The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is organising the Connect Americas Summit in Panama City as part of the Connect the World series, an ambitious initiative aimed at connecting the unconnected and meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The Summit is hosted by the Government of the Republic of Panama.

What: Connect Americas Summit

When: 17-19 July 2012

Where: ATLAPA Convention Centre, Avenida Israel, Panama City

Why: The overall objective of the Connect Americas Summit is to mobilize the human, financial and technical resources required to connect everyone in the region to information and communication technologies (ICT). The Summit offers a venue for leaders from the public and private sectors as well as international and regional financing and development agencies to network face-to-face and forge new partnerships for the accelerated roll out of broadband connectivity.

The Summit features discussion panels focusing on the challenges facing emerging and transition economies in harnessing the full potential of ICTs. Bold decisions and commitments will be announced on multi-stakeholder partnerships to meet these challenges.

Who:

• Heads of State and Government
• Ministers
• Chief Executive Officers and senior executives of leading regional and international ICT industry
• Heads of regional and international development organizations
• Senior officials of the United Nations
• Senior officials of regional and international financial institutions
• National, regional and global media companies
• Prominent academics and industry analysts