American Woman to Lead UN Communications Agency

American Woman to Lead UN Communications Agency

Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the United States has been elected to head the International Telecommunications Union. The agency is known as the ITU. It works to set international standards for the use of electromagnetic signals for radio, internet and television communications.

Russia's Rashid Ismailov was the only other candidate in a vote Thursday among the agency's 193 member states. The election was held in Bucharest, Romania. The final vote count was 139 to 25. As many as 29 members chose not to vote.

Bogdan-Martin has worked for the ITU for 29 years. She is the first woman to reach the position of secretary-general and the first American since the 1960s.

She called the position "immensely important" and said it was an honor "for me and my country" to lead the organization.

The job begins on January 1 and lasts for four years.

Bogdan-Martin said she hopes her new job will be an "inspiration" to women.

She said her goal is to "deliver affordable¹, trusted and meaningful connectivity to all." She called it a dream she wants to make real.

Universal connectivity is the idea of offering internet and communications technology to all people around the world.

Before the election, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked voters to put "humanity's progress" first, as 2.9 billion people do not have internet access.

Political questions

American officials have been interested in the position. Some observers see an American winning the position in an election against a Russian as a political statement from the U.N. about the war in Ukraine.

Ismailov was once a deputy telecommunications minister in Russia. He also worked for the communications companies Eriksson, Nokia and Huawei.

International media observers have also been concerned about Russia's use of the internet and other communications technology. They accuse Russia of trying to disrupt elections, the activities of foreign companies and governments and of spying on people.

The United States has also been criticized for similar actions. Former intelligence worker, Edward Snowden, said the U.S. uses technology to spy on civilians² and government officials. Snowden now lives in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin officially gave him Russian citizenship³ this week, the Associated Press reported.

Words in This Story

standards –n. (pl.) a fixed⁴ measurement or required quality level set by a government or an oversight⁵ body

immense –adj. very big in size or amount

inspiration –n. an example that makes people want to do something

affordable –adj. something that is not too costly⁶ in a normal situation

connectivity –n. the ability to create and provide a connection between two or more points in a telecommunications system

disrupt –v. to prevent something from continuing as normal

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。