2023 Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-23)

Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) Ref.: BDT/DKH/RME/NUM/014 Geneva, 11 April 2023 Ms. Kristi Talving Director General Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority TALLINN Estonia [email protected] [email protected] Subject: 2023 Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-23) Dear Ms Talving, I am pleased to invite you personally to the 2023 Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-23) under the theme: Regulation for a sustainable digital future. GSR-23 will be organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in collaboration with the Government of Egypt, from 5-8 June 2023 at the Torino Lamborghini International Convention Center, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Built around interactive high-level panels on topical and cutting-edge policy and regulatory issues, GSR-23 provides regulators and policy makers from around the world with a unique platform for discussions among peers and other digital stakeholders. As part of GSR-23, the Heads of Regulators’ Executive Roundtable will take place on 5 June 2023. GSR-23 will examine novel regulatory approaches for digital transformation, trustworthy and resilient digital infrastructure, spectrum for tomorrow, online child and youth safety, digital accessibility, affordability of the devices a remaining access gap, emergency public early warning systems, going green with the digital transformation, and harnessing the opportunities of the metaverse. Further practical information is available at: www.itu.int/gsr23 and in the annex 1 of this letter. I hope that you will be able join both the Heads of Regulators’ Executive Roundtable and the main sessions of GSR-23 as a participant, panellist, or moderator, and make a valuable contribution to a successful Global Symposium for Regulators 2023. Yours sincerely, Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava Director International Telecommunication Union • Place des Nations • CH-1211 Geneva 20 • Switzerland Tel: +41 22 730 5111 • Fax: +41 22 730 5484 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.itu.int/itu-d  2 Annex 1 Panel participation In line with past procedures, there will be no formal presentations apart from those made by keynote speakers as appropriate. Active participation of executive level participants in panels is welcomed and encouraged. Further information on panel participation will be posted on the website shortly. Those wishing to participate as panellists in one of the sessions identified in the provisional programme will be requested to complete the online panellist registration form (which is included in the overall GSR registration form accessible here) presenting an outline of their potential contribution to the topic, and selected participants will be informed. Registration Registration to participate in GSR-23 is mandatory and is accessible here. Participants can register using their ITU user account credentials (username and password). Participants who do not hold an ITU user account can create their own user account here (by selecting “I am a new user”). For participants who already created a user account when they registered for a recent ITU meeting, their user account is still valid. All registration requests for participation in these meetings must be validated by the Designated Focal Points (DFPs) of administrations and entities entitled to participate. The list of Designated Focal Points is available here. If your Entity does not have a Focal Point, or wishes to modify the contact details and/or change a focal point, you are kindly requested to provide details of his/her last name, first name and e-mail address and submit this information on letterhead by e-mail to [email protected]. The participation of women and young people in delegations is encouraged. For assistance, please contact: [email protected]. Interpretation Interpretation for the GSR core sessions from 5 to 8 June 2023 will be provided based on the requests from participants. At the time of registration, participants who require a language other than English must select their choice from the list on the registration form (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). The deadline to request interpretation through the registration system is 20 April 2023 (23h59 Hours, Geneva Time). Practical information Please note that participants shall cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. Practical information on accommodation, including logistical details, will soon be available on the GSR-23 website. Due to visa requirements, and in order to ensure that your visa is processed in time for the meeting, I encourage you to follow the visa instructions available on the GSR-23 website. The Regulatory and Market Environment Division (e- mail: [email protected] or tel.: +41 22 730 6256/5443) is at the disposal of participants who require assistance.  