miércoles, 20 de julio de 2011

e-Inclusion Newsletter - 20/07/2011

20 July 2011

Latest News

PRESS RELEASE
Commission consults on how best to seize the opportunities for TV and film in the online age

(13 July 2011) Digital technology and the internet are rapidly changing the way in which audiovisual works are produced, marketed, and distributed. Consumers increasingly expect to be able to watch anything, anywhere, any time and via any one of a number of devices (TV, personal computer, games console, mobile media device). Business models have to evolve rapidly to keep pace with the ever faster pace of technological change which offers new opportunities for creators and distributors and also new consumer expectations and ultimately more growth and jobs.

PRESS RELEASE
Addressing the challenges of an ageing population

(15 July 2011) The European Commission calls on EU Member States to develop and pursue a common vision on how to coordinate research at EU level in the field of ageing. This was the message of a Recommendation just adopted by the Commission entitled "More years, better lives - the potential and challenges of demographic change". The Recommendation urges Member States to participate in a Joint Programming Initiative on ageing populations in research areas such as how to retain people in the labour market, how to help older people remain active for as long as possible, in good health and with a better quality of life and how to make our future care systems sustainable.

NEWS ARTICLE
AGE Platform Europe supports Commission's Recommendation on the EU Joint Programming Initiative on ageing

(19 July 2011) "It is very urgent to find innovative solutions to better adapt our societies to the needs of our rapidly ageing population and AGE is really pleased to see that this objective is now a priority on the EU agenda," highlights Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary-General of AGE Platform Europe in reaction to the European Commission's recommendation "More years, better lives - the potential and challenges of demographic change". The Recommendation urges Member States to participate in a Joint Programming Initiative on ageing populations in research areas such as how to retain people in the labour market, how to help older people remain active for as long as possible, in good health and with a better quality of life and how to make our future care systems sustainable. "The new EU initiative should help mobilise stakeholders and take advantage of national resources and expertise to effectively address what has now become one of the biggest challenges for the coming decades", adds Mrs Parent.

See also: The Commission's recommendation

PRESS RELEASE
€7 billion boost for research and innovation will create jobs and growth

(19 July 2011) Today Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn announced nearly €7 billion to kick-start innovation through research. The European Commission's biggest ever such funding package, under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7), is expected to create around 174 000 jobs in the short-term and nearly 450 000 jobs and nearly €80 billion in GDP growth over 15 years1. EU research funding is at the top of the political agenda and has now been placed at the centre of a coherent innovation strategy, the Innovation Union, which Europe needs if it is to compete with large, dynamic countries like the US and China.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Hands on Developer Workshop: Using the HaptiMap toolkit

16 August 2011 Getxo/Bilbao, Spain

The HaptiMap toolkit is a set of software tools developed to make it easier for developers to add more multimodal and accessible interaction in their services. The HaptiMap Toolkit simplifies the development of mobile location and mapping-based applications that make use of haptic, audio and visual input and output. It aims to achieve this by presenting a simple cross-platform API that abstracts the complexities of dealing with haptic/audio/visual input and output on these devices, on a cross-platform basis, and retrieving, storing and manipulating geographical data, behind a simple interface, leaving the user interface developers free to concentrate on maximising the usability and accessibility of their applications. The aim of this workshop is to give everyone interested in using the HaptiMap toolkit a chance to get valuable inside information as well as providing a hands on experience getting started using the toolkit software. HaptiMap is a European Commission-funded project (FP7-ICT-224675).

See also: HaptiMap project

CALL FOR TENDERS
Study on the socio-economic impact of new measures to improve accessibility of goods and services for people with disabilities

(Deadline: 22/08/2011) This call for tenders is for a service contract regarding a study on the potential socio-economic impacts of possible new measures by the EU to improve accessibility of goods and services for people with disabilities. This study will serve as a basis for exploring the merits of adopting EU regulatory measures to substantially improve the proper functioning of the internal market for accessible products and services, including measures to step up the use of public procurement.

New in the Library

REPORTS AND STUDIES
Under the Radar: The Contribution of Civil Society and Third Sector Organisations to eInclusion

20 July 2011

EU eInclusion policy goals reinforced in the flagship initiative 'A Digital Agenda for Europe (2010)' aim to both develop digital skills and competence for empowerment and emancipation and use ICT in support of social inclusion processes. The vast majority of the eInclusion initiatives in the field are carried out by the third sector and public sector organisations. In order to better understand how EU-third sector synergies could be strengthened in favour of the eInclusion process and, given the scarcity of data available about the structure, characteristics, needs and challenges of the civil society and the Third Sector Organisations (TSO), the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) has carried out an exploratory research study to shed some light on the above questions. The study, on which this report is based, starts by analysing the European policy framework for the third sector, and clarifies the nature and specificities of civil society and TSO activities and their contribution to social innovation. It analyses TSOs' contribution to eInclusion objectives and makes an attempt to classify the different types of TSO from this perspective, providing many inspiring examples of TSO actions. Finally, it proposes some policy options to support and further develop the role that this sector plays in achieving eInclusion goals.

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