Page 12 - SAMENA Trends - September-October 2022

FEATURED SAMENA TRENDS

ITUPP-BUCHAREST 2022

UN Member States Elect Five Leaders at the ITU

Member States of the International "Whether it's today's children or our The Secretary-General-elect has pledged
Telecommunication Union (ITU) have children's children, we need to provide them “to continue driving this institution to be
elected Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the United with a strong and stable foundation for innovative and increasingly relevant for our
States of America as the organization's growth," Bogdan-Martin said. “The world is Member States, better positioning all of
next Secretary-General. facing significant challenges – escalating us to embrace the digital environment and
Bogdan-Martin will be the first woman to conflicts, a climate crisis, food security, make progress on achieving UN Sustainable
lead ITU, which was established in 1865 gender inequalities, and 2.7 billion people Development Goals and connecting the
and became a United Nations specialized with no access to the Internet. I believe unconnected."
agency in 1947. we, the ITU and our members, have an
opportunity to make a transformational Bogdan-Martin was endorsed by her
The election took place during ITU's contribution. Continuous innovation can country's government as a candidate
Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-22) in and will be a key enabler to facilitate to make the digital future inclusive and
Bucharest, Romania, on Thursday, with resolution of many of these issues." accessible for everyone, especially in
representatives of Member States voting developing countries.
during the meeting's morning session. Bogdan-Martin will begin her four-year term
Bogdan-Martin won the position with 139 as ITU Secretary-General on 1 January As chief architect of ITU's development
votes, out of 172 votes cast. 2023. work in recent years, Bogdan-Martin

12 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022