EMF issued a Position Paper on the Future of the EU-Latin American ICT dialogue

EMF issued a Position Paper on the Future of the EU-Latin American ICT dialogue, in view of the EU-LAC Summit to be held in Santiago de Chile in January 2013. Key recommendations for both sides of the Atlantic include: 

• Creating a framework to develop collaborative agendas in areas of mutual interest to create win-win scenarios; 
• Fostering the ICT dialogue at all levels, including grass root level; 
• Supporting SMEs as important actors in the innovation value chain and as drivers of the economy and employment; 
• Foster cross-stakeholder collaboration; 
• Promote the use of ICT at all levels for an ubiquitous access to knowledge and information; 
• Continue the fruitful collaboration under the motto "united in diversity". 

Position Paper (in Spanish only).

Bilateral agreement between EMF, the Forum of e-Excellence and SMIA, Shanghai Multimedia Industry Association

A bilateral agreement between EMF, The Forum of e-Excellence and the Shanghai Multimedia Industry Association (SMIA) was signed on 8 November 2012 at the 6th Shanghai International Digital Media Technology and Industry Development Forum.

The agreement foresees regular exchanges between the two associations, in particular mutual visits of delegations of entrepreneurs and leaders in the field of multimedia. To empower this special link, the two associations will consider other forms of economic and cultural exchanges in the future.

SMIA is the main multimedia industry association of Shanghai / China. Our partnership focuses on the exchange of delegations during business trips, exchange of information on the European and Chinese markets, the support of businesses and start-ups and the facilitating of exchanges between European and Chinese companies.

ICT, SMEs and Innovation - the winning formula for EU-LA collaboration

AquiEuropa, the on-line journal of EU News in the Spanish speaking world, published an interview with Margaretha Mazura, Secretary General of EMF about future EU-LAC (Latin American and Caribbean)  relations. With a GDP growth rate 3 to 6 times higher than Europe in 2011, Latin America becomes a powerful player in the global economy. Common challenges such as climate change, the environment as well as societal challenges are important on both sides of the Atlantic. To overcome these, EU and LA should join forces, also in view of the up-coming Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. New technologies, the facilitator for all, paired with the innovative force of SMEs may be the winning formula. The  EU-LAC Summit in Santiago in January 2013 will discuss these issues. 

Read the article of AquiEuropa (in Spanish).

EQF iServe Final Conference held in Bordeaux

The Final Conference of EQF iServe has been held in Bordeaux on 22 May 2012, in cooperation with Emploi-Bordeaux. With more than 160 stakeholders in the audience – policy-makers, training institutions, companies and students – the event exceeded all expectations. A key note speech by the Director of Emploi-Bordeaux, Gilles de Wavrechin, emphasised the importance of digital professions for the labour market. Moderated by François Adoue, Director of the Observatoire international des metier de l’Internet, Adriana Baer, coordinator of the iServe project, gave an overview of the project while Philippe Wacker, EMF, and Ed Mahood, DEKRA, presented the job profiles and training guidelines. 

A Round Table of ICT representatives discussed “e-Jobs” while the general public was involved through life twits on the screen. In short: the importance of digital competences at all levels has been confirmed but the increased need for transversal skills –often soft skills or entrepreneurial skills – makes training more complex in the future.

More information about the jobs profiles presented at the Final Conference of EQF iServe.

EMF international stakeholder of e-Skills week 2012

EMF is part of the international stakeholder network of e-Skills week 2012, together with other industry partners, education bodies and public authorities. The European e-Skills Week 2012 is a European campaign focused on showing people how to get jobs through e-skills in the digital age. Building on the success of e-Skills Week 2010, the DG for Enterprise and Industry has again teamed up with DIGITAL EUROPE and European Schoolnet, to drive awareness of the need for e-skills and their benefits. The campaign will deliver an exciting programme of events and activities in more than 30 countries; culminating in a dedicated e-Skills Week between 26 and 30 March 2012.

EMF participates in different EU and International initiatives related to e-skills. EMF is member of the CEN ICT and it is currently participating as a core partner in 4 LLP (Lifelong learning programme) projects to develop better matching between labour market needs and training curricula in several areas of Internet related Jobs. Furthermore, EMF matches job profiles with eCF/EQF and suggests ECVET point attributions to learning outcome of training modules.

Running e-skills related projects:

• ProInterNet-LLP Network project to create a network of Key players in the area of Internet Related jobs. Website: www.e-jobs-observatory.eu. This website provides information on job profiles in the e-content and Internet-services sector, that stem from two related projects, EQF Code and EQF iServe.
• EQF-iServe-LLP transfer of Innovation- Identifying competences and skills needed for Internet services jobs (www.eqf-iserve.eu)
• Green IT node-LLP transfer of Innovation-Identifying competences and skills needed for Green IT jobs (www.greenitnode.eu)
• CompAAL-LLP transfer of Innovation- Identifying competences and skills needed for Ambient Assisted Living related jobs (www.compaal.eu)

EMF at the 1rst Digital Agenda Assembly

EMF actively participated in the 1rst Digital Agenda Assembly that took place in Brussels on 16-17 June. The Assembly was a mixture of workshops, designed to identify solutions to specific challenges and plenary sessions designed to synthesise the discussions and identify the way forward. EMF promoted the ideas expressed in its Position Paper on a Digital Agenda for Europe and discussed the main points of the Digital Agenda with other stakeholders.

More information
Download the results of the workshops
Download EMF´s Position Paper on a Digital Agenda for Europe

EMF reinforces links with the ICT sector in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius & Madagascar)

Following a first meeting in February 2011 in Port Louis / Mauritius, representatives of EMF and key ICT intermediary organisations of Mauritius and Madagascar met again in Brussels on 22-23 March. Both meetings were sponsored by the Pro-Invest Programme of the EU. Their aim was to discuss means to improve the collaboration between ICT organisations of the Indian Ocean and Europe.

The 2 days meeting in Brussels gathered representatives of EMF, The Mauritius Chamber of Commerce (MCCI) and Mauritius and Madagascar? ICT associations (OTAM and GOTICOM). It examined items such as membership and information exchange, joint project development, support for business expansion and commercial & research partnerships, the participation of the Indian Ocean region in the European Seal of e-Excellence.

For more information please contact us.