among others, Administrations, Regulators, Operators, Industries and Research Centers. from allover the world meet together to build the harmonized development of telecommunications worldwide. In other words, The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized standard ization and development of the telecommunications worldwid includ ing international management of the radiofrequency spectrum and atellite orbits The itu is also the oldest International Organization which. tomorrow will celebrate its 136# anniversary. During its long history, the ITU had to face a number of changes mainly due to technological trends and it was very successful in adapting itself to the needs of its members must get over another critical step to comply with its membership requirements, should they be Administrations or from the private sector as well as to keep be ing the international focal point in all telecommunication matters. In this respect, as you may already know, the ITU has initiated a very important reform process to review its management, functioning, structure and financial foundations and the rights and obligations of its members Also, under the auspices of the Secretary general of the Unites Nations the itU has been designated as the lead ing organization to organize the World Summit on Information Society which will be held in 2003. The private sector will have a substantial role and presence in the Summit IT vendors and service providers, as well as ITU users and non-governmental organizations, will be invited to participate in its preparation For more than 35 years the itu also promotes the mobilization of human resources through a number of appropriate projects and activities includ ing human resources development ones. For instance, the ITU was the pioneer among un agencies in course development and designed the model which is now used by other UN agencies The ITU has the specific mandate from its membership to assist2 among others, Administrations, Regulators, Operators, Industries and Research Centers, from allover the world meet together to build the harmonized development of telecommunications worldwide. In other words, The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for the regulation, standardization and development of the telecommunications worldwide including international management of the radiofrequency spectrum and satellite orbits. The ITU is also the oldest International Organization which, tomorrow, will celebrate its 136# anniversary. During its long history, the ITU had to face a number of changes mainly due to technological trends and it was very successful in adapting itself to the needs of its members. Nowadays the ITU must get over another critical step to comply with its membership requirements, should they be Administrations or from the private sector as well as to keep being the international focal point in all telecommunication matters. In this respect, as you may already know, the ITU has initiated a very important reform process to review its management, functioning, structure and financial foundations and the rights and obligations of its members. Also, under the auspices of the Secretary general of the Unites Nations the ITU has been designated as the leading organization to organize the World Summit on Information Society which will be held in 2003. The private sector will have a substantial role and presence in the Summit IT vendors and service providers, as well as ITU users and non-governmental organizations, will be invited to participate in its preparation. For more than 35 years, the ITU also promotes the mobilization of human resources through a number of appropriate projects and activities including human resources development ones. For instance, the ITU was the pioneer among UN agencies in course development and designed the model which is now used by other UN agencies. The ITU has the specific mandate from its membership to assist