Noticias por e-mail: Information Society Newsroom Update Weekly

Weekly Issue - 23 September 2010

Latest News

PRESS RELEASE

Digital Agenda: Two thirds of TV programmes seen in Europe are of European origin

(23 September 2010)EU television broadcasters are devoting an average of 63% of their air time to programmes made in the EU and 35% to independent works created by European producers, according to figures in a report covering the period 2007-2008 published by the European Commission today. The Commission publishes a report every two years on monitoring the promotion of European works on TV throughout the EU, one of the aims of the EU's Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS).

PRESS RELEASE

Digital Agenda: EUR 5 million EU funding helps turn the ancient Silk Road into ultra-fast research and education highway

(21 September 2010)The European Commission today helped to increase the internet capacity available to researchers in the Central Asia region (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan). With the Commission's EUR 5 million contribution to the Central Asia Research and Education Network (CAREN), the ancient Silk Road has been upgraded to a 21st century high-speed internet highway for research and education. Researchers, academics and students in the region now have access to high-capacity internet connections, offering them unrivalled opportunities to play a major role on the international research scene. With Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also candidate countries to join the network, CAREN will link over half a million users at more than 500 universities and research centres.

PRESS RELEASE

Digital Agenda: Commission outlines measures to deliver fast and ultra-fast broadband in Europe

(20 September 2010)Three complementary measures to facilitate the roll out and take up of fast and ultra-fast broadband in the EU have been adopted today by the European Commission. This package comprises a Commission Recommendation on regulated access to Next Generation Access (NGA) networks that provides regulatory certainty to telecom operators, ensuring an appropriate balance between the need to encourage investment and the need to safeguard competition, a proposal for a Decision to establish a Radio Spectrum Policy Programme to ensure, inter alia, that spectrum is available for wireless broadband and a Broadband Communication outlining how best to encourage public and private investment in high and ultra-high speed networks. These measures aim to help the EU realise the commitments in the Digital Agenda for Europe to give every European access to basic broadband by 2013 and fast and ultra fast broadband by 2020. As outlined in the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, installing broadband infrastructure in Europe is essential to create jobs and prosperity.

PRESS RELEASE

Broadband: Commission sets out common EU approach on ultra-fast broadband networks

(20 September 2010)The European Commission has adopted a Recommendation indicating to national telecoms regulators how they should regulate third-party competitive access to ultra-fast fibre networks (also known as 'next generation access' - NGA - networks) that bring high-speed broadband connections to homes and workplaces. Regulators should apply the new guidance in their daily decision making as soon as the text has been published in the EU's Official Journal. Under the telecoms Framework Directive they are obliged to take "utmost account of the Commission's Recommendation, justifying any departure from it. The Recommendation provides regulatory clarity to telecom operators, ensuring an appropriate balance between the need to encourage investment and the need to safeguard competition. It will help to stimulate investment in competitive high-speed broadband networks, which is a key objective of the Commission's Digital Agenda for Europe and Europe 2020 strategy. The Recommendation forms part of a package of broadband measures presented by the Commission today.

PRESS RELEASE

Spectrum: Commission proposes to ensure availability of radio frequencies for new and faster wireless services

(20 September 2010)A five year policy programme for planning and harmonising the use of the EU's radio spectrum has been proposed by the European Commission. The proposal, which will be sent to the European Parliament and EU Council of Ministers for adoption, includes steps to promote efficient spectrum management, and in particular, to ensure that sufficient spectrum is made available for wireless broadband. This will significantly contribute to bringing fast broadband connections to people in remote areas, where it is not economically viable to install cable networks, and to making innovative services available across Europe. Wireless broadband is essential to deliver the target of broadband for all by 2013, one of the key goals of the Digital Agenda for Europe. More efficient and competitive use of spectrum in the EU would also promote the development of innovative technologies and services, to the benefit of consumers and of Europe's overall competitiveness. The proposal forms part of a package of broadband measures presented by the Commission today.

PRESS RELEASE

Digital Agenda: Commission measures to deliver fast and ultra-fast broadband in Europe - what would they do for me?

