Over 70 nominations for Millennium Technology Prize

More than 70 innovators, who developed technology improving people's quality of life, have been nominated for the first-ever Millennium Technology Prize.

The nomination period for the one million euro prize closed at the end of December 2003. The Finnish Technology Award Foundation received nominations from 19 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Northern America.
Preliminary assessment of the nominees has commenced on 2 January 2004. A meeting of the International Award Selection Committee will be held in Helsinki in early March. The chairman of the committee is Professor Pekka Tarjanne.
The winner(s) of the first Millennium Technology Prize will be announced at 9am on 15th April at the Dipoli Congress Centre in Espoo. The prize will be awarded at a ceremony in the Finlandia Hall on 15th June 2004.
The Millennium Technology Prize is the worlds largest technology award recognizing a technological innovation that has a far-reaching impact in promoting people's quality of life. The innovation must be based on human values and should encourage sustainable economic development.
Events linked to the award ceremony in the metropolitan area of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa will start on 13th June with the International Millennium Technology Conference Future Society Future Technology. The conference is geared towards decision makers and opinion leaders in society, chief technology officers and leading figures in the scientific community.
Speakers are leading experts within the fields of social and economic sciences and the four technological domains recognized by the Millennium Technology Prize. These domains are: Health Care and Life Sciences; Communication and Information; New Materials and Processes; and Energy and the Environment.
Further information about the Millennium Technology Prize:
Communications Officer Tytti Nahi, mobile phone [phone],Representative Ossi Kokkonen, mobile phone [phone],http://www.technologyawards.org
The Millennium Technology Conference speakers and the conference and prize ceremony programme will be published in the second half of January 2004.

Countries

Finland, United Kingdom