Second National Hosts Conference and ACTS "Proposers' Day"
The second National Hosts Conference took place in Vienna, Austria, on 6-10 November 1995 under the title "A day in the information society". The conference was organized within the framework of the European Telework Week and included a "Proposers' Day" and concertation meeting for the Commission's specific programme in the area of advanced communications technologies and services (ACTS). Leading experts reported on and discussed the key-issues related to Europe's role in the evolving Information Society. In addition, throughout the event, National Hosts were presented in individual booths where they offered in-depth information on how they work and the projects they support. Proceedings were opened with key note speeches from (amongst others) Viktor Klima, the Austrian Minister for public economy and transport; Rudolf Scholten, the Austrian Minister of science research and art and Erika Mann, Member of the European Parliament. The event received widespread media coverage in Austria itself, with inserts on the main evening TV news, and a 45 minute TV documentary, shown late in the evening of 8 November 1995. The event included: - RACE awards: In an awards ceremony for the most outstanding contributions to European RTD supported by the RACE programme, as assessed by an independent jury, the MEP Erika Mann presented RACE awards to: - Mr. Geoff Hill, from British Telecom, project manager of the RACE Project R2028, "Multiple Wavelength Telecommunications Networks", who received the RACE award for technological progress, in the name of the companies participating in this project; - Mr. John Van Breemen, from AT&T Networks Systems Nederland, project manager of the RACE project R2024, "Broadband Access Facilities", who received the RACE award for the best demonstration/application, in the name of the companies participating in this project; - Mrs. Josie Scarr, from KPN Research, who received an award as the best young technologist. - Video conference with the Canadian Minister of State for Science and Technology: In an ISDN video conference link from Minister Gerrard in Ottawa, to Vienna, an announcement was made of contacts awarded for technology applications development in the Canadian CANARIE programme. These could lead directly to further support for international cooperation initiatives such as G7-GIBN and the ACTS programme. Senior officials in Bern, Switzerland, also took part in the subsequent discussion and exchange of views. - "Proposers' Day" for ACTS second call for proposals: In total, approximately 750 people attended the Proposers' Day for the second ACTS call for proposals which was held on Wednesday 8 November 1995. The call was published on 15 September 1995. The deadline for the submission of proposals is 1 March 1996 (17.00). The deadline for the submission of preparatory proposals for exploratory awards was 15 October 1995. The event attracted many newcomers showing interest in ACTS for the first time. These included many new SMEs, users, and organizations from Central and Eastern Europe as well as other non-European countries. Commission representatives were on hand to answer questions. As well as providing information, the event also offered an excellent opportunity for people to meet each other - an important element in the formation of new consortia.
Countries
Austria