Stay informed about the latest global initiatives and achievements from BDT.

Access all highlights here: BDT Highlights

Standard optical fiber, the bedrock of modern broadband, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. This foundational technology has been crucial for global connectivity since its inception.

The ITU standard G.652, established in 1984, marks this significant milestone. Learn more about it here.

The "Not a woman’s job?" photo exhibition is organized by the UN Office in Geneva's Perception Change Project, with participation from CERN and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The exhibition showcases women (18+) who have challenged gender stereotypes and overcome barriers in science and technology. ITU stakeholders were invited to submit photos highlighting these achievements and stories.

Monika Gehner, Head of Corporate Communication at ITU, spoke with Elisavet Mike, a network engineer whose photo was submitted to the exhibition.

Witness the Big Food Redesign Challenge as participants innovate to create nature-first products, transforming obstacles into opportunities. This initiative aligns with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's mission as an international charity promoting a circular economy. Driven by design, this economy eliminates waste, circulates materials, and regenerates nature.

Thank you for watching. Explore more about our work and the circular economy by visiting the [Ellen MacArthur Foundation website](http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org). Subscribe to our [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1) for insightful videos, and follow us on [Instagram](http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation), [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/ellenmacarthurfoundation), [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/circulareconomy), and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/).

Experience the Big Food Redesign Challenge, where participants race to create nature-first products. Watch them navigate design complexities, push boundaries, and transform obstacles into opportunities for innovation.

This video is brought to you by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an international charity promoting a circular economy. Driven by design, this model eliminates waste and pollution, circulates products and materials, and regenerates nature.

Subscribe for more insightful videos from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: YouTube Channel. Learn more about our work: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

In episode one of our "Redesigning Food" series, Dunia Bora, Nutricandies, and Spoon Cereals innovate by transforming previously unwanted ingredients. Vincent (Dunia Bora) creates cookies and juices from invasive species. Gustavo (Nutricandies) makes nutritious chocolate spread from discarded cocoa parts. Annie and Jonny (Spoon Cereals) repurpose oat-milk leftovers and ancient grains into hearty porridge.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an international charity, champions a circular economy that eliminates waste, circulates materials, and regenerates nature. Subscribe for more insights on our YouTube channel. Learn more at ellenmacarthurfoundation.org or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Multi-robot systems (MRS) offer significant benefits, including enhanced efficiency, collaboration, operational flexibility, and fault tolerance. Researchers aim to create autonomous swarms of terrestrial, aerial, and underwater devices capable of complex, collaborative missions.

However, these systems face challenges in reliability, scalability, communication orchestration, middleware design, interoperability, and standardization. This talk, presented by Enrico Natalizio (Université de Lorraine), explores the advantages, challenges, and future perspectives of networked robotics and communication systems, charting interdisciplinary paths to realize MRS's full potential.

Network virtualization, also known as network slicing, allows multiple isolated logical networks to coexist on a single physical infrastructure without performance or security interference. Initially envisioned to evolve Internet architecture, it later provided bandwidth guarantees for cloud applications in data centers.

Now a pillar of 5G and beyond mobile networks, network slicing delivers differentiated services with stringent requirements. Despite significant research over two decades, its end-to-end deployment remains unrealized. This talk covered its genesis, evolution, key challenges, solutions, and the outlook for 5G+ network slicing.

Edge computing reduces data transfer costs and enables real-time, private data processing by relocating computation to local devices. However, realizing its full potential requires advanced data analysis and content generation, specifically generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This talk investigated the challenges of deploying generative AI at the edge. It aimed to enhance privacy and efficiently use network and computational resources. The discussion considered edge environment limitations and current solutions for optimizing AI models on resource-limited devices, addressing efficient distributed learning for applications like Large Language Models.

Speaker: Albert Y. Zomaya, University of Sydney, Australia.

This talk introduced VisionX, a research area at the intersection of learning, reasoning, and communication. It explored VisionX's key enablers, mathematical tools, and contrasted it with current research efforts.

Recent results in semantics-native communication and emergent communication protocols were presented. The discussion highlighted the critical importance of transmitting semantic information, rather than redundant or useless raw data, to enable effective task completion.

Speaker: Mehdi Bennis, University of Oulu, Finland

Food brands and supermarkets can normalize nature-positive food by rethinking ingredients and production methods. Rob Cameron, Global Head of ESG Engagement at Nestle, discussed this at the Big Food Redesign Challenge launch.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, an international charity, champions the circular economy. This design-driven approach eliminates waste and pollution, circulates products and materials, and regenerates nature.

