Toward the spring of IT: The Baltic IT&T 2001 Forum: ebaltics

Transcription

1 Toward the spring of IT: The Baltic IT&T 2001 Forum: ebaltics In the East, the beginning of the New Year is celebrated at the end of January, but IT-related people are even more peculiar. Their working calendar begins with the largest meeting of informatics people in Latvia, which takes place in April. We donít know whether the logo of the forum, which took the shape of a pigeon, had much to do with the success of the event, but it did have an extraordinarily large number of visitors. The international øbaltic IT&T 2001 Forum: ebalticsø at the Radisson SAS Daugava brought together nearly 500 participants from 26 countries, both near and far. At the Skonto Olympic Hall, 7,000 square meters of floor space were used by 110 IT, telecommunications and office equipment companies to inform visitors about the latest solutions of the digital century. Along with the exhibition, there was an extensive program of seminars and presentations. Approximately 30,000 representatives of businesses and the Information Society attended the exhibition. ORGANIZERS AND GOALS The Baltic IT&T 2001 Forum: ebaltics was organized in Rîga on April 4-7 by the Information Techno- Nearly 30,000 people visited the Baltic IT&T 2001 exhibition during the four days that it was open. Latvian Prime Minister Andris Bérziñß chaired the Baltic IT&T 2001 Forum. logy Committee of the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Data Media Group. The chairman of the forum was Prime Minister Andris Bérziñß of Latvia. The main goals of the Baltic IT&T 2001 Forum: ebaltics were: To strengthen the competitiveness of the countries of the Baltic Sea region not only in Europe, but also throughout the world; To promote the exchange of information and cooperation in the IT&T sector among governments and businesses in the region; To develop the digital economy and the Information Society in the region; To promote IT &T cooperation among the countries of the Baltic Sea region, focusing on an exchange of experiences, the attraction of investments, and participation in international projects and programs. The Baltic IT&T 2001 Forum was the first event of this magnitude in the Baltic region. FORUM PARTICIPANTS The international Baltic IT&T 2001 Forum: ebaltics was particularly significant in terms of the fact that it attracted politicians, business people and IT&T experts from not only the Baltic Sea region, but also from Europe and the rest of the world. 475 participants came from 27 countries - Austria, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Among them there were government representatives: ministers and senior officials from the countries of the Baltic Sea region, the European Union, Great Britain, the United States and Canada. Highranking leaders from many international companies spoke at the conference, including Compaq EMEA Telecoms vice president Jenny Newton, CV-Online 5

2 One of the most important speakers at the conference plenary session was George Metakides, Director, E-Essential Information Society Technologies and Infrastructures Directorate, Information Society DG, European Commission. vice president Juri Kaljundi, Gartner Group vice president Andrew Butler, Hewlett-Packard vice president Alex Sazonoff, and IBM EMEA manager Mark Palmer. FORUM EVENTS AND THE PROGRAM The 5th international Baltic IT&T 2001 conference ebaltics: A Competitive Region in Europe During the four years of its existence, the Baltic IT&T conference has proven itself to be one of the most important forums in the area of information technologies and telecommunications in the Baltic States. This year the conference s main topics were The Digital Economy, E-Society, Next-Generation Networks and The Northern Dimension and the Information Society. Conference participants included high-ranking representatives from global IT&T companies, governments and other organizations from the Baltic Sea region, Scandinavia, other European countries and the United States. The Digital Economy session Among key speakers here were Andrew Butler, Vice President & Research Group Director, the Gartner Group, Jenny Newton, Vice President for Telecoms, Compaq EMEA, Alex Sozonoff, Vice President, Customer Advocacy, Hewlett-Packard, and Stephen Thomas Nash, the British ambassador in Latvia. Also appearing were representatives of various government and private organizations from different countries ministries, company registers, banks, universities, consulting companies, etc. Major subjects that were covered included E- government, New business models and digital services for business, Development of the E-business environment, and Legislation in the Baltic region. 6 The E-Society session Key speakers included George Metakides, Director, E-Essential Information Society Technologies and Infrastructures Directorate, Information Society DG, European Commission, Belgium, Bruno Peeters, President, Telepolis, former deputy mayor of Antwerp, and Tom Cosh, Head of Economic Development, Newcastle City Council. Delegates also heard from the authors of a variety of interesting projects and concepts from libraries, companies, universities and other educational institutions. Subjects of discussion included the Baltic region on the road to the digital society, Public sector services, the Knowledge Society and E-skills. The Next-Generation Networks session Among the speakers here were Leena Suhonen, Chief Executive Officer, Lattelekom, Janne Jarvenpaa, Customer Solutions Manager, Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco Systems, Hans Lindquist, Director, Strategic Business Development, Ericsson, and Boenk van Marle, CEO, LinxTelecom. Presentations were made not only by representatives of leading telecommunications companies, but also by high ranking officials from various ministries and state agencies and consulting companies. The greatest attention was focused on two subjects Policy, regulation and business strategies, and Technologies and solutions. The Northern Dimension and the Information Society session The keynote address here was presented by Anatolijs Gorbunovs, Minister of Transport and The plenary session at the conference (from the left): LITTA president Imants Freibergs; Andrew Butler, Vice President & Research Group Director, Gartner Group; George Metakides, Director, E-Essential Information Society Technologies and Infrastructures Directorate, Information Society DG, European Commission; and Andris Bérziñß, Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia.

