Latest News
- PRESS RELEASE
- Survey highlights strengths and weaknesses of parental control programmes
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(13 January 2011) Results from a study released today by the European Commission show that while a healthy 84% of the software programs tested enable parents to block access to certain websites, they are less efficient at filtering so-called web 2.0 content such as social networking sites or blogs. In addition, only a few products on the market are able to filter web content accessed via mobile phones or game consoles, at a time when one child out of four in Europe goes online in this way. In parallel, an EUKIdsOnline survey, also funded by the EU's Safer Internet Programme, found that only a quarter of EU parents use parental control software to monitor, track or filter what their children can do online. The publication of these surveys serves to raise awareness of the importance of protecting children from certain Internet content while giving parents an objective view of which parental control software is the most effective. The Commission is committed to helping parents and their children keep safe online as part of the Digital Agenda for Europe.
- PRESS RELEASE
- "Comite des Sages" calls for a "New Renaissance" by bringing Europe's cultural heritage online
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(10 January 2011) The report of the Comite des Sages (high-level reflection group) on Digitisation of Europe's cultural heritage was delivered today to Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, and Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner responsible for Education and Culture. The report urges EU Member States to step up their efforts to put online the collections held in all their libraries, archives and museums. It stresses the benefits of making Europe's culture and knowledge more easily accessible. It also points to the potential economic benefits of digitisation, including through public-private partnerships, for the development of innovative services in sectors like tourism, research and education. The report endorses the Digital Agenda's objective of strengthening Europe's digital library Europeana and suggests solutions for making works covered by copyright available online. The Comite des Sages on Digitisation comprises Maurice Levy, Elisabeth Niggemann and Jacques de Decker. The report's recommendations will feed into the Commission's broader strategy, under the Digital Agenda for Europe, to help cultural institutions make the transition towards the digital age.
- PRESS RELEASE
- Digital Agenda: simple smart phones and remote controls help elderly and disabled to manage their homes
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(6 January 2011) With more than two and a half million Euros of EU funding, researchers from the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Sweden have developed a solution to give elderly and disabled people easier control over the various electronic appliances and services in their homes using their mobile phone or other devices. The "I2HOME" project has developed a personalised and simplified Universal Remote Console interface based on existing and evolving open standards. This interface can be in a universal remote control, a mobile phone, a computer or other devices and can be used to, for example, switch on and programme washing machines, lighting, heating, air conditioning, TVs, DVD players/recorders and other household devices. The technology can also be applied outside the home. Harnessing information and communications technologies to support dignified and high quality independent living for the elderly, visually impaired or people with cognitive disabilities is one of the key objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe, adopted by the European Commission in May 2010.
See also: Website I2HOME
- PRESS RELEASE
- EU ratifies UN Convention on disability rights
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(5 January 2011) Following formal ratification, it is the first time in history the EU has become a party to an international human rights treaty - the United Nation's (UN) Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The Convention aims to ensure that people with disabilities can enjoy their rights on an equal basis with all other citizens. It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty to be ratified by the EU as a whole. It has also been signed by all 27 EU Member States and ratified by 16 of these. The EU becomes the 97th party to this treaty. The Convention sets out minimum standards for protecting and safeguarding a full range of civil, political, social, and economic rights for people with disabilities. It reflects the EU's broader commitment to building a barrier-free Europe for the estimated 80 million people with disabilities in the EU by 2020, as set out in the European Commission's disability strategy.
See also: EU's disability strategy for 2010-2020
- PRESS RELEASE
- Commission welcomes new EU standards for common mobile phone charger
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(29 December 2010) Following a mandate from the European Commission, the European Standardisation Bodies CEN-CENELEC and ETSI have now made available the harmonised standards needed for the manufacture of data-enabled mobile phones compatible with a new common charger. This is the most recent development in the process towards a global common mobile phone charger initiated by the European Commission. It follows the June 2009 agreement of fourteen leading mobile phone producers to harmonise chargers for data-enabled mobile phones (i.e. that can be connected to a computer) sold in the European Union. The European Commission expects the first common chargers and mobile phones compatible with the new standards to reach the European market in the first months of 2011.
- EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
- Knowledge Transfer: Bridging Science and Business for a New Sustainable Paradigm
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26 January 2011 - 28 January 2011 Lisbon, Portugal
This year's conference will include presentations from the European Patent Office, the US Patents and Trademarks Office, by leading innovative companies and top technology transfer organizations (TTO). The Conference will attract senior knowledge transfer managers from universities accross Europe and business development and in-licensing officers from research-based companies.
- NEWS ARTICLE
- The Osteoporotic Virtual Physiological Human
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(4 January 2011) Osteoporosis is becoming one of the most serious diseases for the European ageing population: nearly four million osteoporotic bone fractures cost the European health system more than EUR 30 billion per year, and kill 250,000 elders for related complications; this figure could double by 2050. Today a woman has the same probability to die of a hip fracture than of breast cancer. The aim of VPHOP project is to develop a novel multiscale modelling technology that could fight osteoporosis by predicting the bone risk of fracture more effectively than the current Standard of Care. With VPHOP, the European Virtual Physiological Human Initiative exhibits the potential to address today's socio-economic challenges and gain technologically competitive advantages for Europe.
See also: Virtual Physiological Human - projects
- EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
- A new system for event-based surveillance will be presented at CeBIT 2011 and at IMED 2011
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1 March 2011 - 5 March 2011
The system relies upon new event detection technologies and a broad range of information sources including multi media data and Web 2.0 content. In the first year of project duration, the consortium of the EU-funded M-Eco project worked towards a first prototype of a new event-based surveillance system. The challenges and short-comings of existing tools for early detection of disease outbreaks are addressed in that project by using additional information sources, applying more sophisticated event detection technologies and by personlizing and filtering the results. The first prototype of the system is now available and is presented at CeBIT, the international trade show on digital technologies. Research-wise, the project results will be presented with several contributions at the International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance (IMED 2011) on February 4-7, 2011 in Vienna, Austria. The project in general will be presented as well as results from user studies and results from technological research of the project.
Contact: denecke@l3s.de
See also: About M-Eco project - EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
- ETNO Innovation Day on e-health
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25 January 2011 Brussels, Belgium
The aim of the event is to discuss how e-health applications can contribute to address key societal challenges such as the growth of chronic diseases and the ageing population. The main obstacles to the take up of e-health applications in Europe will also be highlighted. In the spirit of the Digital Agenda, this event aims to contribute to identifying actions needed at EU or national level to enable a wider usage of e-health applications by the medical community and users. To that end, a debate will be organised with representatives from the medical community, national health systems, patients and operators.
Contact: dieu@etno.be
See also: ICT for Health
New in the Library
- REPORTS AND STUDIES
- ICT Supported Energy Efficiency in Construction - Strategic Research Roadmap and Implementation Recommendations
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12 January 2011
This new publication, which is based on a collection of best practices, provides a vision in the form of a strategic research roadmap with supporting implementation recommendations for ICT supported energy efficiency in construction. The editors of the book are Matti Hannus and Abdul Samad Kazi, both Chief Research Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Alain Zarli, Head of Division, Centre Scientifique et Technique du Batiment, France. The book has contributions from the main stakeholders from both the ICT and the Buildings and Construction sectors.
- SPEECH
- Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda
- Hungary's new media law
Open Hearing on Freedom of the Press in Hungary, European Parliament, Brussels, 11 January 2011
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