Global Standards Symposium


The Global Standards Symposium is a statutory meeting that precedes the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly. GSS provides a high-level forum for discussion and coordination open to all. The GSS was created by the ITU's treaty-making conference, the Plenipotentiary Conference 2006 in Antalya, Turkey with Resolution 122.

ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2006

Upon the instruction of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference the organisation of a Global Standards Symposium as a public forum, to take place before any World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, was decided.

GSS 08

The first Global Standards Symposium was held on 20 October 2008 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Symposium was opened by Minister of Telecommunications of South Africa Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri.

GSS 12

The second Global Standards Symposium was held on 18 November 2012 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The symposium was opened by ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré.

GSS 16

The third Global Standards Symposium was held on 24 October 2016 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The symposium was opened by the Minister of Telecommunications of Tunisia Dr. Speakers included:
GSS 20 was scheduled to be held in Hyderabad, India in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was rescheduled and took place on 28 February 2022 at International Conference Centre Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland. The theme of GSS-20 was "International standards to enable the digital transformation and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals ". The GSS conclusions were forwarded to WTSA-20 for consideration.
Speakers at the symposium included: