November 19, 2003
The forum was attended by 300 fellows from 154 nations.
©ITU/Jean-Marc Ferr⁄
Joining the global telecom community
Students represent U.S. at International Telecom
Youth Forum
LBJ School student Andy Redman (Class of 2004) and Sarah Tierney (Computer Sciences/Plan II Honors undergraduate) represented the United States at the first International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World Youth Forum, which was hosted by the ITU in Geneva, Switzerland, in October.
A special organization of the United Nations, the ITU employs international communication technologies (ICTs) to promote social and economic development for the benefit of the global community. Recognizing the importance of youth in narrowing the digital divide, the ITU brought together 300 university students from154 nations to address the areas of policy and regulation, finance and investment, and infrastructure and education. Participants drafted the World Telecom 2003 Youth Forum Declaration, which will presented to the more than 50 heads of state expected to attend the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva on December 10-12, 2003. Both Redman and Tierney plan to attend.
“It’s just an amazing honor for the University of Texas to have sent both delegates to the ITU Youth Forum,” said LBJ School faculty member Gary Chapman, who has a working relationship with Redman and Tierney.
“The central purpose of the forum was to bring together the future leaders in IT to one place for discussions,” said Redman. Both he and Tierney have demonstrated major leadership potential in the fields of IT and social and economic development.
UT Austin students Sarah Tierney and Andy Redman were the U.S. delegates to the 2003 ITU Youth Forum, held in Geneva last October. |
Redman, who has a B.A. in Management Information Systems from Auburn University, was awarded a $5,000 J. J. "Jake" Pickle Federal Internship Fellowship to support his 2003 summer internship with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of African Affairs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is currently enrolled in an LBJ School seminar called “Public Policy and the Internet,” taught by Chapman.
Tierney, who plans to pursue a dual master’s degree in public affairs and law after graduating from UT in 2004, has worked as an undergraduate research assistant for Chapman and LBJ School Professor Lodis Rhodes on a project with the Beaumont Foundation. She conducted research on best practices in community technology and strategies for bridging the digital divide for the project, which aims to provide millions of dollars’ worth of laptops to poor and underserved communities and schools.
A major emphasis of the Youth Forum was the ITU's long-term commitment to assist and support low-income and least-developed countries in their efforts to improve the standard and scope of their telecommunication infrastructure.
“It was interesting to hear the contrasting views of fellows from developing versus developed countries,” said Redman. “I think that I offered an interesting perspective in that I worked in Ethiopia this past summer. So, in effect, my contribution was a ‘big picture’ approach to these problems because I have experiences in both of the situations.”
A major highlight of the forum was meeting peers with similar interests from around the globe. “It was truly a unique experience,” said Redman, who said it was amazing to meet so many people of different nationalities in one week’s time.
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19 November 2003
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