Tomorrow, 17 May, is International day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. And today, for those who face homophobic bullying, the EU is sending a very clear message: that for those growing up lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), life gets better; and we in the EU are working to make it better. Check out this video featuring me and EU politicians from every part of the continent:
Number of views: 1174
In Europe today our healthcare systems face a lot of challenges. Our population is getting older as life expectancy increases – potentially meaning a lot more elderly and infirm people who have to be cared for. In Europe we’re rightly proud of our healthcare systems: but if we’re going to keep them going we’ll have to do things differently.
Yesterday I had the pleasure to receive a report on just what we need to do: “Redesigning health in Europe for 2020“. President Ilves of Estonia and his task force have ably set out the opportunities for healthcare in a digital age – like how to put patients in control of their personal data; like the need to get all our systems connected and talking to each other; how to revolutionise health through transparency and accountability; and how to include everyone in this revolution, including those without Internet access. I’m grateful to them all for their hard work.
I’m convinced there’s lots of technological solutions that could help us here. Already ideas like telecare are proving their worth. But we have to open our minds to innovation in healthcare.
Number of views: 2249
Today I am very happy to report that despite the obvious geographical distance of some 10,000km, in terms of cooperation Japan and Europe are very close indeed. I had the great pleasure to hold a meeting with Minister Tatsuo Kawabata of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, together with some of his colleagues, including Vice Minister Yamakawa.
The Minister – responsible not only for ICT matters but also for Japanese home affairs – updated me on the progress in Japan since the terrible earthquake and tsunami of last year, and on the nuclear crisis and the effect this is having on Japan’s energy situation. I was struck yet again by the resilience and fortitude of the Japanese people: my thoughts are with those who have had to cope with such hardship. And I realised that, although Japan and Europe are facing crises of different natures at the moment, we are nevertheless seeing so many of the same challenges. Read the full entry
Number of views: 1421
Today, 3 May, is United Nations World Press Freedom Day. For me this is a chance to remember the fundamental rights, including to self-expression, that are safeguarded for all of us in the European Union – whether you’re a journalist, blogger or ordinary citizen.
And a chance to remember those people around the world who don’t have those protections, and are often restricted in what they can say or investigate. Read the full entry
Number of views: 2174
In digital communities, the word ‘Hadopi’ generates a fierce debate. But ‘Hadopi‘ is not only the name of a controversial law – it is the name a French independent public authority that also works to to spread legal online content. And growing the amount of legal content online is something we can all support.
In this context, I discovered with pleasure that Hadopi is undertaking a significant survey. Any French citizen – not just businesses or artists – can give their opinions on what exceptions should exist under French copyright law to take account of the ongoing digital revolution. (This work is led by Jacques Toubon, who also has excellent ideas on fair tax treatment for eBooks). Read the full entry
Number of views: 2199
Today, we launch some changes to the structure of the part of the Commission that leads on the Digital Agenda for Europe. I know changes in the Commission’s internal plumbing might be of limited interest outside the Brussels bubble. But for me it represents and echoes something much more significant. Read the full entry
Number of views: 4055
It was really nice today to meet the members of CIONET again – IT leaders from businesses around Europe, showing what new technology and systems can do for businesses.
I’d asked them to give me evidence about what the “digital agenda” means for them: like what fast broadband can do for their business. And the report they have compiled with INSEAD is great reading. It shows the positive difference of fast connections. And the great things they can do to boost their business if they do have consistently fast broadband – like get all those great cloud benefits.
They also let me know some of the things we could do to help out Europe’s businesses – like promoting open competitive telecoms markets, and cutting excessive data roaming charges. I’m committed to delivering both of those – despite pressure from certain parts of the telecoms sector to actually reduce levels of competition.
And we got to discuss the common challenges facing us – on the one hand as policymakers in the Commission, on the other as those responsible for managing huge IT systems in the private sector. In particular I highlighted to them the huge opportunities of ICT employment in the year to come. And it’s clear that CIOs are already aware of these issues – in particular that increasing outsourcing means they are not always able to train ICT staff for the long term.
