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 Previous: American Red Cross Clarifies Background Check Policy |  Next: Broadcasters Intervene to Support ARRL in BPL Court Appeal |
IARU Vice President Tim Ellam, VE6SH (right), congratulates newly elected ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré at the 2006 Plenipotentiary Conference in Turkey. |
IARU International Coordinator for Emergency Communications Hans Zimmerman, HB9AQS/F5VKP. |
Bob Jones, VE7RWJ, is a candidate for one of the 12 seats on the part-time Radio Regulations Board. [ITU Photo] |
ITU Radiocommunication Bureau Director Valery Timofeev was unopposed for re-election. [ITU Photo] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 10, 2006 -- Member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) attending the 17th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, have elected Hamadoun I. Touré of Mali as Secretary-General of ITU for a four-year term. Touré topped a field of six candidates to succeed Japan's Yoshio Utsumi, who cannot run for another term. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) President Larry Price, W4RA, says the ITU member states chose wisely in their selection of Touré.
"Hamadoun Touré is someone with whom IARU has worked for the past eight years," Price said, "and he has a proven record of understanding the importance of the Amateur Services, especially their importance in emergency and disaster communications."
IARU Vice President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, who's attending the "Plenipot," congratulated Touré in person on behalf of IARU and its member-societies. Ellam says Touré told him that it's important for IARU to "continue its good work in the ITU," adding that the IARU "has an important role to play in the future."
Addressing the conference after the vote, Touré told the 1500 delegates from around the world that he would work with transparency, objectivity and vigor to realize the two main objectives that were central to his campaign: to eliminate the digital divide and to ensure that cyberspace would become more secure. Touré has served two terms as director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau.
Delegates elected Houlin Zhao of China as Deputy Secretary-General. He said that he would do his best to assist the Secretary-General elect and the three directors as well as the membership to make ITU a more dynamic organization that would contribute to the emerging global Information Society. ITU-Radiocommunication Bureau Director Valery Timofeev of the Russian Federation was unopposed for re-election.
The "Plenipot" concludes November 24. For only the second time IARU representatives will be among the Plenipot observers, with Ellam and International Coordinator for Emergency Communications Hans Zimmermann, HB9AQS/F5VKP, each present for half of the conference. Turkey's IARU member society, Telsiz ve Radyo Amatörleri Cemiyeti (TRAC), has organized a demonstration station and exhibit of Amateur Radio emergency communications capabilities adjacent to the conference site.
The ultimate authority in the ITU, the Plenipot, held every four years, is the occasion for representatives of ITU member states to consider proposed changes to the organization's constitution and convention, adopt strategic and financial plans and elect senior management.
Among candidates for the 12 seats on the part-time Radio Regulations Board is Robert W. Jones, VE7RWJ. Plenipot 2006 delegates also will consider changing the name of the ITU. Several Arab States have submitted a Common Proposal to call it the "International Telecommunication and Information Technology Union." -- ITU; IARU
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