(20 September 2010)Giving all European citizens and businesses access to a fast and ultra-fast broadband internet connection is one of the key objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe, the EU's plan to maximise the social and economic impact of Information and Communication Technologies, and the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The measures presented today set out a common regulatory approach for access to new high-speed fibre networks, propose a 5-year policy programme for radio spectrum to ensure, inter alia, that spectrum is available for wireless broadband and outline how best to encourage private and public investment in fast and ultra-fast broadband networks. Practical examples of exactly how the measures stand to benefit people and businesses are outlined below.

PRESS RELEASE

Digital Agenda: Commission spells out plan to boost investment in broadband

(20 September 2010)The European Commission has today outlined how best to encourage private and public investment in fast and ultra-fast broadband networks. These will be essential to realising the commitments in the Digital Agenda for Europe to give every European access to basic broadband by 2013 and fast and ultra-fast broadband by 2020. In its Communication, the Commission calls on EU Member States to introduce operational broadband plans for high and ultra high speed networks with concrete implementing measures, it provides guidance on how to cut investment costs and indicates how public authorities may support broadband investment, including making better use of EU funds. It also announces plans by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to bring forward broadband finance instruments. The Communication forms part of a package of broadband measures presented by the Commission today.

PRESS RELEASE

Consumers: Most internet sites now safe to buy electronic goods.

(16 September 2010)Buying popular electronic goods like digital cameras and music players on the internet is now much safer following a crackdown on problematic websites. 84% of the websites selling electronics, checked for breach of EU consumer rules, now comply with EU law (compared with only 44% in 2009). The "sweep" investigation was launched in May 2009 and carried out by national authorities in 26 member states, Norway and Iceland. The problems identified included misleading information on consumer rights, incorrect prices and missing contact details of the trader. These sites have now been corrected and penalties have been imposed where necessary. The Commission also announced the initial findings of the 2010 Sweep targeting online sales of tickets for cultural and sporting events.

PRESS RELEASE

Digital Agenda: EU grid project unlocks processing power of 200,000 desktop computers for European researchers

(14 September 2010)EU researchers will have sustainable and continuous access to the combined processing power of over 200,000 desktop computers in more than 30 European countries thanks to the European Commission funded European Grid Infrastructure (EGI) project launched today. The Commission is contributing EUR 25 million over four years to the EGI-InSPIRE project to link the processing capacity of desktop computers when they would otherwise be idle and so give researchers the processing power needed to tackle complex problems in environment, energy or health. The EGI, the largest collaborative production grid infrastructure for e-Science ever created, will enable teams of researchers in different geographical locations to work on a problem as if they were in the same laboratory. Reinforcing research infrastructures such as EGI forms part of the Digital Agenda for Europe, the Commission's strategy to maximise the social and economic potential of information and communication technologies.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Developing Digital Mentoring

30 September 2010 Doncaster, United Kingdom

South Yorkshire's innovative 'Joining the DOTs' scheme aims to tackle digital exclusion by exploring the role of digital mentors. The scheme, funded by the European Social Fund, offers a training and accreditation model to voluntary Digital Outreach Trainers (DOTs) who give informal help with technology and IT to others. Colleges, community centres, libraries, training centres and local authorities are participating in the project across the four boroughs of South Yorkshire. During this event, you will hear more about this scheme and a showcase of the challenges and successes of the experience so far will be presented. The conference will provide an opportunity to share learning from different approaches to digital mentoring. The UK Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox will share her thoughts on the 'Joining the DOTs' project and a representative from the project's international partner, The Malta Communications Authority, will give their perspective on digital inclusion initiatives in Malta and the importance of international collaboration and knowledge sharing.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Understanding the interaction between Internet and societal developments

23 November 2010 Brussels, Belgium

This open workshop, organised by the PARADISO initiative, will include three plenary sessions: "Exploring the future of our societies", "Exploring the Future Internet", and "How could the Future Internet be better suited to our future?". During this last session, the PARADISO partnership will present a draft version of their PARADISO reference document, to be released in December 2010, on the basis of which recommendations to the European Commission concerning research to be developed in the framework of EU-funded programmes will be derived. Keynote speakers from Europe and the rest of the world will contribute to the workshop. Registration for the workshop is free of charge but compulsory and has to be made online. Applications will be handled on a first come, first served basis.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Investment Forum for innovative SMEs @ ICT 2010