3 Communications of Latvia. Presentations were also made by representatives of the European Commission, the Northwest Russia/St. Petersburg region, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Arctic Council, the Nordic Industrial Fund, the Barents Euro Arctic Council, the Baltic Institute of Finland and the Council of Baltic Sea States. Delegates discussed cooperation among the Nordic region and the Baltic Sea states. THE PARTNERSHIP AND IST DAY The session was opened by Latvian Economics Minister Aigars Kalvîtis and Latvian Development Agency director general Måris Elerts. There was a workshop on the subject of The EU Information Society Technologies (IST) Program: Visions, Implementation, Participation. This workshop on the European Union s IST program and its various projects (IDEALIST, EMERGE and evikings) was the first of its kind in the Baltic States. The goal was to allow science and development centers, as well as technology companies from the Baltic Sea region, to become involved in the EU s partnership networks and to attract financing for the development of science and technologies. THE IT&T ASSOCIATIONS FORUM On the basis of an initiative from the Latvian Information Technology and Telecommunications Association (LITTA), a forum for other IT&T associations was held under the auspices of the Baltic IT&T 2001 Forum: ebaltics. The forum attracted The agreement on establishing an alliance of Baltic Sea Region IT associations was signed by the president of the Estonian Information Technology Association, Jaan Oruaas, the president of the Lithuanian Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and Office Equipment Companies, Vitautas Vitkauskas, LITTA president Imants Freibergs, and the president of the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications Companies, Jaak Anton. LITTA president Imants Freibergs signs the agreement on establishing an alliance of Baltic Sea Region IT associations. representatives not only from the Baltic States, but also from Denmark and Slovenia. A cooperation agreement was signed at the meeting on the establishment of an alliance of such associations in the Baltic Sea region. The agreement was signed by the president of LITTA, Imants Freibergs, by the president of the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications Companies, Jaak Anton, the president of the Estonian Information Technology Association, Jaan Oruaas, and the president of the Lithuanian Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and Office Equipment Companies, Vytautas Vitkauskas. The goal of the agreement is to strengthen cooperation, exchange information, organize joint events, and ensure support for the companies that are involved in the alliance. The associations will also share their experience on ways in which the development of national IT policies can best be promoted. Members of the new alliance say that other IT associations are also invited to join. THE GLOBAL CITIES DIALOGUE WORKSHOP Leading officials from various city councils in Europe, as well as high-ranking people from other entities, met in Rîga under the auspices of the Global Cities Dialogue project. Participants included official representatives from Rîga, Stockholm, Antwerp, Newcastle (UK), Sienna (Italy), and the Global Dialogue Network. The welcoming speech was delivered by Rîga Mayor Gundars Bojårs. The Global Dialogue Network admitted new participants during the meeting, including the Western Latvian town of Liepåja. Delegates talked about urban information systems, cooperation opportunities and various experiences in this field. The event took place at the Rîga City Council. 7

4 The Digital Rîga project was presented to forum delegates. The project is a gift to the Latvian capital city from Fortech, working in cooperation with the Data Media Group, the Rîga-800 Agency and the Delfi Internet service provider. Between May and late August, there will be Global Access Points with touch-based screens in several places in the city. The modern information system will allow the people of Rîga and their guests to find their way around all of the various events that will be related to the city s 800th jubilee celebration. MEETING FOR SENIOR OFFICIALS: NORTHERN edimension ACTION PLAN This meeting involved senior officials and experts with mandates from the countries of the Council of Baltic Sea States. The goal was to discuss the draft Northern edimension Action Plan along with partners from the relevant regional bodies, and to prepare for a following ministerial meeting in September, The meeting was chaired by Mr. Gard Titlestad, European Commission, DG Information Society, opened the meeting. The Latvian delegation presented the Latvian High-ranking officials met during the forum to elaborate the Northern edimension Action Plan. High-ranking leaders from the countries of the Baltic Sea Region (from the left): The director of the Informatics Department of Latvia s Transport Ministry, Andris Virtmanis; European Commission international projects director Gard Titlestad; and the director of the European Commission s DG Information Society Department, John Beal. National Programme Informatics and the plans for Latvian participation in the EU Information Society initiatives. Latvia confirmed that it would take the initiative to host a meeting of ministers for the Information Society in the framework of the CBSS on 28 September in Rîga. The primary goals for the September meeting should be to adopt a Northern edimension Action Plan. The meeting had been prepared by Estonia (issuing the action plan), Latvia (host country) and the Commission. All members of the CBSS were represented. The Nordic Council of Ministers was represented as an observer. THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT EXHIBITION BALTIC IT&T 2001 The exhibition was held at the SKONTO Olympic Hall at Melngai a iela 1A from April information technology, telecommunications and office equipment companies and organizations appeared at the exhibition, coming from the Baltic States, Europe, America and other regions. Exhibitors included major Latvian IT companies, as well as international firms such as DESL, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Siemens, etc. It was the eighth annual exhibition of this type, and it has grown from being a purely Latvian event to one which is truly pan-baltic in nature. The total floor space for the exhibition was approximately 7,000 square meters. Seminars and presentations were available to visitors throughout the four-day event. Altogether, some 30,000 business and Information Society representatives visited the exhibition. 8

5 The international Baltic IT&T 2001 exhibition was opened on April 4 by Prime Minister Andris Bérziñß, who said in his address that the information technology and telecommunications industry represents the future of Latvia s economic development and competitiveness. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEAS AND PROJECTS OF THE FORUM All of the forum materials, presentations, events and related publications can be found at Planning is underway already for the Baltic IT&T 2002 Forum: ebaltics, which will take place in the spring of 2002 in Rîga. In the meantime, work will be done on the development of cooperation projects involving IT&T companies, governments, investors and public organizations in the Baltic States and in the countries of the Baltic Sea region. Particular attention will be devoted to harmonizing the E-environment in the Baltic Sea region and to developing and implementing the Northern edimension Action Plan. Veterans of the Baltic IT&T exhibitions know that a key part of all of the opening ceremonies is the large Fortech cake. This year pieces of the cake were distributed once again by Fortech director Jånis Bergs. 9