52(14) Council Meeting: Supporting Documents Available

The 52(14) CEPIS Council supporting documentation, including the meeting agenda, is available in the Member’s Area of the CEPIS website. The 52nd CEPIS Council meeting will take place at the Warwick hotel in Geneva, Switzerland on Saturday 5 April, from 08:30 to 16:00 approximately. The Swiss Informatics Society (SI) has kindly offered to host a dinner cruise on Lake Geneva on Friday, 4 April, the evening prior to the Council meeting. Following the Council meeting, there will also be a closing reception in the hotel on Saturday, 5 April. Download the Council Meeting Documents

Watch the Keynote Presentations of the CEPIS Professional Ethics Micro-Conference

You can watch the keynote presentations made at the CEPIS micro-conference on Ethics on our website by clicking here. The keynote speakers’ presentation slides are also available for download. The Micro-Conference examined some key aspects of ethics from the perspective of the Professional Institution, with a view to guiding future actions. The question of equipping ICT professionals with the right tools to address ethical considerations was centre stage in these discussions. The micro-conference took place in Brussels, on Thursday, 13 March 2014. Watch the Ethics Keynote Presentations

Share an Example of Computing in Schools Good Practice

You are invited to submit an example of good practice in the field of computing in schools. Your contribution will be posted in the education section of the CEPIS website. This section already lists a series of good practices taken from the advocacy paper published by the Computing in Schools SIN. Your contribution will help us expand the content of this section with a view to raise awareness on existing initiatives aiming to foster the development of computing skills among young people. Share an Example of Good Practice

Digital Agenda for Europe on Track to Deliver its Targets

More than 90% of the actions foreseen in the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) flagship initiative are completed or on track, according to a new European Commission communication on the progress of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The use of the internet has now become widespread across the EU, ecommerce is gaining strength, e-government services have been developed and basic broadband coverage across the EU is complete. However the lack of high-speed broadband infrastructure is a major issue which could generate a new digital divide and foster social exclusion, especially in rural areas. More on the Progress of the Digital Agenda for Europe

Nominations for the Ada Awards 2014 to Open on 4 April

The online nominations for this year’s Ada Awards are set to open on 4 April. CEPIS is a partner of this pan-European prize for women and girls who distinguish themselves and their organisations in digitally-driven and digitally-enabled areas of study and work. In 2013, Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, was a personal patron of the awards and she personally presented the prizes to the four winners. The Ada Awards supports the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs and the 2014 e-Skills for Jobs campaign. More on the Ada Awards

OCG Report Shows Austrians Have Good Internet Skills but Basic Skills Gap Are Prevalent

CEPIS Member in Austria, the Oesterreichisches Computer Gesellschaft (OCG), published a new report on the level of computer skills of Austrians. The report shows that Austrians have good level of knowledge in the area of IT security and in the use of Internet. However, there are clear gaps when it comes to basic computer skills such as file management. One out of four individuals spend over three hours per day on a computer and another 54% spend at least one to three hours, according to the report. More about the OCG Study on Austrians’ Computer Skills

ICS Part of Ireland’s ICT Skills Action Plan

The Irish Computer Society (ICS) is among some of the organisations mentioned as key players in Ireland’s ICT Skills Action Plan 2014 - 2018. This Action Plan is a collaborative effort by government, the education system and industry to meet the goal of making Ireland the most attractive location in the world for ICT skills availability. Ireland is expected to face an average increase in demand for high-level ICT skills of around 5% a year out to 2018 with the employment of ICT professionals anticipated to rise to just over 91,000. More on the ICS Skills Action Plan

Shape EC Actions on Cloud Computing

You are invited to comment on the Trusted Cloud Europe report, a set of ideas on how Europe can help public and private organisations use, buy and sell cloud services in a safe and trusted environment. These proposals come from the Steering Board of the European Cloud Partnership, an advisory group to the European Commission set up as one action implementing the 2012 European Cloud Strategy. Responses to this survey will inform the European Commission’s future actions in the area of cloud computing. Have Your Say on Cloud Computing

Mobile Internet Booms in Europe While Broadband Stagnates

The number of EU households with an Internet connection at home (65%) has decreased by 3% since 2013, and no growth of broadband Internet access has been measured in 2013. Meanwhile the share of mobile Internet continues to increase with 52% individuals who are using their mobile phone to surf the web. However there are larger differences between countries ranging from 78% mobile Internet users in Sweden to only 23% in Portugal. These are some of the key highlights from the 2014 Eurobarometer on e-Communications

Important Upcoming Events

5 April 52nd CEPIS Council Meeting Geneva, Switzerland. Organised by: CEPIS

14-16 April Slovenian Informatics Days Conference Portoroz, Slovenia. Organised by: Slovenian Society Informatika

25 April Nordic Digital Agenda Day Tallinn, Estonia. Organised by: European Commission

29 April Digital Innovation for Regional Growth Thessaloniki, Greece. Organised by: European Commission

6 May e-Skills for Jobs Conference Athens, Greece. Organised by: European Commission

1-3 June World Telecommunications Congress 2014 Berlin, Germany. Organised: VDE

12-13 June 5th European Summit on the Future Internet, Luxembourg. Organised by: European Commission