" ITREALMS: ICT4All expo to attract 40,000 participants

Thursday, October 27, 2005

ICT4All expo to attract 40,000 participants

A five-day Information and Communication Technology (ICT) trade fair, also known as ‘ICT4All’ for 2005, would attract over 40,000 participants including chief executive officers of private organizations, according to United Nations official.

ICT4All exhibition is organized along with the main World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

This year’s edition, holding in Tunis as part of the WSIS second phase is due to start on November 15, a day earlier before the official opening of the summit at Kram Pla Expo and to end on Saturday, November 19.

Mr. Edoardo Bellando of the United Nations Department of Public Information, said that companies from developed and developing countries would showcase innovative ideas and practical solutions, meet and forge new partnerships.

“Some 40,000 visitors are expected to attend ICT-for-All’,” he said.

He also said that corporate partners of the Tunisian Organising Committee for WSIS-05 include Alcatel, Ericsson, Huawei, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung and ZTE.

Mr. Bellando recalled that in 2003 at the first phase of WSIS, 175 countries adopted a Declaration of Principles, outlining a common vision of the Information Society and a Plan of Action, which sets targets on how to improve connectivity and access in using ICT.

He noted that the main goal of the event would be to seek avenues of providing better access to developing nations to the internet among other ICTs.

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the 942 million people living in the world's developed economies enjoy five times better access to fixed and mobile phone services, nine times better access to Internet services, and own 13 times more personal computers than the 85 per cent of the world's population living in low and lower-middle income countries.

ITU also estimates that 800,000 villages still lack connection by telephone line, the Internet or any other modern ICT.

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