From 11 to 15 July 2022 Dr Thomas Zielke participated in the meeting of the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) in Washington. During the meeting Zielke learned about the special needs of Meso and South American countries including the Caribbean in standardization.

CITEL is the cover-institution for ITU of the Organization of American States (OAS). CITEL serves to promote the adoption of uniform technical standards. Beside from presenting his thoughts in a formal session and as a candidate, Zielke and his team had bilateral meetings with representatives from different American regulators.

Finding new and fresh contributors for standardization from emerging markets will be one of his goals and certainly is one of the major challenges. Zielke is confident that this will be successful. He stated: “We will catch two birds with one stone: More and better contribution for standardization and transforming developing countries from standard-takers to standard-makers.”

During the conference, the Campaign (meaning Zielke), in collaboration with the Embassy of Germany to the United States and the Representative of German Industry and Commerce in the United States hosted a reception at the rooftop of the Hay Adams Hotel across from the White House. Special thanks go to Detlev Brauns and Christoph Schemionek.