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Week ending December 7, 2013

ITU - Mandela, champion of downtrodden, wished to bridge digital divide - December 6, 2013
from Sanjay Acharya/ITU

ITU membership, management and staff join the people of South Africa and the whole world in mourning the passing of Nelson Mandela, the revolutionary South African anti-apartheid leader who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and who is hailed as one of the most transforming personalities the world has ever seen.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in 1918 to the Thembu royal family in Transkei, South Africa. He spent the better part of his life in an epic struggle against apartheid in South Africa and served 27 years in prison. In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in dismantling the shackles of apartheid and, in 1994 he was elected President of South Africa. During this tenure he was also Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement.

For all his accomplishments as a world statesman, Madiba, as he was fondly known, will be remembered forever for his deep humanity, his capacity for forgiveness, and as a champion of the downtrodden.

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré expressed his profound sadness and extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and to the Government and people of South Africa. “I have personally looked up to Madiba for inspiration, as nothing in the world could ever daunt him or hold him back from his life’s mission to free his compatriots from the yoke of apartheid,” Dr Touré said. “His towering personality will leave a lasting impression on me, and the world will forever enjoy the legacy he has left behind in an atmosphere of peace, humility and forgiveness.”

Nelson Mandela was known for his embrace of technology as a catalyst for change and development. As President of South Africa, Mr Mandela was a strong supporter of ITU. Speaking at the opening ceremony of ITU Telecom World in Geneva in 1995, President Mandela said ITU was a body of crucial importance for the entire African continent. He said, “We need a vast expansion of our communication and information network and ITU, as the principle driving force behind international policy, technological development, cooperation and skills transfer, is an indispensable agent in this regard.”

Mr Mandela went on to underline the importance of communication and access to information to human beings around the world, and stressed the need to work towards eliminating the divide between information-rich and information-poor countries.

In 1998, ITU was invited by President Mandela to hold the regional edition, ITU Telecom Africa, in Johannesburg. “It allows our nation to take its place in a forum of critical importance to Africa's future. And it is an opportunity to give practical expression to our desire to be fully part of the rebirth of our continent,” President Mandela said. “As the information revolution gathers yet more pace and strikes deeper roots, it is already redefining our understanding of the world. Indeed, the speed of technological innovation could bring the ideal of the global village sooner than we thought possible. For the developing world, this brings both opportunity and challenge.”

As late as 2009, Nelson Mandela continued to support the work of ITU. Speaking via video link at the opening ceremony of ITU Telecom World 2009, he underlined that “information and communication technologies are the single most powerful tool we have for human progress” and urged participants to “support efforts to connect the world and bridge the digital divide”.

“ITU will remember Madiba’s advice, and we shall continue to strive in our efforts to connect the world in the spirit of this great son of South Africa and of the world,” Secretary-General Touré said.

As a mark of respect to honour the passing of this great and inspirational leader and true champion of digital inclusion, the ITU flag at its headquarters in Geneva will fly at half-mast.

EIU - Highest-performing companies shift strategies to emphasise customer experience - December 4, 2013
from Matthew Hanratty/Economist

CEOs across a range of industries are pushing their companies to adopt new strategies to enhance the customer experience, according to The rise of the customer-led economy, an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report sponsored by salesforce.com. And the better the company’s performance, the more likely it is to concentrate on connecting to customers.

A global survey conducted by the EIU found that recent social and technological changes have transformed the traditional relationship between a company and its customers, making the customer king again.

The vast majority of companies know they need to radically improve the experience they give to their customers. The survey finds that 89% of those that define themselves as “high-performing” are trying to take action here. Nearly one-third (27%) of all companies say they need to improve customer loyalty.

But 40% of companies say a lack of clarity about how the customer-led economy will evolve has hampered their efforts so far.

CEOs need to show leadership in this area, the report concludes, but many have not stepped up. Less than half (47%) of CEO respondents at the highest-performing firms have taken personal responsibility for the challenge.

Other key findings include:

· Most companies (51%) are still relying on their website as their main communication tool, followed by e-mail (40%). Only 23% are using social media, with just 10% using mobile apps.

· That mix will change over the next three years. Companies in the survey say social media will become their number-one channel (43%) and their use of apps will leap fourfold.

· Emerging technologies are the principal enablers of this new customer-centric thinking. Companies are striving to follow their customers as they migrate across channels. Mobile and cloud-based applications are leading this trend, along with more intensive use of social media tools and connected products.

· Companies are connecting their customers, employees, partners and products to increase customer satisfaction. More than 80% of the executives polled say improving these connections will enhance the customer experience.

EPC - EU Justice Ministers need to re-think Data Protection proposals if press freedom is to be protected - December 4, 2013
from Heidi Lambert for EPC

In advance of the EU Justice Ministers Council meeting on 6 December, a coalition of European organisations representing the interests of both journalists and press publishers[1] have issued a joint statement for the attention of ministers criticising data protection reform plans for failing to underpin press freedom and protect journalistic sources.

The coalition raises concerns regarding both the approach taken by the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties (“LIBE”) Committee and taken in the latest Council text on the draft General Data Protection Regulation.

According to the European Commission[2], a comprehensive reform of the EU's 1995 data protection rules aims to strengthen online privacy rights and boost Europe's digital economy. It is hoped that a single law will do away with the current fragmentation and costly administrative burdens, and will provide a much needed boost to growth, jobs and innovation in Europe.

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez said: “The European Union prides itself on having high standards of protection for press and media freedom. Only last week, the Council published its conclusions on media freedom and pluralism in the digital environment[3] calling for “appropriate measures to be taken to safeguard the right of journalists to protect their sources and to protect journalists from undue influence.” If the current text of the data protection regulation is adopted, it will be in direct conflict with this statement.”

Ivar Rusdal, President of the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) stated: “Data protection reform should not place any restrictions on the right of the independent press to carry out investigative reporting in Europe. The fundamental values of press freedom and citizens’ access to information should be deep-rooted in any democratic society.”

European Publishers Council (EPC) Executive Director Angela Mills Wade said: “Whilst we applaud the objectives of the draft regulation, the approach in the latest Council text seriously undermines press freedom and journalism. We need to ensure that there are adequate exemptions and derogations upholding the freedom of the press. We need to adopt a broad interpretation of data processing for “journalistic purposes”. It is essential that legitimate newsgathering and investigative activities are given the greatest respect when balancing the right to privacy and other fundamental rights such as the right to protection of property, the freedom of economic activity and the freedom of expression.”

David Hanger, President of the European Magazine Media Association (EMMA) said: “As specified in our joint statement, a directly binding exemption in the draft Regulation for journalistic data processing is essential to ensure that both journalists and publishers can continue fulfilling their democratic mission as regards investigating, reporting, writing and publishing editorial content without any obstacle, and to guarantee that sources are adequately protected.”

It is still very uncertain whether formal “trialogue” negotiations between the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission will be opened in order to try and achieve an agreement on the draft Regulation by April 2014, before the next European Parliament elections.

WAN-IFRA - Safety of Journalists At Issue in Ukraine Demonstrations - December 4, 2013
from Larry Kilman/WAN-IFRA

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum have protested to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych against the attacks by security services on at least 47 journalists who are covering pro-European Union protests around Kiev.

“Given the horrific images and detailed accounts WAN-IFRA has received from independent, verified sources in Ukraine over the last 48 hours, your public commitment to free speech and an independent media appear to have been entirely undermined by the actions of your own security services,” the organisations said a letter to the president, which called for immediate independent investigations of the attacks.

“It is imperative the media be permitted to carry out their essential role of informing the public at this crucial time for democracy in Ukraine,” said the letter.