The target group for the training seminar & conference participation grants are people interested in launching, carrying out or using Foresight activities in support to policy-making within the SEE countries (Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia (including Kosovo), FYR of Macedonia).
In addition to this target group also applications from other SEE countries as well as from Slovenia and Austria are possible (but without reimbursement of travel costs from the organisers).

It will be organised by the organisers of the Bled Forum in cooperation with the FOR-LEARN project team http://forlearn.jrc.es at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre as a preliminary event to the “VIII. Bled Forum on Europe" and will last from Thursday 1st of March 9.00 AM till Friday, 2nd of March 12 AM.
Participants of the training seminar will also have the opportunity to participate in the VIII. Bled Forum on Europe conference. The conference http://www.bled-forum.org/ will take place on March 2 (beginning at 14:00) and Saturday March 3rd 2006 (till 14:00).

The participants in the Seminar will receive basic and practical knowledge on:

• What is Foresight,
• What it can (and cannot) achieve,
• How to design and carry out a Foresight exercise.

Participants will have the opportunity to do some practical exercises in small groups. Depending on the interest of participants, specific topics such as the role of Foresight in innovation policy or in regional development could be addressed.

The organisers intend to cover the costs for registration, travel (public transport) up to 400 Euros per person and for accommodation (half board for the days of the training seminar and the conference) for about 20 - 25 participants from SEE countries (eligible countries see above) for the participation at the foresight conference and at the training seminar.

Source: http://www.aso.zsi.at/en/all/aktuelles/2156.html

From this website you can obtain the Registration/Grant Application Form which have to be sent to aso-ljubljana@zsi.at till January 29, 2007, 12.00 CET.

Organisers of the VIII. BLED FORUM are:

• Bled Forum on Europe Research Association http://www.bled-forum.org/
• Slovenian Research Agency http://www.arrs.gov.si/en
• Austrian Science and Research Liaison Office (ASO) Ljubljana http://www.aso.zsi.at

Partners are:

• AC UNU Millennium Project
• NORFACE ERA net project http://www.norface.org
• SEE-ERA.NET project http://www.see-era.net
• European Commission JRC/IPTS – Sevilla http://forlearn.jrc.es
• Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture