UN agency and Microsoft plan increased collaboration

The head of the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Hamadoun Touré and the Chairman of Microsoft Bill Gates have discussed about the use of IT during a meeting with Microsoft in Redmond in the United States.

In a meeting they discussed about the connecting the world and fulfilling everyone's fundamental right to communicate could make the world a better and safer place. Dr. Touré highlighted the importance of Internet safety for children and his plans to launch a global coalition to focus on protecting children in cyberspace. He is also seeking collaboration with Microsoft to promote digital literacy in ITU's Internet Training Centres and to make libraries of digital resources available in schools and other institutions in developing countries. ITU also discussed ways to cooperate with technology companies such as Microsoft to explore the options for shared access and inexpensive information devices, including mobile smartphones and low-cost notebooks. In a meeting Mr. Gates emphasised that ICT is key tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He expressed interest in ITU's standardisation work, especially on audio and video coding.