Information Society News

The annual conference of the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme (AAL JP), the AAL Forum, will take place in Norrköping, Sweden, between 24 and 26 September 2013. The event is entitled “Impacting individuals, society and economic growth” and its goal is twofold: on the one hand the conference will showcase the significant progresses made by the AAL JP projects and solutions in the exhibition area with various demos and presentations, whereas the discussion in the sessions and in the plenaries will address two important questions: - How can we support an increased independence for older adults and benefit for the society as a whole? - What are the business models that stimulate large scale use of AAL solutions and how may they boost economic growth? Closing date of call for contributions is 17 May 2013.

COWIN is an initiative supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme and is dedicated to the optimisation of smart systems value creation through the better exploitation of research projects results. Through its strong actions, COWIN encourages collaborations between the smart systems community and the players, active at the applications level. COWIN is a first step towards bridging the gap between technologies and market. COWIN also works hand-in-hand with researchers and companies active in the smart systems field to support their diagnostics market penetration by helping them to find the right processes, partners and resources.

The Annual Conference of the Smart Cities Stakeholder Platform will bring together technology developers, city representatives, high-level financial managers and EU-level policy makers from across the European Union. While reviewing achievements since the creation of Platform two years ago, conference delegates will look at the next steps for mass application of promising ICT innovations in sectors such as urban mobility, housing and power distribution. The event will run two days. The first day, June 5, will follow a workshop format and allow participants to get acquainted with and vote for the best technological innovations identified by platform members. This informal half-day session lays the groundwork for the next day’s plenary session, which will include the participation of high-level conference delegates. For the first time, the conference presents results of the Smart Cities and Communities European Innovation Partnership. It gathers top experts and representatives of the most innovative Smart City solutions in Europe. REGISTRATION AND ATTENDANCE ARE FREE OF CHARGE.

The participants will receive an adult learning opportunity in the frame of lifelong learning. They will receive training with the focus on train-the-trainer method. The goal of the training is to implement the lessons learned afterwards in the organisation, so first line staff can benefit as well from the training. By offering new-technology based training and network opportunities, the training seeks to build a bridge between Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Person Centred and Assistive Technology (PCT/AT) on the one hand, and the social and health sector on the other hand. Special attention will go to the EU legal frameworks and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The training should facilitate the transition towards optimal use of technology in care and social support provision.

This event is organised by the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe(AAATE). One of the main objectives of the AAATE2013 Conference is to bring together researchers, professionals, manufacturers, end users and their families, and combine their knowledge, expertise, needs and expectations. This will be achieved not only by the presentation of papers during the two and a half days of the conference, but also through the participation in "Instructional Courses" and in a "Research Symposium" held immediately after the main Conference.

This event will bring together policy and main research stakeholders from Europe and China specialized on the ICT aspects of Smart and Sustainable Cities to create feasible research collaboration with the emergence of concrete projects. The workshop on Smart and Sustainable Cities is organised by the OpenChina-ICT project under the aegis of the European Commission through its FP7 research-funding programme, aiming at facilitating ICT related research cooperation between Europe and China.

The main theme of this edition is “Personal data and citizenship in the digital society”. The event includes a “Digital Futures Workshop” on the theme “The future of personal data and citizenship”, co-hosted by the Digital Enlightenment Forum and the Digital Futures Task Force of European Commission’s DG CONNECT.

Open Innovation 2.0 (OI2) is a new paradigm which is about sustainable prosperity and value creation, and well-being. OI2 involves deep networking and collaboration amongst all actors in society to co-create value, to enhance and accelerate progress. Therefore, new methodologies, mechanisms, mind-sets, metrics like design thinking and prototyping are required. With the intention of bringing together thought leaders, senior decision makers, policy leaders, leading executives and social innovators, the European Commission, Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group, Intel Labs Europe, Dublin City Council, Trinity College Dublin co-organise the Open Innovation 2.0 Conference on 20th and 21st May 2013 in Dublin. Speakers and participants of the Conference are expected to develop together a manifesto, platform and roadmap for sustainable economy and society development.

Brain research in Europe needs a decisive effort. We must invest more, define clearer and more innovative research and healthcare strategies, and better coordinate national efforts.

Both healthcare and technology professionals are invited to join the Health Hack Dublin competition (11th and 12th May) on the eve of international eHealth Week 2013. Together they will be producing high quality software that has the potential to transform healthcare.

How can we encourage more young female tech talent into digital jobs? The European Commission, European Parliament and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are coming together on Girls in ICT Day (25 April) to find new ways of encouraging girls to take up careers in ICT and to show them the opportunities on offer.

The European Commission is taking action to ensure the Dutch telecoms regulator, ACM, retains full independence in the application of EU telecoms rules to television broadcasting transmission. The 2009 EU Regulatory Framework for telecoms requires that national regulators have full independence in how they apply market regulation.

The Powerpoint presentation below (Download under "Related Documents") is based on the Commission's Digital Agenda Scoreboard data and shows key digital indicators and statistics for Czech Republic and other Member States.

The Powerpoint presentation below (Download under "Related Documents") is based on the Commission's Digital Agenda Scoreboard data and shows key digital indicators and statistics for Cyprus and other Member States.

The Powerpoint presentation below (Download under "Related Documents") is based on the Commission's Digital Agenda Scoreboard data and shows key digital indicators and statistics for Bulgaria and other Member States.

The Powerpoint presentation below (Download under "Related Documents") is based on the Commission's Digital Agenda Scoreboard data and shows key digital indicators and statistics for Belgium and other Member States.

The Powerpoint presentation below (Download under "Related Documents") is based on the Commission's Digital Agenda Scoreboard data and shows key digital indicators and statistics for Austria and other Member States.

Commission action has triggered changes in legislation in Estonia and the Slovak Republic, bringing them into line with the requirement of the Directive on re-use of public sector information (Directive 2003/98/EC – the 'PSI Directive').

'Europioneers' European Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Awards ceremony , Amsterdam