Fifth ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 Youth Forum in Hong Kong

You've heard of an Amateur Radio Youth Forum, but would you believe that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has its own youth forum, too?

In fact, more than 250 young people from 150 countries are expected to attend the Youth Forum at ITU TELECOM WORLD in Hong Kong, China, from December 3-8, 2006.

In its fifth year, the Youth Forum brings together students with the vision and talent to take on key leadership roles in the future within the global Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector.

College-aged students attend the six-day event and are encouraged to form global youth networks and share knowledge. The selection of each participant is based on an essay submitted to the ITU Youth Forum Advisory Committee on how to apply ICT to improve living conditions for people around the world.

The Youth Forum is a regular feature at TELECOM events, and over its five-year history it has attracted outstanding university students, many of whom now work as professionals in the ICT sector. "The commitment and passion shown by the Youth Forum Fellows is inspirational," said ITU TELECOM Executive Manager Fernando Lagraña.

"The Youth Forum brings together forward-thinking, informed, compassionate young people from all over the world. The combination of their experience, background and insight makes for thought-provoking conversation and debate. I look forward to witnessing this year's Forum discussions."

ITU's relationship with Youth Fellows does not stop at TELECOM events. ITU continues to nurture them through the Youth programs, helping facilitate scholarships and internships as well as collaborating with industry partners to support community projects designed by Youth Forum alumni. The ITU Web site includes some success stories reported by Youth Forum alumni.

Amateur Radio will be represented at this gathering, as well. ARRL Technical Relations Specialist Walt Ireland, WB7CSL, will represent the ARRL. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Vice-President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, also will attend.

Source: The American Radio Relay League

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