Egypt will host the 16th Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) 2016 that will be organized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in collaboration with the government of Egypt, in Sharm El Sheikh, on May 11-14, under the theme: “Be Empowered, Be Included: Building Blocks for Smart Societies in a Connected World”.
GSR brings together heads of national telecom/ICT regulatory authorities from around the world and has earned a reputation as the global annual venue for regulators to share their views and experiences.
The meeting also fosters a dynamic global dialogue among regulators, policy-makers, industry leaders and other key ICT stakeholders, where ITU Sector Members can engage in interactive discussions and identify best practices moving forward, not only in the ICT/telecommunications sector, but also in terms of how ICT/telecommunications interacts with other regulation, thereby leveraging the head start on regulation in a collaborative ICT regulatory environment.
A series of GSR pre-events will take place on May 11. A Thematic Pre-Conference for a Global Dialogue on Digital Financial Inclusion with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and in collaboration with other partners will be held. The closed Regional Regulatory Associations Meeting and Private Sector Chief Regulatory Officers Meeting will also be held on May 11 following the Pre-Conference.
The first two days (12-13 May) of GSR-16 will be dedicated to the Global Regulators-Industry Dialogue (GRID) with regulators, policy-makers and ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) Members. On the third day of GSR-16 (14 May), there will be two parallel tracks, a Regulators’ track, open only to regulators and policy makers, and an Industry track, open to ITU-D sector members.
Within the framework of the global acknowledgement of its pioneering role model in the field of telecom regulation in the region, Egypt has been selected to host the 16th Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) 2016. The conference is chaired by NTRA Acting Chairman Mostafa Abd El-Wahed.
Egypt is one of the oldest members in the ITU and has 16 sector members from the private sector in the union. It is also a founding member of the “Partners to Connect the World” initiative and it chairs the ITU Council Working Group on International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs).
Egypt is an active participant in the ITU-D activities and it has succeeded in establishing the first regional subgroup in SG2. This, in turn, further enhances the regional presence of ITU and increases its involvement with developing countries in Africa and the Arab World.
Based in Geneva, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies with 191 member states and more than 700 sector members and associates. ITU role is to enable the global growth and sustained development of ICT. In addition, ITU organizes international telecom events like WSIS and Telecom Africa.
