PRESS RELEASES

16th September 2009

IT&C leaders from all over the world reunite at Global Forum in Bucharest

Between October 19th and October 20th, over 350 IT&C specialists and representatives of national government administrations from all continents will meet in Bucharest to discuss essential topics of the moment at local, regional and international level from a global perspective.

Bucharest, September 16th – While in Bucharest for the Global Forum event due in October, Dr. Sylviane Toporkoff, President and Founder of Global Forum, announced the international personalities that would attend the most important global meeting on information and communication technologies. On this occasion, she highlighted the current priority for the governments of the world to integrate IT&C solutions and applications in their strategies for economic growth and anti-crisis measures.

"The 18th edition of the Global Forum is an unprecedented event, each session benefiting from the presence of a European Commission expert in information and communication technologies from a local, regional and international perspective. The convergence of telecommunications, IT and audiovisual industries involves the development of the Information Society at all levels - city, region and country, thus becoming an effective tool against the present economic downturn" said Dr. Sylviane Toporkoff.

Global Forum 2009 will be attended by a significant number of world experts and representatives of international governmental authorities. Among the participants can be mentioned the European Commission representatives including Joao Da Silva, Director for Network and Communication Technologies, representatives from the most important companies in the IT&C industry; Gerard M. Mooney, General Manager, Global Government and Education in IBM - USA; Dorothy Attwood, Senior Vice-President - Regulatory Planning and Policy & Chief Privacy Officer, AT&T Service - USA; Jacquelynn Ruff, Vice-President, International Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs, Verizon, USA - AT&T and Verizon being the largest operators in the United States and in the world; William S. Coats, Intellectual Property Partner, White & Case LLP, (Hollywood studios), one of the most important law firms in the world, and also government representatives at the highest level; Mark Seifert, Senior Advisor for President Obama, National Telecommunications and Information Administration of United States of America; Yu Xiao Hui, Deputy Chief Engineer, China Academy of Telecommunications Research (CATR), Ministry of Information Industry, China, one of the most powerful ministries in the world; Najat Rochdi, Deputy Director Geneva Office, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Switzerland; Thomas Rosch, Federal Trade Commission USA-responsible for the U.S. federal government trade regulation; Robert Hensler, State Chancellor in Geneva State, Switzerland.

Applying information and communication technologies in as many sectors of the public and private life has become a priority on the international agenda of the world societies, the Global Forum sessions being consequently devoted to such current imperative topics in this field. Therefore, in Bucharest, guests and attendants will debate on concepts such as e-Government, e-Health, electronic payment systems, e-Green and the environmental technologies impact, telemedicine, digital media, development of high-speed broadband, reshaping the dialogue between the state and society through means of electronic communication, solutions and applications that serve the interest of citizens by improvement of their quality of life. 
Furthermore, at Global Forum, a special session will be dedicated to an important issue that has been on debate at global level between the European Union, USA and China regarding the regulations on Internet use and access to information.
"The final conclusions of the Global Forum 2009 in Bucharest which will be drawn by experts from over 30 countries in the discussion sessions will be communicated to the European Commission and governments of the world as strategic policy recommendations destined for the development of the Information Society" said Dr. Sylviane Toporkoff.

Founder and partner of Items International, Dr. Sylviane Toporkoff created and launched the "Global Forum / Shaping the Future" in 1992 and has been the Global Forum President for 17 years, coordinating the annual editions organized around the world.
At today’s event organized by the Global Forum representatives also participated: Marius Fecioru, State Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information; Sorin Mîndruţescu, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania – AMCHAM; Eduard Lovin, Executive Director at the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications, ANCOM, Romania; Mihai Staicu, representative of the Association of Municipalities of Romania; Sofia Zainea, Country Communications Manager, IBM; Cătălin Creţu, Country Manager, Visa International, Romania; Valentin Miron, Chairman VMB Partners; Marius Bostan, Chairman of the National Foundation of Young Managers.

Innovative concepts in the IT&C field to be launched in Bucharest

Romania will introduce for the first time at Global Forum 2009 the "European digital city", a concept beyond Web 2.0. that will redefine the lifestyle of citizens in modern society through its use of the most advanced information and communication technologies. Another key moment will be the launch of a 100% Romanian project designed on an innovative “social networking” platform that is set to promote and encourage the economy on a local and regional degree.

August 25th 2009

Prestigious Global Forum 2009, the most important event in the field of Information and Communication Technologies at global level, to be held in Romania for the first time.

During two days, 19th and 20th of October, over 300 IT&C top specialists and government leading representatives from all over the world, will meet in Bucharest to discuss about the Information Society.

Bucharest, August 25th – GLOBAL FORUM 2009, the most important global event in the Information and Communication Technologies, is to be held for the first time in the Eastern Europe region and will gather top experts and high level authorities from all over the world at the Parliament Palace, in Romania.

Romania has been selected to organize the GLOBAL FORUM 2009 after winning the competition with countries such as the United States of America, Taiwan or Switzerland and thus, placed Bucharest on the world map of the Information Society creating opportunities for partnerships and international cooperation in order to stimulate the IT&C industry in the whole region.

Now at its18th annual edition, GLOBAL FORUM provides a suitable framework for global debate on IT&C solutions and applications in the context of the current political, economical and social situations. The previously debated themes in the past editions include promoting digital economy, integrating the IT&C solutions in the services of communities, information and innovation as the essence of a competitive society.

Year to date, the event was organized by countries such as the United States of America, France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, UK or Japan. Among the confirmed guests in Bucharest we can mention representatives of European Commission, Federal Trade Commission (USA), Federal Communications Commission (USA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (USA), Ministry of IC&T Industry from China, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications from Japan and numerous representatives of government administration and local authorities from all over the world.

The main topics to be debated represent the most important issues of our contemporary society: reshaping the economy at global level, stimulating the implementation of the IT&C in all activity sectors, both public and private in order to support the process of economic reform, repositioning the dialogue between Government and Citizen through new media communication, e-government and e-administration, innovation in the field, the future of Information Society and its impact on the societies of the world.

«Our intention at the Global Forum is to reunite speakers that place emphasis on what we call “emerging media”. Thus the focus will be on the "IT&C of the Future" since technology innovation emerges from where we are today into a developing future. At Global Forum, it is for us, as specialists, to communicate and debate what comes out of the “technological fog”. Our purpose in Bucharest is to discover together new ideas, new ways for the next technology Innovation», says Mr. Sebastien Levy, Partner of Items International, Vice-President of Global Forum.

«We are honored to be the first Eastern European country organizing one of the most important global events of Informational Society, a meeting that gathers at the same table representatives of the IT&C Industry and of the governmental authorities from all over the world.» says Gabriel Sandu, Minister of Communication and Informational Society of the Romanian executive. «Implementing the IT&C solutions in as many domains as possible, both public and private, represents a top priority for Romania and for myself as a minister. This would be the only way we can turn the Romanian society into one based on knowledge and competitiveness.» he continues. 

«The GLOBAL FORUM event in Bucharest is the perfect occasion for IT&C top representatives to discuss important issues such as: development of broadband high speed Internet, using the digital dividend or passing to digital TV. The unique approach in what concerns Global Forum lies in its global perspective provided by the international participation.» said ANCOM president, Mr. Catalin Marinescu.

Press contact:

Sabina Stirb
Press Relation Manager 
Tel: +4 021/ 210.44.61
Fax: +4 021/ 210.44.63
Mobile: + 4 0746 226 832
E-mail: sabina.stirb@globalforum.ro