Highlights from the European Telematics Conference Highlights from the EU's Telematics for Libraries conference, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 15 to 17 September 1998, are now available on the conference Website. The conference was jointly organised by the Goethe Institut, the British Council and the Institut França... Highlights from the EU's Telematics for Libraries conference, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 15 to 17 September 1998, are now available on the conference Website. The conference was jointly organised by the Goethe Institut, the British Council and the Institut Français in South Africa, with the support of the European Commission's Delegation in South Africa. A keynote presentation from a representative of the European Commission, DG XIII, discussed key elements within the upcoming Fifth RTD Framework Programme and the possibilities for cooperation in research between the EU and South Africa. A comprehensive overview of the Telematics for Libraries activities, from initial inception to the present day was provided, as well as an explanation of the rationale behind the programme and its functioning. The presentation also placed libraries research in the overall context of EU telematics research and the future of research in this area. A large section was devoted to the Fifth Framework Programme's "Creating a user-friendly Information Society", which is also known as the Information Society Technologies (IST) programme, and brings together what were formally three separate programmes. The four Key Actions proposed under this programme were explained in detail, and in particular the libraries activities which are dealt with under the Key Action on Multimedia Content and Tools, under the sub-heading "Digital heritage and cultural content". The final sections of the presentation were devoted to the issue of convergence and its relevance to the IST programme, as well as the possibilities for cooperation between the EU and South Africa for research in the libraries sector. The different possibilities for cooperation were outlined, in particular the opportunities presented by the recent EU-SA Agreement which entered into force on 11 November 1997. This allows for the participation of South African research entities in all the specific programmes of the Community's RTD Framework Programme and participation of EU research entities in South African programmes, provided the particular rules and conditions of the programmes are met. The second keynote presentation delivered during the conference provided an overview of strategies and results within the Telematics for Libraries activities between 1985 and 1998. The following sections were covered in this presentation: - History of Telematics for Libraries between 1985 and 1998; - Goals, strategies and action lines; - The first Libraries programme (1990-1994); - The Telematics for Libraries sector (1994-1998); - Key result areas; - Platforms of common European interest such as the European Copyright User Platform (ECUP); - Tangible results from research projects; - Trends in international cooperation in European research.