3 Annex 2 REGULATION FOR A DIGITAL FUTURE GSR-23 draft agenda 5 June 2023 - GSR Pre-events Morning Sessions 09h30-11h00: Regulatory Associations Meeting 09h30-11h00: IAGDI/CRO Meeting 11h00-11h30: Coffee and Photo Session for both sessions Lunch Afternoon sessions 14h30-16h30: Heads of Regulators’ Executive Roundtable Sustainable Digital Transformation: Economic Incentives for an Inclusive Digital Economy From contributions to the GSR-22 Best Practice Guidelines and universal service financing efficiency toolkit 16h30-17h00: Coffee and Photo Session for Roundtable 6-8 June 2023 - GSR Core sessions 6 JUNE Morning sessions 09h30-10h00: Opening ceremony - Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General, ITU - Mr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau - Eng. Hossam El-Gamal, President, National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Egypt and GSR Chair 10h00-10h30: Coffee and Photo Session 10h30-12h30: Leadership Segment: How can policy and regulatory innovation drive universal and meaningful connectivity and sustainable digital transformation? This high-level session will start with a Ministerial exchange followed by a panel discussion that with examine policy and regulatory innovation with a focus on new governance structures, policy and regulatory frameworks and financing mechanisms to foster the digital transformation process, investment in connectivity and access, and the adoption of digital services for an inclusive digital society. • Ministerial Panel • Interactive Panel with regulators and industry players  4 The discussion will focus on: - Drivers of digital transformation for access, adoption, and value creation - persons/users, data and technologies - Where to next - Connecting the Unconnected: Revisiting Universal Service Financing for universal and meaningful connectivity - Are policies up to the digital investment challenge from an environmental, social and governance perspective? How can government, technology companies and operators achieve a new level of collaboration in terms of environmental sustainability of digital and ESG? - Are today’s regulators and regulatory frameworks fit for purpose to lead digital transformation for the future? Introducing regulatory flexibility with regulatory sandboxes, what are the challenges and opportunities? - How to include and empower end-users in digital regulation? Lunch Afternoon sessions 14h30-15h30: Session 2: Trustworthy Digital Infrastructure: how to bridge the gap? This session will discuss how to ensure resilience of infrastructure while preparing better for online threats, strengthen online security and safety, and build confidence as digitalization of all sectors and services is accelerating across economies. - What approach should be considered in developing and implementing cybersecurity strategies, from the multistakeholder perspective? - What can regulators do with the industry to help consumers be safer online and prepare to mitigate risks? What works what doesn’t work, lessons learned - Multistakeholder engagement: Is a co-creating approach the answer for greater security, resilience and online safety? - What role for industry players, regulators and consumers in ensuring resilience and building confidence in the use of new technologies, digital applications and services? - How to improve cybersecurity skills to better prepare for incident response? Coffee Break 16h00-17h30: Session 3: Spectrum for tomorrow This session will explore the impact of fast evolving technologies, high speed low latency network requirements, changing consumer behaviors and new market realities on spectrum needs and spectrum management options. - Managing spectrum for social and economic imperatives: from universal affordable connectivity to tomorrow’s data intensive fully digital 5G/6G world - Evolving wireless technologies (terrestrial, satellite and HAPS/HIBS) and traditional services: how to balance spectrum needs, innovation and competitiveness? - Spectrum management options: To share or not to share? Licensed or unlicensed spectrum? - Spectrum efficient use across industries and services: the role of the regulator(s) and cooperation across sectors, local controlled versus public networks - A spotlight on space Sustainability Keynote: Mr Mario Maniewicz, Director, ITU Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) 7 JUNE Morning sessions 08h00-09h15 Network of Women (NoW) Breakfast 09h30-10h30: Session 4: How to protect children and youth online?  5 This session will discuss concrete examples of policy, regulatory and technical approaches stakeholders can take to ensure child and youth online safety. - What areas and challenges could be best tackled by regulation? - What are the other solutions and alternatives to bridge the gaps, mitigate risks and avoid harm? - Co-creating national strategies with children and youth - Who is responsible and who are the stakeholders? Coffee Break 11h00-12h30: Session 5: Digital accessibility - the key to an inclusive society This session will examine digital accessibility policies and regulatory measures that jointly with appropriate strategies and technical approaches are required to ensure that all users, regardless of age, gender, ability to use the technology can equally access and use the digital information, products and services and thus ensure that everyone is part of the digital societies and