Human capacity Building – The ITU-D initiatives

The Human Capacity Building Division of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) has been working to achieve its mission of strengthening the human, institutional and organizational capacity of developing countries in a manner that prepares them for the challenges of a digital economy. One of their major strategies to achieve this mission is through information and resource sharing on all major areas covered by ITU-D activities. To achieve this BDT rely on a) their ongoing regular programme activities; b) special projects; and c) partnerships. Over the past few years, for its ICT capacity building and skills development efforts, BDT has mainly relied on ITU Academy which through its portal (http://academy.itu.int) has endeavored to build up high quality training resources and materials. 

The efforts of ITU Academy have been further corroborated by the ITU Centres of Excellence(CoE) and Internet Training Centers. ITU Centres of Excellence, distributed around the world, serve as regional focal points for professional development, research, and knowledge sharing and are now being joined together into a single global network sharing training curricula, resources and expertise. The capacity building interventions of BDT target different audiences - ranging from government policy-makers and regulators, to professional business-focused curricula for ICT executives and managers and specialized programmes for technical and operational staff. Gathering and publishing ICT related statistics has also been one of the major activities of ITU that has supported the capacity building efforts

Topics that are currently in focus at ITU academy can be subdivided as follows-

           i.      Policy and regulation related –

·         Accessibility through ICT - Equitable communication for everyone 

·         Analogue to Digital Broadcasting Transition

·         Analogue to Digital Broadcasting Transition

         ii.      Technologies and service related -

·         Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)

·         IPTV

·         IPv6

·         Spectrum Management

·         Wireless Networking for Development

        iii.      Business and Management related –

·         Cost Modeling

·         Human Resources Management

·         Open Educational Resources