Doreen Bogdan-Martin elected as ITU Secretary-General
Held every 4-years, The Plenipotentiary Conference is the highest policy-making body of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This year’s conference was held in Bucharest, Romania from Monday, 26 September through Friday, 14 October 2022. On Thursday, 29 September, member states were tasked with voting for the next secretary-general of the ITU.
In the historic election, Ms. Bogdan-Martin, an American, beat her Russian rival Rashid Ismailov by 139 votes to 25. Bogdan-Martin will be the first woman to lead the UN specialized agency since it was established in 1865. She will succeed Houlin Zhao, who has been in the role since 2014.
Bogan-Martin tweeted after the results, “Immensely proud to be the first woman ever elected to the post of @ITU Secretary-General. We've finally smashed a 157-y.o. glass ceiling! – and I hope this result inspires women & girls everywhere to dream big & make those dreams a reality! #Plenipot”
CEE-TP held a course with two-class offerings, one in-person and one online that helped more than 50 participants from around the world prepare for the important conference. The course aimed to prepare learners for the issues that would arise during the ITU conference, including cyber security and internet governance. Led by Jennifer Manner, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Echostar Corporation, and co-chair of the Commerce Dept. Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, the classes included detailed case studies and mock delegation meetings.