Yvo Volman European Content for the Global networks INFO 2000 and beyond Milano,

European Content for the Global Networks ÊContent in the EU: economic and social implications ËINFO2000 what impact ? ÌThe year 2000 and beyond Agenda

The EU view on the Information Society  “The key to the future of our Continent is in the hands of hi-tech, knowledge-based industries, at the cutting edge of research.”  “Just think of the Internet. It can change the whole organisation of production, reducing stocks and creating virtual products.”  “Modern economies are increasingly knowledge- based, and this is an area where we have a competitive advantage at world level” The Prodi Commission Romano Prodi, European Parliament, 1999

The emerging Information Society Which would you choose? Cost (US$) Time Air mail days Courier hours Fax minutes minutes Source: Northern River Ventures, quoted in ITU “Challenges to the Network: Telecoms and the Internet”, 1997 From “either”… “or” to “and”… “and”

Bertelsmann Multimedia Technical infrastructure Content creation and ownership Marketing and service capabilities Advantages for technology-driven companies Advantages for content-driven companies Shift in Importance of Success Factors in the Multimedia Market

The Economic Challenge  Sheer size  €376 billion - or 5% of the EU GDP  4 million employees  Growth rate  Can be up to 20% per year  Job creation engine: up to 1 million new jobs by 2005  Indirect effects  driver and tradable good in e-commerce  pushes ICT goods and services demand What is the economic weight of content ?

The Social Implications  Skills  New needs for content creation  Improving workers employability  Culture  An underexploited asset  Language diversity  Equal access to the Information Society  Export opportunities  Wider implications  Healthcare, elderly, environment  Enlargement Content fulfils important social functions

The marketplace  Demand side:  Internet users  275 million (February 2000, NUA, IE)  Mobile Telephony  120 million mobile subscribers in the EU  Supply side, changing structures:  Convergence  Mergers and take-overs A turbulent marketplace

Europe versus US  Infrastructure: Europe’s multimedia structure lags behind, but Europe leads in mobile communication  Telecommunication costs: 5 times higher in EU than in US (source: Forrester Research, quoted by NUA internet services)  Content: Europe leads in professional information, but lags in entertainment  Users: Europe as a whole lags, but some European countries do very well

Europe versus US  Rich content base  public sector information  World ranking players  Long publishing tradition  Chances in linguistic and cultural customisation but:  Lagging in electronic publishing Opportunities in Content

The Content Industries Are we losing this battle ? Global market share : Electronic publishing Global market share: print publishing

Catalysing the transformation Encouraging Experimentation Technology Content Research Telematics Applications DevelopmentValidationImplementation TEN Telecom INFO2000 Scribe to Screen Media II audiovisual Information Technology MLIS Advanced Communication Services F P Growing emphasis on content

Research networking Future & emerging technologies Essential technologies & infrastructure Multimedia content & tools New methods of working & Electronic Commerce Essential technologies & infrastructure Systems & Services for the citizen Independent and interdependent The IST Programme

INFO2000: Operational Impact  Multimedia Projects :  More than 50% have indicated that they have created jobs as a direct or indirect result of their respective projects  Job creation ranges from 0.5 to 15 persons per project, and up to 45 person years  Public Sector Information projects  Projects under way: 50% of the projects claim they will generate jobs Job creation

How is INFO2000 perceived ? Multimedia Projects Survey

INFO2000: from scribe to screen  Strategic Studies:  Strategic Developments for the European Publishing Industry towards the Year 2000 (1996)  Content and Commerce Driven Strategies in Global Networks (1998)  Green Paper on Public Sector Information:  Improving access to information throughout Europe  Facilitating exploitation of public sector content resources Strategic Impact:

Green Paper published 20 January 1999 Events throughout Europe Discussions with various institutions Numerous replies

European Content for the Global Networks  CONDRINET Study  INFO2000 Mid-term evaluation  “It is essential to instill a great sense of urgency and to give priority to initiatives that increase the pace of market development and penetration”  Informal consultation round with industry  “Having the content is a huge comparative advantage”  “Who will be able to capture the value of the customer relationships?”  “The window of opportunity is still open for new entrants” A continued dialogue with the real world

Proposal follow-on INFO2000/MLIS  Supporting Europe wide investments: Access to capital for Internet start-ups  Expanding the information supply: Exploitation of Public Sector Information  Tailoring Information Content: Linguistic and Cultural customisation  Support Measures Three Action lines Applying / Tailoring available technology

Access to Capital “Europe’s great weakness in the communications revolution has been a lack of bright young entrepreneurs and of venture capitalists to back them. The best way for Europe to exploit its lead is to start thinking of schools and universities as breeding-grounds not of more jobless youths but of new business start-ups” The Economist, October 23, 1999

Access to capital  Non-mature risk culture in Europe  Assets based  Severed links between industry and university  Problems for start-ups  Great regional differences in the EU  No cross-border fertilisation  For each 1€ of high-tech investment in the EU 14€ are invested in the US The problem

 Digital content is central to the Information Society development  Public sector information is a prime content resource: huge opportunities  Barriers at European level prevent improved access and better exploitation Exploitation of public sector information Government online: a real challenge for Europe What’s at stake

Public Sector Information: extensive potential for exploitation

Linguistic and cultural customisation  Towards a Barrier-free Information Society  overcome exclusion factors  Internet is increasingly Multilingual  50% of online content in languages other than English  bi- and multi-lingual web sites becoming the norm  E-commmerce provides instant access to Global Markets  business must speak the language of the customer Background

Barriers and Losses Findings of the European Study "ELUCIDATE" (Leonardo programme) Perception of the business community

Preparatory actions for the year 2000  Ensure political continuity  Enable focus on actual problems  Prepare ground for mainstream programme  Keep interest alive in the community Rationale 10 MEUR in 2000 call for proposals April 2000