So I invited them to join me in a grand coalition for ICT jobs. I am glad they agreed with me that this would be a win-win. On the one hand, doing justice to today’s young people by providing them with the tools to access future opportunities; on the other, ensuring businesses will get the human resources they are going to need for sure in the future.
Plus I was there to reward some of the most successful CIOs – people who’ve shown what ICT can deliver for big businesses. Well done to all of them! You can see more about the event – and the awards here; and the INSEAD study on the business benefits of broadband here.
Number of views: 3315
I don’t think we could make the Digital Agenda succeed without the active involvement of all those people who are out there and interested in making it happen – stakeholders and citizens. To get them together, last year we held the first ever Digital Agenda Assembly: which I found very refreshing, with lots of participation and lots of ideas.
But this year I want to do things slightly differently. If you really want to “talk digital”, then you need to talk digitally, with an online forum too – and it’s now open for contributions!
We will still have an “Assembly” so people can come and give their views physically (the Assembly is on 21-22 June in Brussels). But with an online forum too, we can get a wider range of people joining in and contributing – and also make our real-life event smaller and more focused, giving us more bang for our euro.
We’ve identified 9 key topics – converged media; broadband; e-commerce; social media; cloud; data; security; innovation and entrepreneurship; and jobs and skills – that we want to focus on finding the answers to. So if you’ve got views on any of those topics, then please log on and share them.
My team and I will be actively following and participating in that debate. And we will take all the contributions to the physical Digital Assembly meeting, and that in turn will feed in to the review of the Digital Agenda that I am planning for towards the end of the year.
If you are interested, then get online and get engaged at http://daa.ec.europa.eu/. Or comment on Twitter with the hashtag #da12. And please discuss, contribute, and shape the work we’re doing.
Number of views: 4874
CC photo credit: DigitalNative
ICT jobs keep growing and growing – just as they did throughout the crisis, that is one of the key points the European Commission is making today. In response to the ongoing and tragic levels of unemployment in Europe, we’re showcasing where we see the European labour market/s headed and what governments, individuals, and social partners like trade unions, can do to prepare for that future.
This isn’t a big funding package, it’s not a set of laws, but it’s a great way to getter a better idea of where the next opportunities are for European employees, entrepreneurs and employers. You won’t be shocked to learn that Information and Communication Technology has a central positive role in this story. How could it be otherwise? One in five workers now require advanced ICT skills and 90% of workers require basic ICT skills. In fact, we now predict that while jobs held by highly-qualified people with ICT skills will rise by 16 million by 2020, low-skilled jobs will fall by 12 million.
It’s not hard to see the connection between ICT and success. ICT is pervasive throughout all sectors of the economy, and is itself now one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of the European economy. ICT skills lower one’s risk of unemployment.
Specifically in the ICT sector (the four to five million ICT specialists and closely associated jobs) there is a massive jobs surplus emerging. There will be up to 700,000 vacancies by 2015 unless more is done to direct more young people into computing degrees, retrain mid-career unemployed people, and attract more women into the sector. That means ICT is going to continue to be a rich source of millions of jobs, mostly requiring graduate degrees.
This isn’t just about employment either. ICTs make is much easier to register and start a business, in particular the rise of cloud computing services do away with the need for expensive investments in ICT hardware.
So, what we’ve learnt today, or at least been reminded of, is that ICT jobs keep growing and growing – just as they did throughout the crisis. Alongside ‘green jobs’ this makes ICT the brightest spot in the European labour market.
One final thing: don’t forget that even the simple of use of ICT in job-hunting and recruitment is a critical force for effectively tackling unemployment. It reduces costs and massively increases options for both employers and employees when used effectively.
So please take these messages ‘on board.’ I don’t just mean governments – but also young people and those who find themselves unemployed. Use the key of ICT to unlock a better future.
Number of views: 3402
