating Internet governance. WSIS concluded that Internet governance
should be transparent and democratic with the participation of governments and
civil society. ITU should be part of this effort."
President Lula added, "In fighting paedophiles, ITU could define standards that
could be adopted by all countries. We need a multilateral instrument that would
stimulate effective international cooperation."
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) brings attention to
the potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) in meeting
the development and economic aspirations of societies and on the importance of
the Internet as a global resource. The theme for 2009 is Protecting Children in
Cyberspace.
WTISD marks the establishment of ITU in 1865.
Welcoming President Lula to ITU, Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré noted that
Brazil became a Member State of ITU in 1877. "Brazil and ITU have enjoyed a
long and fruitful partnership, based on shared values of multilateralism and
respect," Dr Touré said. "In 1906, following the invention of radio, Brazil was
one of 27 countries which signed the first Radiotelegraph Convention. We share
a long and distinguished history of excellent cooperation, and we look forward
to continuing this tradition of mutual support and respect."
Along with the World Telecommunication and Information Society Award, Dr Touré
gifted President Lula with a copy of the instrument of ratification to the
International Telecommunication Convention signed in Atlantic City on 15 August
1949.
Citing Brazil’s remarkable progress in ICT development, Dr Touré said that it
is at the forefront of the wireless revolution: "Brazil has 155 million
cellular phones of which 5 million are 3G terminals already in operation,
giving it a mobile teledensity of almost 80 per cent. At the beginning of 2009,
over a third of the Brazilian population was online, and Brazil had over ten
million fixed broadband subscribers and close to three million mobile broadband
subscriptions."
Dr Touré added that Brazil is one of the world’s great satellite powers and has
operated both geostationary and non-geostationary satellite networks since the
early 1970’s. "Given the large dimension of your country, space systems play a
vital role in helping connect remote populations as well as in remote sensing,
monitoring climate change and resource exploration," Dr Touré said.
For more information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
ITU
Tel: +41 22 730 5046
Mobile: +41 79 249 4861
E-mail: sanjay.acharyaitu.int
(Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India)
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