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
Edited News | WHO , UNMAS
Desperate and dangerous conditions in Gaza continue to hamper recovery efforts for the wartorn enclave's people, the UN health agency said on Friday, while demining experts warned that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in assessing the level of contamination of unexploded ordnance.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages – IOM
Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA , IFRC
Lebanon faces escalating violence, with new mothers uncertain of safety amid ongoing crises.
1
1
1
Edited News | FAO , UNHCR , WHO
Sudan: 14 million displaced; hunger and attacks on health continue as war enters fourth year
As Sudan approaches the third anniversary of a brutal civil war, millions remain displaced and hungry while the health system lies in ruins, with no end to the violence in sight, UN agencies said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNHCR , WFP
Lebanon: People ‘still under the rubble’ after massive strikes as ambulances, hospitals come under threat – UN humanitarians
With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WHO
Lebanon: disease risks on the rise as displacement surges
With displacement in Lebanon past the one million mark, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday about the spread of infectious diseases in shelters and surging mental health needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers are supporting civilians who’ve chosen to stay in the south amid deadly dangers from Israel-Hezbollah clashes, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandace Ardiel tells us.