27 September 2010 - 28 September 2010 Brussels, Belgium

The aim of this initiative is to improve access to finance for innovating ICT SMEs emerging from FP6 and FP7 projects and looking for exploitation investment for their research results. As part of the ICT 2010 event, the initiative is organising an exhibition stand and two events: a Venture Academy (coaching session) and an Investment Workshop and Investment Forum (pitching opportunity) which will be closed by Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Translational Issues in BCI Development: User Needs, Ethics, and Technology Transfer

2 December 2010 - 3 December 2010 Rome, Italy

The brain-computer interface (BCI) technology uses brain signals to directly drive external devices. Over the last decade, EEG-based BCIs have begun to provide basic communication and motor control abilities to people with severe motor disabilities, thus offering a unique opportunity to improve their quality of life. In spite of the remarkable advancement in computing capabilities (signal acquisition and processing, translation algorithms...), a large gap still exists between the promises of the neural engineering achievements and the clinical application reality in terms of BCIs as a daily use assisted device and as add-on intervention in the rehabilitation protocols. The goal of this workshop is to explore current and future scenarios in this field.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Experience with Vertical Separation in Telecoms

22 November 2010 - 23 November 2010 Brussels, Belgium

The topic of vertical separation of electronic communications might move to the forefront of the European policy agenda. This event will bring together national regulators, the European Commission, experts, and industry participants to discuss recent European and global experience and likely future developments with vertical separation in telecommunications.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

ICT Finance MarketPlace : an Investment forum for innovative SMEs at ICT 2010

27 September 2010 - 28 September 2010 Brussels, Belgium

The ICT Finance MarketPlace is an initiative set up by 3 EU funded support actions with the aim of improving access to finance for innovating ICT SMEs accross Europe. It is taking place within the ICT 2010 event, organised by the European Commision and hosted by the Belgian Presidency of the European Union. The 2 main activities planned within the ICT Finance MarketPlace are a Venture Academy (coaching session - 27 September) and an Investment Forum (pitching opportunity - 28 September), which will be closed by Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Digital Agenda. There will also be an exhibtion stand.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Codes of conduct on audiovisual commercial communications of foods high in fat, sugar and salt to children - workshop

25 October 2010 Brussels, Belgium

The European Commission is organising for the second time a Workshop on codes of conduct on audiovisual commercial communications of foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) to children. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive places an obligation on the Commission to encourage media service providers - whether offering linear or on-demand services - to develop codes of conduct relating to audiovisual commercial communications for HFSS food to children.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Augmented Human International Conference 2011 - Call for papers

12 March 2011 - 14 March 2011 Tokyo, Japan

The Augmented Human (AH) International conference will take place in Tokyo. A call for papers has been launched (Deadline for submission : 23 December). The AH conference focuses on scientific contributions towards augmenting human capabilities through technology for increased well-being and quality of life.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Second European Innovation Summit

11 October 2010 - 14 October 2010 Brussels, Belgium

A debate will take place on how to achieve Europe's goal to become a global leader in innovation and how we can make innovation partnerships successful. The Summit also includes a three-day exhibition in the European Parliament, and a session on "Europe's Future Nobel Prize Winner", aiming to raise students' interest in science and technology careers.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Digital Agenda Stakeholder Day

25 October 2010 Brussels, Belgium

The Digital Agenda, Europe's new strategy for the digital economy, was published in May and it is now time to discuss how to put it into practice. The 101 actions announced in the Digital Agenda are not just a "to do" list for the European Commission - it is a call for everyone to join in. The idea is to create a broad movement to make the Digital Agenda evolve as a dynamic instrument to meet the challenges of the information society: copyright, broadband, privacy, security, health, research, etc. You are invited to join the debate together with Vice-President Neelie Kroes on how to make the Digital Agenda a reality. If you would like to participate in the event, then propose an idea (deadline: 24 September 2010). The authors of the best ideas will be invited to the event.

