"#
! $% ' (
& '
) + ",
"' "* #
(
- . ' )
& '
/ 0
NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR OF BDT
REPORT ON PRIVATE SECTOR/SECTOR MEMBERS ACTIVITIES
AMERICAS REGION
The Americas Region is making plans for the holding of the next meeting of the Working Group
dealing with Private Sector Issues (WGPS) on the occasion of the joint event to be held between
ITU and CITEL to promote the association between Member States and the private sector with the
aim of enhancing the development of telecommunications in the Americas Region. The WGPS
event will be held on 21 April 2008 at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC (United States), on the
day before the start of the eleventh meeting of CITEL's Permanent Consultative Committee II
(Radiocommunication), to be held at the same venue from 22 to 25 April 2008.
The private-sector meeting is an open meeting intended to promote ITU-D's activities and projects
and get private companies interested in becoming Sector Members or otherwise becoming involved
in the pursuit of those activities and projects.
Joint actions with the private sector are currently being planned in the following areas:
– E-health: On the occasion of the recent Connect Africa Summit, held in Kigali (Rwanda)
in October 2007, BDT and NEC Argentina signed a cooperation agreement with the aim of
developing an e-health project for hospitals in border regions that could be applied in the
border areas between Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. NEC's contribution would be based
on one of ITU's objectives, namely to support the countries and subregions of the Americas
Region in the strategic planning of infrastructure development, with the aim of boosting
connectivity in rural areas and marginalized and isolated urban areas, with particular
emphasis on the needs of indigenous peoples, rural schools, medical units, vulnerable
sectors of society, health and education, in addition to which it would be related to the
regional initiative on rural connectivity in the Americas Region.
– Development of indigenous peoples: Within the context of the activities envisaged by ITU
for the development of indigenous peoples in the Americas Region in the current year, and
specifically for the implementation of two actions – development of a regional indigenous
portal for the Americas and setting up of a telecentre in the Indigenous People's Memorial
in Brasilia (Brazil) – it is hoped that the private sector will be lending its support. ITU is
developing the indigenous portal with the collaboration and assistance of indigenous
-2–
WGPS-08-6/5-E
peoples from the region, the intention being to transfer ownership of the portal to
indigenous representatives from the region during an event to be held in Brasilia (Brazil) in
August 2008. Through a partnership with the Brazilian television station "Rede Globo", we
are proposing the nomination of the station's president, Mr Roberto Marinho, as the
Honourable Patron of actions for the inclusion of indigenous peoples and are counting on
the station's collaboration for the holding of the event, which will take place in the
Intercultural Telecentre set up by ITU, with the support of the Government of the Federal
District of Brazil and in association with the operating agency Brasil Telecom, which is
providing us with the necessary connectivity. The association with Rede Globo and Brasil
Telecom is of great importance, since both are key players in the Brazilian communication
and telecommunication sphere.
______________