Publication

This chapter, published in the edited volume History of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): Transnational Techno-Diplomacy from the Telegraph to the Internet (De Gruyter, 2020), analyzes the role of exhibitions organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Switzerland as instruments of technical diplomacy, economic promotion, and public outreach. After World War II, the ITU’s integration into the United Nations system reduced Switzerland’s institutional influence, prompting the country to seek new ways of preserving its privileged position. Drawing on archives from the ITU, the PTT, and the SSR, the authors demonstrate that these events became strategic spaces in which relations between the ITU, Switzerland, industry, and the public were redefined. The Montreux International Television Symposium and the Telecom exhibitions, launched in Geneva in 1971, embody two complementary models: the former remained a forum for exchange among specialists, while the latter established itself as a veritable “techno-spectacle” designed to promote innovation, stimulate trade, and bolster the image of both the ITU and Switzerland as an international telecommunications hub. Ultimately, these events promoted a narrative rooted in progress, international cooperation, and the liberalization of telecommunications, while obscuring the geopolitical power dynamics underpinning global communications infrastructures.