Session
Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International
Toshikazu Sakano, Chandraprakash Sharma, and Jeffrey N. Llanto
Speaker 1: Dr. Toshikazu Sakano, Director of ATR, Private Sector, Japan
Speaker 2: Dr. Babatunde Ojetunde, Research Scientist, ATR.
Speaker 3: Mr. Chandraprakash Sharma, CEO of Wisflux Pvt. Ltd., INDIA.
Speaker 4: Mr. Jeffery Llanto, Executive Director at CvisNet Foundation, Civil Society, The Philippines.
Speaker 5: Ms. Sandra Mahannan, Artificial Intelligence Engineer, Uniccon Group of Companies, Nigeria.
Speaker 6: Mrs. Mary Uduma Civil Society, Nigeria-Africa.
Speaker 7: Dr. Jimson Olufuye Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd. Nigeria.
Toshikazu Sakano
Toshikazu Sakano
Toshikazu Sakano
The Roundtable layout is ideal for our workshop due to its collaborative and interactive nature. It fosters active participation and dialogue, making it suitable for discussing complex policy and technical issues like the deployment of localized cloud services. This setup encourages stakeholders from various disciplines to engage equally and meaningfully, share diverse perspectives, and address policy questions collaboratively. A 90-minute duration provides ample time for key stakeholders to present informative insights and then open the floor for detailed discussions, exploring case studies, technical challenges, and policy frameworks. This length ensures comprehensive coverage without overwhelming participants, striking a balance between focused engagement and thorough exploration of the topic. Combining the roundtable layout with a 90-minute duration will maximize the workshop's effectiveness, facilitating a productive exchange of ideas and consensus-building among diverse stakeholders.
Our workshop delves into the transformative potential of Locally Accessible Cloud Services (LACS) and the Front Line Operation System (FLOS) for connectivity resilience during disasters, bridging the digital divide, and fostering inclusion for unconnected communities. This workshop explores the LACS and FLOS initiative, standardization under ITU-T, and the feasibility studies conducted in the Philippines, with planned studies in the African continent. The system is designed to provide essential cloud-based services—including communication, information sharing, geographic information systems (GIS), and disaster response capabilities like emergency alerts—directly to localities that lack stable internet access. Our discussion will focus on the architecture, deployment, and social impact of local cloud devices, which serve as mini cloud hubs, capable of operating in remote and underserved areas. These hubs offer critical services that are often disrupted in conventional setups during natural disasters or in areas with unreliable internet infrastructure. By decentralizing data storage and processing, they ensure that essential services remain accessible even when the Internet is down. The workshop will cover the potential of Learning Management Systems (LMS) within the system, highlighting their role in providing educational resources and continuity in regions where educational infrastructures are compromised or non-existent. This aspect of the system is crucial for enabling ongoing education during crises, thereby reducing educational disparities. Additionally, the workshop will highlight the AI-driven features of our system that support localized speech-based interactions and image analysis for various use cases with edge computing capabilities, allowing for efficient local data processing and real-time AI applications. These features are pivotal in enhancing the scalability and functionality of LACS and FLOS in various environments, particularly in disaster-stricken or isolated regions. Our diverse, multinational team from Japan, the Philippines, and India brings a rich blend of perspectives and expertise, crucial for addressing the global challenges of digital exclusion.
We will facilitate interaction between onsite and online participants by: Interactive Tools: Besides using Zoom, we'll employ tools for real-time polling, Q&A sessions, and live feedback, ensuring online participants interact as actively as onsite attendees. Pre-Session Engagement: We'll distribute pre-session materials and initiate discussions on LinkedIn or a dedicated forum to warm up conversations and gather preliminary insights. Dedicated Online Facilitators: Facilitators will monitor and integrate online participation, ensuring questions and comments from online attendees are addressed during the live session. Session Documentation: A live shared document will record key points, questions, and insights from both onsite and online discussions, accessible to all participants in real-time. Follow-Up Engagement: Post-workshop, we'll provide a summary of discussions and a feedback survey to continue the dialogue and refine future workshops.
Draft Agenda:
- Opening remarks by Dr. Toshikazu Sakano (2min.)
- Challenges and possible solutions to provide network for the unconnected in Africa (10 min.) Mrs. Mary Uduma Civil Society, Africa.
- The role of Artificial Intelligence in bridging digital divide and fostering inclusion of unconnected communities (10 min) Ms. Sandra Mahannan, Artificial Intelligence Engineer, Uniccon Group of Companies, Nigeria.
- Introduction of eXtensible Front-line Augmented Communication Exchanger(X-FACE) and Locally Accessible Cloud System (LACS) (10 min.) Dr. Babatunde Ojetunde, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), Japan.
- Use-cases and potential practical deployments of X-FACE (10 min.) Mr. Chandraprakash Sharma, CEO of Wisflux Pvt. Ltd., India.
- Potential use-cases of X-FACE in Philippines and Asia pacific (10 min.) Mr. Jeffery Llanto, Executive Director of Central Visayas Information Sharing Network Foundation, Inc. (CVISNET), Philippines.
- Potential use-cases of X-FACE in Nigeria and Africa (10 min.) Dr. Jimson Olufuye Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd. Nigeria.
- Q&A, Networking and Discussion (25 min.)
- Closing remarks by Dr. Toshikazu Sakano (3 min.)
Report
Portable ICT solutions like LACS and X-FACE are useful to be used in the disaster situations.
The systems are also useful to accelerate the penetration of the Internet in the “unconnected” areas.
R&D and commercialization of LACS and X-FACE are under way and the team is always looking for the opportunities for collaboration in PoC and business to really contribute to achieve SDGs.
Please access to the team to discuss the possibility of collaboration for real capacity building.
Please Input the team the new use-cases of the local ICT solution for further collaboration. The team is also looking for the chance to collaborate with funding organizations like ITU, APNIC foundation, UNESCO, UNICEF, JICA and USAID.