The topics of the event will include the analysis of the regulatory approach concerning IST (Information Society Technologies) as well as the identification of research priorities, methods of implementation and lessons learned.
The conference will gather relevant experts and representatives of decision and policy makers from the Central Eastern European region with the aim to adopt a more consistent IST RTD (research and technological development) stance within the European framework as well as improve IST co-operation at regional and international level.

The project
The Great-IST Project (www.great-ist.org), a project financed under the EU 6th Framework Programme, focuses on 11 target countries: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYROM, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine.
Its primary scope is to encourage convergence of target countries’ countries IST RTD policies with EU ones. It therefore created a wide cooperation platform open to several categories of relevant stakeholders such as science and research centres, universities, governments, institutional levels, industrial associations and companies, aimed at sharing visions and experiences on the implementation of Information society, thus enhancing cooperation in the broader area of the ‘Great European East’. The Project made it possible also to articulate suggestions and recommendations for the development of IST RTD in target countries, in order to facilitate and enhance the harmonisation with the EU.

The Great-IST Final Conference is co-organised by the Central European Initiative (CEI) as Project Partner responsible for the event, and the Bulgarian State Agency for Information Technology and Communication on
behalf of the CEI Bulgarian Presidency for 2007, in cooperation with the Project Consortium (TESEO, INA, SBRA and ECPD).

The Conference will be held within the 10th CEI Summit Economic Forum (SEF), the main CEI business regional initiative taking place in Sofia on November 20-21, 2007. Co-organised by the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy and the CEI, the SEF acts as a platform gathering the business community, governments, IFIs and international organisations for discussing the most topical issues affecting the CEI region.

An official invitation and the draft programme will be available in September 2007.

Central European Initiative (CEI)
Secretariat for EU Projects
Via Genova 9, 34121 Trieste - ITALY
Tel: +39 040 7786 777/743
Fax +39 040 7786 783
http://www.see-science.eu/org/1313.html