40 th CEPIS Council, Ljubljana, 12 th April 2008 European Policy & Communication activities

European Policy and Communication Activity European Policy Summary of e-inclusion and Digital Literacy activities Recent developments in the eSkills domain Commission’s initiatives in Education Task Force for Women and ICT Overview and update on the Council of Europe Communication Activity Press coverage Press releases Outlook

e-Inclusion and Digital Literacy Communication “European i2010 initiative on e-Inclusion” e-Inclusion campaign to promote awareness Strategic framework for action to promote the Riga Declaration European Commission “…with advice from a Digital Literacy Experts Group will provide guidance on digital competences policy for vulnerable groups by the end of 2008” ECDL Foundation is a member of the Digital Literacy Experts Group

e-Inclusion and Digital Literacy First set of contributions to the Campaign Austrian ECDL Barrier-Free Access project showcased as a good practice for Digital literacy Other ECDL cases from Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy and the UK ECDL defines Digital Literacy training schemes in Europe

e-Inclusion and Digital Literacy Opportunities to participate in the e-Inclusion initiative Participate in workshops, conferences and other organised by the Commission Submit proposals, studies, reports, cases that are relevant to e-inclusion, e- government and e-health Participate in the e-inclusion awards (soon to be announced) Learn more at the portalwww.ePractice.eu

eSkills Industry Leadership Board

March 2008, eSkills ILB meeting with Vice President Günter Verheugen Offer the seeding investment for creating the eSkills Career Portal Support the e-competence framework Geoff McMullen presented the CEPIS foresights Report

Thessaloniki eSkills conference 9-10 October 2008, Thessaloniki, Greece Commission to report on progress implementing the e-Skills communication Commission to signal their intentions for First day experts discussions; Second day VIP sessions Registration will open in May and close in June- Website to be live by the end of April

Thessaloniki eSkills conference 9-10 October 2008, Thessaloniki, Greece Thematic areas of the Conference OECD report on IT skills Global sourcing eCompetence framework and Career Portal eSkills training and certification Employment and digital literacy, focus on SMEs ICT Curriculum in Education

2009 European Year of Creativity and Innovation To support the efforts of the Member States to promote creativity, through life long learning Key concepts: Environment friendly to innovation and adaptability Entrepreneurship Skills conducive to technological innovation

2009 European Year of Creativity and Innovation Raise awareness campaign of the European Commission Conferences, workshops, initiatives, identification of good practices Cross-cutting initiative covering education and culture eSkills and digital literacy positioned as enablers of creativity and innovation

First University – Business Forum February 2008 Conclusions Stakeholders recognize the need for closer corporation between Universities and Business There is pay-off in sharing ideas and experiences Next Steps The Commission will organise three thematic forums on: Curricular Development and Entrepreneurship- September 2008 University-business cooperation in the context of lifelong learning- Oct 2008 Management of Intellectual Property by Universities and other Institutions – April 2008 Report will be available next week

(Source: EU-RA from Eurostat) Percentage of male and female computer science graduates (ISCED 5/6) as a proportion of all graduates, 2007 Europe needs more ICT graduates Women and ICT

Overall increase in the number of highly educated females In sectors such as ICT and engineering females graduates outnumbered by male On a global scale South Africa and Brazil produce more female graduates in the fields of science and technology than Europe does (Source: EU-RA from Eurostat) Percentage of male and female engineering and engineering graduates (ISCED 5/6) as a proportion of all graduates, 2007 Women and ICT

European Centre for Women and Technology Aim: Ensure women’s full participation in and contribution to the knowledge-based economy Enable women to boost the ICT sector in Europe Ensure that the participation of women in engineering, education and employment in ICT in measurably increased within the next 5 years.

What will the European Centre do? Allow Government, NGOs, industry, unions, and the education and research community to jointly focus on ICT and engineering in: Secondary and tertiary education Workforce development Entrepreneurship Leadership

Support education based on the e-Competence FW Support the recruitment of women in IT European database of women IT experts Act as a focal point for reporting new research Regional map of resources Facilitate industry benchmarking Mapping and roll-out of best practices.... CEPIS support? Other actions:

CEPIS and Council of Europe Applied for renewal of our participatory status on the Conference International NGOs Approved – 4 years Renewed our entry in the INGO database – a listing of all members with participatory status Invited to the next meeting of the Conference

Conference of INGOs A group of INGOs that provide advice to the Council of Europe The Conference meets 3 needs: to know the views and aspirations of European citizens to provide direct representation for them to publicise CoE activities through INGOs to European citizens Cooperation with the 3 main bodies

Within DG Education & Culture (Secretariat) Cooperation Programmes: Higher Education and Research issues related to the recognition of qualifications public responsibility for higher education and research higher education governance establishment of the European Higher Education Area by 2010 (Bologna Process) supports reform of higher education in their priority regions, mainly the South East of Europe and CIS countries The Council of Europe's Higher Education and Research programme is overseen by the Steering Committee for Higher Education and Research (CDESR).

Communication Activities

CEPIS communications Enhancing the visibility of CEPIS actions: External communication Internal communication

CEPIS Press Coverage Skills Foresights Report press coverage BCS urges Government to reconsider its educational ICT funding IT skills shortfall on the horizon IT-Ingenieurmangel auch in der EU Skills shortages on the European IT labour markets are likely to worsen in the near future Europe’s skills gap: Industry is taking action e-Skills ILB News Brief

More CEPIS Coverage President appointment published in EU Agenda CEPIS entry in Agenda Booklet of IT and Telecommunication organisations active in Brussels Wikipedia entry Banking Authentication – submitted to ENISA for publication Coming soon: Press Release on World Information Society Day, May 17 th

CEPIS Press Releases The Secretariat will send the PR out to Member Societies at least 2 weeks before the planned date of public release Member societies can tailor, and translate the release and prepare to respond to any queries On the specified date, the CEPIS Secretariat will send out the release to Brussels-based and international media. We do not send anything to your local and national media in your country – this is your territory!

CEPIS Communications Outlook Monthly newsletter UPGRADE – 1 st on Google, 2 nd on Yahoo search: ‘European Informatics Journal’ Better utilisation of existing channels (Website/Upgrade) Enhanced content of existing channels (Newsletter) Exploration of media channels (Press releases) Success depends on active engagement of all parties