TRA participates in UNESCO General Conference

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has participated in the 36th session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference held recently at its headquarters in Paris. The TRA's participation took place among a high-level UAE delegation chaired by Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qattami, Minister of Education. Within the deliberation of the UNESCO General Conference, Information and Communication Committee meetings were held to discuss the plan of action for the major program which focuses on two biennial sectorial priorities and three main action points, in addition to shedding light on Africa and gender equality. Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and countries in post-conflict and post-disaster situations also came under discussions. Commenting on the TRA participation, Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General, said: "The TRA is honored to be part of the UAE delegation participating in this conference, as it discussed plenty of critical and essential topics. We are sure that our expertise in the TRA will contribute in supporting and leveraging this participation to a high level, as education is seen as one of the main sectors within the TRA interest in line with our faith in developing the coming generations and developing their knowledge on the ICT sector which plays a key role in our future." "We would like to extend our deep gratitude to the Ministry of Education for this generous invitation to be part of the UAE delegation, as we believe in the role of such conferences in enhancing our capacities and expertise in the ICT world through ideas, opinions and experiences exchange from all over the world. We consider the UAE participation of great importance as it broadens our horizons," Al Ghanim added. The first biennial sectorial priority focused on promoting freedom of expression and information by undertaking many procedures to promote the free-flow of information, encourage governments to develop instruments to protect freedom of expression, and monitor the status of press freedom. The second priority's concern is to foster information and communication capacities to enable the access to build a digital bridge, through different practices that focus mainly on supporting actions that help reduce the digital and knowledge gap, promoting the usage of the applications of ICTs and harness them to empower the local communities, as well as protecting the digital documentary heritage of universal value.