The Asian Institute of Technology on 20 October 2022 participated in the opening of the new Bangkok headquarters of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific under the theme of Stronger Together: ITU Partnerships and Collaborations.
In conjunction with the opening, ITU organized an Open House Day, welcoming dignitaries, representatives from the Royal Government of Thailand, the diplomatic community and embassies, UN agencies, regional organizations, ITU sector members, academia members, partners, and the general public to introduce its initiatives, programs and projects.
The new ITU facility is supported by Royal Thai Government at the premises of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission. Ms. Achara Panyavanija, Assistant Secretary General, Office of the NBTC and Ms. Atsuko Okuda, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, ITU, welcomed and addressed the participants.
AIT Vice President for Knowledge Transfer Dr. Naveed Anwar and Office of International Affairs Director Shawn Kelly represented AIT at the event. Speakers included senior representatives of Cisco, Huawei, Chulalongkorn University and Thammasat University.
Dr. Anwar remarked that AIT’s cooperation with ITU began in October 2021 when the institute hosted Ms. Atsuko Okuda for a hybrid seminar titled –
‘Digital Infrastructure Development’. “Both organizations are committed to advancing social and technological development through the dissemination of ICT knowledge and education, and in particular how digital technology can contribute to economic and societal recovery, accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and prepare our region for a more prosperous future.”
AIT was pleased to collaborate with ITU in May this year to host senior level stakeholders from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand for a study tour under the theme – Artificial Intelligence (AI) and The Potential Gender and Social Biases, Dr. Anwar added.
These connections led to AIT successfully submitting two pledges in the Partner to Connect Digital Coalition – a leadership platform to support the implementation of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and the report: “Our Common Agenda”.
“AIT fundamentally believes that we are all ‘Stronger Together’ – and we look forward to working hand-in-hand with ITU,” he said.
