The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) commemorated 160 years dedicated to connecting the world on Saturday, 17 May in Geneva, Switzerland, during the annual World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. At a public event in Geneva, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said, “ITU is the United Nations agency for digital technologies. We collaborate across the UN system, here in Geneva and around the world. Every time you send an email, every time you get a text, make a phone call, use your social media, that’s ITU at work.” Since its founding on 17 May 1865, ITU has been at the forefront of technology to advance innovation, multilateralism, security and growth. ITU works for a world where everyone, everywhere can benefit from technology by managing international use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits, developing standards for advancing technology – such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing – and by working to connect the 2.6 billion people around the world that are still offline. “Today we celebrate the legacy of those who came before us, pioneers who saw communications not as a privilege but as a fundamental enabler for progress, for peace and for development. Let’s recommit to cooperation and to the mission that has guided us for 160 years – that mission to connect the world.” said Bogdan-Martin.
Source: ITU
Restrictions: NONE
Language: English/NATS
Dateline: 17 May 2025 Geneva, Switzerland
TRT: 03:42
- EXTERIOR. DRONE SHOT: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) headquarters; Geneva; 17 May 2025
- EXTERIOR. WIDE SHOT: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) headquarters; Geneva; 17 May 2025
- EXTERIOR. WIDE SHOT: Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union; ITU HQ; Geneva; 17 May. 2025
- SOUNDBITE (English): Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU): “ITU is the United Nations agency for digital technologies. We collaborate across the UN system, here in Geneva and around the world. Every time you send an email, every time you get a text, make a phone call, use your social media, that’s ITU at work. Our story is also about cooperation with 194 countries, industry, academia, the technical community, and civil society working to bring the world closer together. To set global standards and ensure that technology serves people, all people.”
- ZOOM: 1865 International Telegraph Convention
- ZOOM: 1865 International Telegraph Union Conference archive
- INTERIOR. CLOSE-UP SHOT: Robot dog at ITU AI for Good Global Summit; Switzerland; July 2023
- INTERIOR. CLOSE-UP SHOT: Robot at ITU AI for Good Global Summit; Switzerland; July 2023
- INTERIOR. WIDE SHOT: ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly; India; October 2024
- EXTERIOR. AERIAL: Technology training for students; Burundi; January 2022
- INTERIOR. WIDE SHOT: Technology training for students; Burundi; January 2022
- INTERIORS. CLOSE-UP SHOTS x4: Technology training for students; Burundi; January 2022
- INTERIOR. PUSH-IN SHOT: Robotics for Good Youth Challenge; India October 2024
- INTERIOR. WIDE SHOT: ITU World Radiocommunication Conference; UAE, November 2023
- INTERIOR. WIDE SHOTS (x5): ITU AI for Good Global Summit 2023; Switzerland; July 2023
- EXTERIOR. WIDE SHOT: Project managers at connectivity site; Niger, 2022
- EXTERIOR. MEDIUM SHOT: Project managers at connectivity site; Niger, 2022
- EXTERIOR. CLOSE UP SHOT: ITU employee installs emergency communications equipment; Nicaragua, 2022
- SOUNDBITE (English): Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU): “Today we celebrate the legacy of those who came before us, pioneers who saw communications not as a privilege but as a fundamental enabler for progress, for peace and for development. Let’s recommit to cooperation and to the mission that has guided us for 160 years – that mission to connect the world.”
- SOUNDBITE (English): Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, UN Office at Geneva: “The fact that ITU is celebrating 160 years – and today is more relevant than ever – is something which is important for all international organizations, for the whole multilateral system. If we really manage to adapt to the changing world, we will always be relevant and we will be able to work for humanity.”
- EXTERIOR. WIDE SHOT. ITU 160 lightshow projecting images on ITU Tower building at ITU headquarters; Switzerland; 17 May 2025
- EXTERIOR. WIDE SHOT. ITU 160 lightshow projecting images on ITU Tower building at ITU headquarters; Switzerland; 17 May 2025
- EXTERIOR. DRONE SHOT. ITU 160 lightshow projecting images on ITU Tower building at ITU headquarters; Switzerland; 17 May 2025
---ENDS---
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN Human Rights Office report released today covers 19 months of large-scale violations of international law including atrocity crimes, from October 2023 to the end of May 2025.