In the group picture, you can see (from left to right): ITU-D Director Doreen Bogdan Martin, ITU-R Director Mario Maniewicz, ITU-T Director Dr Chaesub Lee, Dr. Thomas Zielke, Minister of ICT & Innovation Paula Ingabire, ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, Chargé d’Affaires Peter Primus

The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) was a great opportunity to connect with valued partners from all over the world. Hosting the German reception as part of the conference at the Kigali Convention Center was one of Dr. Thomas Zielke’s highlights of his time in Rwanda. On 9 June, he spoke to the 800 guests about the important work of ITU-T and his candidacy for Director Standardization for ITU. He thanks the German Embassy Kigali and the Chargé d’Affaires Peter Primus for introducing him, as well as the ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao for his warm welcome remarks. During Dr. Zielke’s speech, he highlighted his three main goals:

(1) It is crucial to support the young generation. They will fill up the many open positions in standardization. Dr. Zielke would like to harness the full potential that comes from young engineers and programmers in Africa, and from developing countries worldwide. He wants to extend and build up new programs for that and team up with the private sector more closely.

(2) Standards should reflect the needs of both the developed and developing economies. When talking to ITU member companies and governments from numerous developing countries, Dr. Zielke found out they all count on the ITU as a place to shape progress and want an ITU that serves their needs. He wants to address technical issues, help to implement existing standards and explain new standards, and plan new activities transparently and inclusively.

(3) Dr. Zielke wants to foster cooperation with other international standardization organizations – because there are global issues that call for a global response. At ITU, it is not necessary to compete with ISO and IEC. The real competition is between consensus-based standardizers and closed shop consortia with almost no chance for SME to participate. This is why Dr. Zielke is running for Director Standardization for ITU.