For more insights, [subscribe to our YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1). Learn more about our work at [ellenmacarthurfoundation.org](https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org). Follow us on [Instagram](http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation), [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/ellenmacarthurfoundation), [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/circulareconomy), and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/).

The Giga Connectivity Forum 2024 will convene at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 9. This inaugural event gathers Giga's country partners and stakeholders to strategize for universal school connectivity by 2030.

Giga is a global initiative dedicated to connecting every school to the internet, empowering young people with information, opportunity, and choice. Achieving this universal connectivity and closing the digital divide demands global cooperation, strong leadership, and innovative solutions in finance and technology.

Environmental justice addresses critical global concerns: communities worldwide disproportionately face environmental hazards, and the benefits and costs of environmental policies are often unequally distributed. Learn more about OECD's work on this topic: OECD Environmental Justice.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international body established in 1960. It collaborates to build better policies for prosperity, equality, and well-being. The OECD works with governments to establish evidence-based international standards and find solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges, serving as a unique forum for data, analysis, and best practices. A related Vidéo en français is also available. For more about the OECD: About the OECD.

Kerstin Jüttner, Public Affairs Officer for International Government Relations at ITU/UN and Rohde & Schwarz, was interviewed at the Global Symposium for Regulators 2024 (GSR-24).

The symposium took place in Kampala, Uganda, from July 1-4, 2024. For further details, visit the official GSR-24 website: www.itu.int/gsr24.

#ITUGSR

James Claude, CEO of Global Voice Group, was interviewed at the Global Symposium for Regulators 2024 (GSR-24) in Kampala, Uganda, from July 1-4. Global Voice Group specializes in transforming big data from sectors like telecoms and financial services into actionable insights.

For more details on GSR-24, visit the official website: http://www.itu.int/gsr. Follow the conversation using #ITUGSR.

Mei Lin Fung, Chair and Co-Founder of the People Centered Internet, was interviewed at the Global Symposium for Regulators 2024 (GSR-24) in Kampala, Uganda (1-4 July). A Singaporean based in Silicon Valley, Fung previously worked at Intel and Oracle.

She also convenes the Informal Network for Digital Collaboration and Diplomacy, initially chaired by Vint Cerf and now by Dr. Nele Loesk, Estonia's Ambassador for Digital Affairs. For more information, visit www.itu.int/gsr. #ITUGSR

Explore the profound, ancient connection between humans and sacred fire. Discover how fire transformed us, granting the gift of mind while also presenting challenges. Learn about the timeless wisdom, traditions, and ceremonies associated with fire, and its importance in our hearts.

Sacred Fire, an organization dedicated to rekindling wisdom and heart-centered living, is reviving these ancient practices worldwide. Experience this modern revival and join us in warming the world.

Embrace our connection to the mysterious universe and ignite the flame within.

In this episode of Citizens Climate Radio, hosts Horace Mo and Erica Valdez bring diverse voices to discuss current efforts to address climate change. Horace interviews author Ann E Burg about her new novel, "Force of Nature—A Novel of Rachel Carson." Erica speaks with student Aly Horton about the American fossil fuel divestment movement. The episode also features Tamara Staton on banjo and climate resilience, and Peterson Toscano with good news on South Africa's energy supply.

For full show notes, including guest links and a transcript, visit www.cclusa.org/radio.

The Pathways to Planetary Health initiative at the Garrison Institute hosted an online forum on June 24. Garrison Institute Co-founder Jonathan F.P. Rose joined Kate Raworth, Leonora Grcheva, and Erinch Sahan from Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) to explore Doughnut Economics. This framework defines the goal of economics as "social and ecological wellbeing rather than growth."

The discussion highlighted its global application. Kate Raworth introduced the concept, followed by Leonora Grcheva's insights on city implementation and Erinch Sahan's perspective on business applications. This insightful forum, reflecting the Garrison Institute's "Timeless Wisdom, Timely Action," offered ideas for improving the quality of life for all.

WRI's Global Restoration Initiative and Land & Carbon Lab, in partnership with Meta, have developed an AI foundation model. This model produced the world's first global 1-meter resolution map of tree canopy height, allowing single tree detection worldwide.

This data sets a baseline for monitoring individual trees, crucial for measuring land use emissions and tracking conservation efforts. It's a vital advancement for achieving global climate, nature, and people goals, showcasing the power of AI for earth monitoring.

Learn more: https://www.landcarbonlab.org/news-updates/mapping-trees-unprecedented-detail-ai