Page 5 - ITU Kaleidoscope 2016

Foreword

Chaesub Lee
Director
ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau

Innovation is fundamental for the development of new technologies, which will help to achieve social,
economic and environmental sustainability. Academia’s long-term approach to research is a major
contributor to innovation. It also has actively participated in the success of information and
communication technologies (ICTs). These are some of the reasons why ITU seeks to strengthen its
relationship with academia, the source of so much crucial research and so many innovative ideas.
The Kaleidoscope conference is ITU’s flagship academic event. Now in its eighth edition, the
conference has matured into one of the highlights of ITU’s calendar of events. This year, for the first
time, the conference was held in conjunction with ITU Telecom World in Bangkok, Thailand. These
peer-reviewed academic conferences increase dialogue between academics and experts working on
the standardization of ICTs, uncovering emerging trends to assist the diffusion of research findings
through the development of internationally recognized ITU standards.
Kaleidoscope 2016: ICTs for a Sustainable World called for research into ICT technical
developments, innovative ICT applications, and policy and regulatory considerations relevant to the
pursuit of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs call for every
industry sector to innovate in the interests of sustainable development. Innovations will be plentiful,
multifaceted and tailored to context, but all innovators are looking to ICTs to form part of their
portfolio of sustainability measures. Participants in Kaleidoscope 2016 highlighted research into ICT
developments capable of supporting the broad spectrum of innovation required to achieve the SDGs.
They emphasized the role of international ICT standards in providing the platform for this innovation
to achieve its goals on a global scale.

Once again I would like to extend my gratitude toward all Kaleidoscope’s participants for their
support in propelling the series’ success. Academia has been contributing to ITU’s work for decades.
A natural step was the introduction of the ITU academic membership category in January 2011.
Academic and research institutes can now join all three sectors of ITU for a single fee: More than
120 academia members are participating in ITU’s expert groups together with industry-leading
engineers, policymakers and business strategists.

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