05 September 2017 - 08 September 2017
Manila, Philippines

The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)  organized the 14th APT Telecommunications/ICT Development Forum (ADF-14) from 5 to 6 September 2017, and Digital Strategies for Development Forum 2017 (DSDF 2017) from 7 to 8 September 2017 at ADB Headquarters in Manila, the Philippines. The events was be hosted by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Philippines.

The APT Telecommunications/ICT Development Forum (ADF) focuses on the telecommunications and ICT development issues for developing countries where policy makers, regulators and other relevant officials from the region come together on a common platform for a dialogue on issues of common concern with special attention on the rural areas. The objectives of ADF-14 are:

• To bring the focus of policy makers, regulators and industry representatives of ICT sector in the region towards the development process of the Strategic Plan of the APT for 2018-2020, and to contribute ideas for further elaboration of the plan;
• To report outcomes and achievements of APT projects;
• To discuss on the issues relevant for deploying cost efficient broadband networks; and
• To discuss on the issues for extending connectivity to unserved/underserved population

The DSDF 2017 focuses on “ICT for Education and Smart Cities” as one of the current hot ICT development issues. The objectives of DSDF 2017 are:

• To highlight the next wave of technologies and their influence on private and public spaces and discuss yet unexplored area for development;
• To examine trends and implications of ICT in the education sector for digital economy;
• To examine how cities around the world evolve to “smart cities” that use the insurmountable data available to influence decisions and drive changes towards better urban development; and
• To discuss the importance of collaboration with relevant organizations. 

Meeting Documents