19th International CODATA Conference
Category: Scientific Informatics Challenges
in
EU
Information Society Technologies project in the Baltic States
Jean Bonnin, France and Alexander Beriozko, Russia
The project "Information Society Promotion in Baltic States (IST4Balt)"
is a Coordination Action for the Information Society Technologies (IST) Priority
of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). IST4Balt is a follow-up of the FP5 IST
project "Teleworking as a Tool for Information Society Technologies Programme
Promotion to Baltic States (TELEBALT)", which started in October 2001 and
was successfully completed in October 2003.
IST4Balt will be implemented by the coordinator - "Earth Data Network for Education and Scientific Exchange (EDNES)", Strasbourg, France, and its partners (contractors):
The main goal of the project is to promote the FP6 IST Priority to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia by implementing fast dissemination and awareness actions targeted on these EU accessing countries.
IST4Balt will perform technology studies and market review of the present situation with Information Society Technologies in the three Baltic countries. Basing on results of these studies, it will provide (through IST4Balt Web-sites, News Journal, workshops, conferences and training course) relevant information and formulate appropriate recommendations to EU research and marketing telematics communities.
Basing on applicability of the services and tools in the Baltic countries to launch new educational, research, environmental, telemedicine and/or business project proposals to IST and other relevant EU programs with participation of EU members and Baltic States, the project will select and demonstrate in the Baltic countries up to eight IST developed services and tools following IST Strategic Objectives:
In the framework of IST4Balt a system of three goal oriented Information Dissemination Centers (IDCs) will be developed in the Baltic countries (one IDC in each participating country). The basis of this IDCs system was launched under "Open Latvia", Latvia, INFOBALT, Lithuania, and Inforing AS, Estonia, by TELEBALT project (IST-2001-33041). Lithuanian IDC at INFOBALT will focus on business applications included in the Strategic Objective 2.3.2.6 Applications and services for the mobile user and worker. Latvian IDC at RTU will concentrate on the Strategic Objective 2.3.2.3 Open development platforms for software and services and will also deal with telematic for tourism included in the Strategic Objective 2.3.2.7 Cross-media content for leisure and entertainment. The Estonian partner Bi-Info will orient its IDC towards the Strategic Objective 2.3.2.9 Improving Risk management, as far as economical and financial risk is concerned, and new employment opportunities following the Strategic Objective 2.3.2.10 e-Inclusion.
Comprehensive
system of IST4Balt interactive and interconnected newest generation Web-sites
will be developed by each of the three IDCs along with IST4Balt Web-site in
EDNES. The Web-sites in Baltic countries will be focused on a particular application
areas: open development platforms for software and services at Riga Technical
University (RTU), tourism at subcontractor of RTU - "Open Latvia",
business applications at INFOBALT and VITP, Lithuania, risk management at Bi-Info,
and new employment opportunities at Inforing, Estonia. To these Web-resources
UNIDO will include teleworking system of e-certificates for building the trust
and online collaboration in the framework of FP6. IST4Balt on the Web system
will be designed in English, Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian languages.
Three issues of IST4Balt News Journal will be published electronically and in
hard copies on yearly basis. It will be devoted to IST events and tools relevant
to Information Society activities in Baltic States.
The project will provide coordination and support and co-organize major internationally recognized Baltic ICT events - three INFOBALT-IST4Balt conferences in Vilnius in October 2004, 2005, 2006, three Baltic IT&T-IST4Balt conferences in Riga in April 2005, 2006, 2007, and organize special IST training day inside the conference "Logistics and information technologies in international trade" in Tallinn in December 2005. In total the conferences expect up to 6000 IST participants from Baltic States with wide participation of potential EU team work partners.
The project will organize seven IST4Balt technical/training workshops (six goal oriented IST4Balt technical workshops at the time of the conferences in Tallinn, Vilnius and Riga, and IST4Balt training workshop in Kohtla-Jarve, Estonia), which will be devoted to the FP6 and the IST Priority promotion and technical matters of teleworking in business, research, education and environmental protection. IST4Balt will provide training measures (distant through IST4Balt Web-sites, and face-to-face at the project workshops) to promote IST Priority and the FP6 in general to the users in the Baltic countries.
Finally, the project will initiate the creation of Trans-Baltic Information Society Technologies Association (Trans-Balt IST Association) that will unite the IST4Balt participants along with other leading computer networking, telematic, e-publishing, e-education and e-business organizations in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The association should lead and coordinate joint efforts of the three Baltic States in Information Society development focusing on integration of these countries to European Union.
IST4Balt will start in September 2004 and will have a duration of 36 months.