— Posted by “The DAA and Going Local Organising Team”

The 1st Digital Agenda for Europe (DAA11, Brussels, 16-17 June 2011) surpassed expectations, with more than 1600 participants onsite and many contributions online. Thank you very much to all those that contributed in one way or another.

• DAA11 recordings and results are available online.
• Much feedback was received about the event itself, which is summarised in the ‘First Digital Agenda Assembly – Report of activity’.

Already during DAA11 many suggestions were made onsite and on twitter about aspects to improve. Soon after DAA11, an assessment form was e-mailed to participants and an online feedback forum was launched.  45 ideas were submitted in this forum, 190 people commented and voted. DAA11 organisers replied to most comments, others didn’t call for a response. The answers to the most voted suggestions are: Read the full entry

Number of views: 1365

— Posted by Fabio Nasarre de Letosa, DG INFSO, International desk officer, Workshop organiser at the Digital Agenda Assembly 

The Information Society has clear global dimensions. Infrastructures are interconnected and often inter-dependent. Services cross borders; data crosses borders; sharing information and aligning our approaches, with the appropriate international partners, to common challenges can bring benefits, not least in terms of the potential markets that can then result.

The success of the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) is by its nature dependent on worldwide developments. Its international dimension is therefore more than an additional, separate elements; it is integral to the strategy itself. The success of the DAE requires an international agenda that sets clear priorities and objectives, chooses the most appropriate tool and strategically identifies the right partners.

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Number of views: 1302

— Posted by Marina Nedelcheva, DG INFSO: Internet, Network and Information security unit, Workshop organiser at the Digital Agenda Assembly 

ICT networks and services, and in particular the Internet, are a key driver for our economy and society. They bring immense economic opportunities and at the same time provide a vital public good. Given our growing dependence on the smooth functioning of these networks and services, ensuring their security and availability is of utmost importance for our society.

Enhancing the level of cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility and this poses certain governance challenges. States are ultimately responsible for defining policies for the protection of vital information infrastructures, such as the Internet, however, their implementation depends on the involvement of the private sector, which owns and manages a large number of these infrastructures. The level of security is also affected by the actions of individual end-users.

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Number of views: 1554

— Posted by Gábor Bartha, DG INFSO, Policy officer: ICT for Government and Public Services, Workshop organiser at the Digital Agenda Assembly

Today, the access to online services provided by the public and the private sector is more and more linked to e-identification and e-authentication. There are already many Member States providing their citizens with national e-identification and e-authentication instruments (e.g. eID card, mobile phone ID) designed to be used for online transactions. In some Member States the use of these instruments is restricted to eGovernment services, in others they can be used generally by all business sectors.

However, all Member States are confronted now with “non nationals” equipped with e-identification and e-authentication means from other Member States which do not fit into the national solution. The low degree of interoperability of the different national solutions used makes the cross-border use of national e-IDs and e-authentication means very difficult.

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Number of views: 4097

— Posted by Peter Wintlev-Jensen, DG INFSO, ICT for Health, Workshop organiser at Digital Agenda Assembly

We are living for longer. That is all thanks to medical progress and lifestyle changes brought about by progress. In today’s EU, women aged 65 can expect to live another 20 years (yet men only 17!). A key concern is what those 20 years after retirement age will really hold for the elderly. Will they be able to remain healthy, active and independent and truly enjoy those years?

It is a pressing question for us, both as private individuals but also as a society. In parallel to the extension of life expectancy fertility rates are declining, consequently the ratio between people at work and remaining population will change from 4-1 today to 2-1 by 2050 in average in Europe. The growth in the number of the elderly is both a societal and economical challenge. 

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Number of views: 1528

—Posted by Philipp Runge, DG INFSO, Policy Officer, Workshop organiser at Digital Agenda Assembly

The European Commission is contacted on a regular basis by European citizens who complain that they cannot access the creative content of their choice on the platforms that they want. Can the efficient and targeted use of IT help improving this situation and if yes, how? How can licensing processes be streamlined and become more transparent through the use of databases, metadata and standards? What is the role of the EU public institutions?

At the Digital Agenda Assembly, the workshop n°13 dedicated to “ICT and management of creative content” will raise these questions and try to find first answers to it. Existing and planned initiatives from various sectors (e.g. music, audiovisual content and publishing) will be presented and discussed. The workshop will give an opportunity to explore potential synergies between these projects and other relevant IT solutions.

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Number of views: 1487

— Posted by Pierre Chastanet, DG INFSO, Policy Officer ICT for Sustainable Growth, Workshop organiser at the Digital Agenda Assembly

There are all sorts of digital applications that can help us increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. We can deploy energy management systems in buildings. We can use ICT systems to improve logistics and planning, in industry and across entire communities. Teleworking and video-conferencing can save us from having to travel.  But all of these applications come with energy, material and carbon costs of their own.

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Number of views: 1586

— Posted by Juan Arregui Mc Gullion, DG INFSO, Project officer ICT for Government and Public Services, Workshop organiser at the Digital Agenda Assembly

eGovernment is meant to make life easier for citizens and businesses. In many instances this is already the case. Thanks to smart use of ICT, public administrations are serving their citizens better and at less cost. But can the same be said when it comes to serving companies or citizens from other EU countries?

More than 600,000 people live in one EU country and work in another. They have to cope with different national practices and legal systems. Every year 350,000 Europeans marry a national of another Member State and 180,000 European students move to another Member State. Is eGovernment making their lives easier?

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Number of views: 2026

— Posted by Katarzyna Balucka-Debska, DG INFSO, Project Officer ICT for Inclusion, Workshop organiser at the Digital Agenda Assembly

If you are reading this message, this means you are digitally literate. Congratulations! You not only have access to a computer and an Internet connection, but also possess the skills to find the information that you need and to participate actively in the digital world. You most likely use those skills at your job, or can use them to find one. In short, you belong to the 70% of the people in Europe, who are “e-Included”.

But have you ever thought about the people who will not read this paragraph, who don’t stay in touch through e-mail, who don’t know there might be jobs advertised online for them, don’t buy cheaper their children clothes…and all of the other tools that help you make your life better? But why would you care anyway? Because Information Society can really mean that everybody has a better chance. Because digitally driven economy can only function well if all customers know and buy smart services. Read the full entry

Number of views: 5529

— Posted by Prof. Luciano Floridi, Research Chair in Philosophy of Information and GPI, University of Hertfordshire; Faculty of Philosophy and IEG, University of Oxford; UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics.

Nanotechnology, the Internet of Things, Web 2.0, Semantic Web, Cloud computing, motion-capturing games, smart phones apps, GPS, Augmented Reality, Artificial Companions, drones… is there a unifying perspective from which all these ICT phenomena might be interpreted as aspects of a single, macroscopic trend?

Part of the difficulty, in answering this question, is that we are still used to looking at ICTs as tools to interact with the world, when in fact they have become environmental forces, which are creating and shaping our reality, more and more pervasively. To put it briefly, the answer may lie in realising that ICTs are enveloping the world. In robotics, an envelope (also known as reach envelop) is the three-dimensional space that defines the boundaries that the robot can reach.

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Number of views: 2062