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 | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his report on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his global update to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN report on the Democratic Republic of Congo raises specter of war crimes and crimes against humanity in North and South Kivu, according to UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
As billions of people continue to breathe polluted air that causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths every year, UN climate experts on Friday highlighted how damaging microscopic smoke particles from wildfires play their part, travelling half-way across the world.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence made the following comment on the on-going presidential election process in Cameroon at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office released a new report on Myanmar, describing death, destruction and desperation which reflect atrocities committed in 2017.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UNHCR
Afghanistan: Humanitarians scramble to reach survivors of deadly quake; response at ‘breaking point’
In remote eastern Afghanistan, aid workers are racing to assist survivors of Sunday’s devastating earthquake as the death toll continues to climb, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, repeated his urgent call for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, amid increased military Israeli activity in the enclave’s largest city.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Amid reports of increased Israeli military operations across Gaza City on Friday, UN aid agencies repeated urgent warnings of ongoing famine and a likely rise in preventable disease, linked to the dire living conditions in the war-shattered enclave.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN calls for Iran to halt executions and move towards ending the death penalty.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following comment on the killing of journalists in Gaza at the bi-weekly press briefing.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called on Egyptian authorities to end the practice known as “rotation”, which allows Government critics to be held arbitrarily and for prolonged periods.