Contact: infso-digital-agenda@ec.europa.eu

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

First European Conference on Ergonomics

10 October 2010 - 12 October 2010 Bruges, Belgium

This event is organised by the Federation of the European Ergonomic Societies (FEES). Ageing will be the "red-thread" throughout the conference programme especially in terms of scientific and practical aspects in different applications: risks in man-machine-environment interfaces (such as transport, maintenance, emergencies), in securing jobs and employment, paying attention to re-employment and rehabilitation and in new forms of work and contents (e.g. ICT related) of which the implementation risks for elderly people are not yet known. The conference takes on the challenges to which policy-makers, scientists and ergonomists are confronted.

NEWS ARTICLE

EU Agency identifies incentives & challenges for cyber security information sharing in Europe

(13 September 2010)ENISA, the European Network and Information Security Agency, launched a new report on barriers to and incentives for cyber security information sharing. The report shows for example that the economic incentives are much more important for practitioners than what academic literature indicate. The importance of information sharing for the Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP) is widely acknowledged by policy-makers, technical and practitioner communities alike. The Agency has researched peer-to-peer groups, such as Information Exchanges (IEs) and Information Sharing Analysis Centres (ISACs). The report identifies the most important barriers and incentives in day-to-day practice in IEs and ISACs for CIIP. This research differs from other reports by being focused on the practitioners' experiences. The material stems from three sources, literature analysis, interviews, and a two-round 'Delphi' exercise with security professionals.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

7th ICT Call for proposals - Information day : ICT for Ageing and Wellbeing & ICT for smart and personalised inclusion

15 October 2010 Brussels, Belgium

This information day will offer the opportunity to share ideas and network with potential partners. A parallel workshop is organised on the same day on call topic "Pre-Commercial Procurement Service & Social Robotics for Ageing Well".

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

EHTEL 2010 Symposium - eHealth in Europe's Regions: Acting for Citizens' Health

22 November 2010 - 23 November 2010 Brussels, Belgium

The Symposium is being jointly organized EHTEL, the Assembly of European Regions (AER) and the European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA) and is hosted by the Committee of Regions (CoR). This event will address the question what eHealth can do for supporting Regional health policies and, vice versa, what can the Region do for deploying eHealth services.

Contact: marc.lange@ehtel.org
See also: EUREGHA

Reminders

CALL FOR TENDERS

Study SMART 2010/0030: Statistical methodologies on Internet as a source of data gathering

(Deadline: 13/09/3010) Internet traffic flows (in a broad sense, involving all types of information exchanged through the internet) can provide a source of data on socio-economic phenomena complementary to the data usually collected by interviewing internet user. The traffic generated by the different activities over the internet can be analysed and processed to obtain statistics on the use of internet. The general objective of this study is the proposal of a methodological framework for new indicators and of a roadmap for implementing at a large scale the promising applications of the concept of internet as a data source in the domain of monitoring information society developments.

Contact: stefano.abruzzini@ec.europa.eu

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

MedTech Forum 2010

12 October 2010 - 14 October 2010 Brussels, Belgium

This event will bring together over 400 leaders from various organisations active in the EU healthcare scene. These include policy-makers, scientific communities, patients' representatives, healthcare professionals, academics and the medical technology industry. This year's conference is themed "Healthcare 2020" and will explore over the course of 3 days in 15 interactive sessions how the medical technology industry contributes and can better contribute to the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

ePractice workshop on Inclusive eGovernment

13 October 2010 Brussels, Belgium

This workshop aims to encourage the sharing of good practice in the area of Inclusive eGovernment. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: eGovernment policies targeted at groups at risk of exclusion; User segmentation in eGovernment services; Inclusive eGovernment in healthcare; Multichannel delivery services; eGovernment services: the 'value chain' dimension; Design, production, delivery, access and use of inclusive eGovernment services; "Inclusive by design" versus specific assistance - tailored services; Marketing, targeting and promotion of eGovernment services for specific disadvantaged groups.

New in the Library

REPORTS AND STUDIES

"Implementing eAccessibility as a service quality factor" - European Journal of ePractice n° 10

22 September 2010

The 10th edition of the ePractice Journal showcases the state of the art, presents examples of best practice and highlights the challenges of eAccessibility implementation in the Information Society. The ePractice Journal belongs to the ePractice.eu community, is sponsored by the European Commission as part of its good practice exchange activity and is run by an independent Editorial Board.

PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL

Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme Brochure

20 September 2010

This publication presents some of the running projects under call 1 (2009) and call 2 (2010) of the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme.

SPEECH