 The union also offers its members advice on all technical problems and has set up two international consultative committees, one for radio, the CCIR, and the other for telegraph and telephone, the CCITT. This well-equipped laboratory of the CCITT is designed to test microphones, loudspeakers and telephone sets normally used in various parts of the world. These tests help to establish uniformity in technical standards. To facilitate the day-to-day work of telecommunications services all over the world, the union publishes a number of reference books. One of these is a list of all the telegraph offices of the world. Another is a list which every ship carries. In addition to facilitating the exchange of commercial telegraph and telephone traffic, this list helps ships in times of distress to make radio contact with the nearest coastal stations and ships. The union also publishes information on current rates, newly opened services and radio frequencies in active use. The development of communication facilities in today's world is startlingly uneven. Seven half of the world's population have fewer than five radio receivers among every one hundred persons and less than three percent of the world's telephones. The social, economic and cultural interests of these regions desperately demand more adequate links of communication. Throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America, telecommunication systems are gradually expanding in step with the general economic growth. But apart from considerable capital investment, highly trained staff is needed. The union helps these countries meet this problem under the United Nations Development Program. An important part of the union's aid program is basic training. This newly erected building in Kuala Lumpur houses the union's largest training center in Asia. Here students from many Asian countries receive training in the basic sciences related to modern telecommunications. Higher training for professionals from developing countries is provided by fellowships offered by the union every year. These trainees are attached to institutions in advanced countries. For example, this young engineer from Lebanon is receiving higher training at Stone in England. In 1960, the European personnel suddenly left the Congo and its entire system of telecommunications was paralyzed. The union met the dramatic challenge and within a short time its team of experts had essential communications working again. But a more far-reaching problem remained. The existing networks were very inadequate and urgently needed expansion. With the union's assistance, a well-equipped system of telecommunications gradually came into existence. The linking of the various provinces of this vast African country by wire and radio marks a substantial achievement on this continent. The United States of Africa is sparsely equipped with communication facilities and a gigantic effort will be needed to develop an adequate network. A number of international experts from the union are making extensive studies and surveys to meet Africa's essential communication problems. This is but one example of the union's part in improving telecommunications in all regions of the world where the need exists. Each day, new telecommunications links are created. It is started as a simple system of telegraph lines as grown to a giant system of microwave radio relays and overland, underground and undersea cables. The giant has now spread his arms in another direction. Outer space. The advent of the space age has added a new dimension to the field of telecommunications and new responsibilities for the union. Some member nations meet in Geneva in October 1963 on the allocation of radio frequencies for space projects. Secretary-General Oetant greets them from New York. Appropriately enough, his message comes via a satellite. The instantaneous transmission of sound and image from one continent to another by man-made satellites is already becoming commonplace. Masterpieces hanging on the walls of the Louvre in Paris are exhibited in the living rooms of millions of Americans. In France, hundreds of thousands take a guided tour of the National Gallery of Art in Washington without taking one step outside their homes. A major heart operation with new techniques performed by a specialist in Houston, Texas is simultaneously watched by a group of doctors in Geneva, Switzerland. Fans in North America and Europe participate directly in the colorful opening of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Each links between distant lands by means of the space satellite reveal the universal range of modern telecommunications. A worldwide network of satellites will bring millions of people face to face in a global conversation to enrich their lives. To harmonize the actions of the nations in this momentous achievement will be the task of the International Telecommunication Union.