environments. - Is digital accessibility a must or nice to have? - Which are the policies and regulatory measures to ensure to build digitally accessible and inclusive environments? - Why is accessibility a business opportunity for all stakeholders (including government, Industry/manufacturers, providers and consumers)? - What are the challenges and good practices in building a digitally inclusive ecosystem? Lunch Afternoon sessions 14h30-15h45: Session 6: The remaining access gap – how to get affordable devices to the unconnected? This session will discuss policy, regulatory, business and financing measures to foster inclusive access to smart devices taking into consideration approaches to devices financing, universal access and service strategies, taxes and import reduction, improvement of distribution channels while considering recycling of devices, quality standards for pre-owned devices, and partnerships creation across the value chain (five-point action plan identified by the Broadband Commission’s Working Group on smartphone access, Strategies Towards Universal Smartphone Access). - How to make devices affordable? - What are the financing options available? - What role for the regulator in enabling smart device adoption? - What regulatory measures to adopt to ensure quality recycling of pre-owned devices? - How to raise consumer confidence in using smartphones, tablets, and other devices? Coffee Break 16h15-17h15: Session 7: Saving Lives: Emergency public early warning systems In light of the growing opportunities of digital networks and services, and the UN’s new target of ensuring that over the next 5 years every person in the world will be covered by an early warning system, this session will examine the case for regulation. An increasing number of countries are using regulation to ensure that public warnings are delivered over digital networks, including mobile networks, to deliver alerting messages to those at risk, and to mitigate the impacts, and save lives. - Which opportunities does regulation bring to public warning systems? What is the ICT regulator’s role? - What are the different technologies and protocols involved to implement public warning systems that are digitally accessible to save everyone's life? - Which examples are there for national and regional regulation?  6 - Data driven emergency responses experiences 17h15-17h30: Industry Fireside Chat (IAGDI-CRO): Partners in digital transformation 8 JUNE Morning sessions 9h30-10h30: Session 8: Going green with the digital transformation This session will discuss the role of regulation and technology innovation in national e-waste management and national GHG emissions reduction for the ICT sector. - How can regulation and ICT regulators address the triple planetary crisis that humanity is facing in terms of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss? - What efforts have countries made in monitoring GHG emissions from the ICT sector? - How can we mitigate the environmental impact of digital including the increasing use of electrical and electronic equipment and growing level of e-waste? - How to achieve digital environmental sustainability? What are the key levers and challenges? Coffee Break 11h00-12h00: Session 9: Harnessing the opportunities of the Metaverse This session will explore the challenges and opportunities of the Metaverse environment relying on connectivity, digital devices, platforms and immersive reality technologies, defining what an immersive virtual reality is, examining the technical, commercial, social and regulatory implications of this virtual digital environment. - What is the Metaverse? - What are the opportunities and potential bottlenecks (such as access, interoperability, digital accessibility, safety and security, child online protection, etc.) for governments, networks operators, businesses and consumers/users in this immersive virtual and augmented reality world? - What are the policy issues raised by the Metaverse? And what regulatory approaches are needed? - What is the role of the regulator (ICT) and stakeholders in ensuring inclusive, safe, secure and trusted immersive experiences in virtual reality? Keynote: Mr Seizo Onoe, Director, ITU Standardization Bureau (TSB) 12h00-12:30: Closing Presentation of outcomes – GSR BPG, IAGDI/CRO, RA and NoW meeting reports Formal Closing 7 Saatja: Kristi Talving <[email protected]> Saadetud: 11.04.2023 20:08 Adressaat: TTJA <[email protected]> Teema: FW: 2023 Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-23) Manused: image001.png; Estonia.pdf Palun registreerige see kiri ja suunake Oliver Gailanile vastamiseks. From: BDTMAIL, ITU <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 4:20 PM To: Kristi Talving <[email protected]>; Arvo Rammus <[email protected]> Subject: 2023 Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-23) Dear Madam, Please find attached a letter from Dr Cosmas Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union concerning the above. Thank you and best regards, BDTMail Telecommunication Development Bureau ITU, Place des Nations CH1211 Geneva, Switzerland T. +41 22 730 6300 Website | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter