This week I’ve been at the first Innovation Convention organised by the European Commission as an essential part of the Innovation Union flagship initiative. One debate that picked my interest and I’m sure of many of the participants was about the goal of having an open innovation platform in Europe. Prof. Henry Chesbrough had recommendations for open innovation policies in Europe. Here is a summary of what was mentioned during the conference:

- Permit faculty members to advise and consult companies;

- Promote mobility between the EU and foreign universities;

- Lower the cost and time for IP protection;

- Focus on smaller firms by supporting the growth of Venture Capital and encourage governments to buy from start-ups SMEs;

- Open up government databases;

- Welcome foreign companies into Europe;

- Increase meritocracy in research funding within the EU;

- Focus on innovation networks.

What must be emphasized in this kind of debates is that open innovation can’t be seen as a threat, but as an opportunity for growth and development. This point seems to have gotten across since the field of R&D has transformed from a fortress into an ecosystem.

If we turn our attention towards the political relations between the EU and China the situation doesn’t lose its complexity. Although there are strategic partnership agreements between the two sides there’s still place for improvements. For example, on the agenda of the next EU-China Summit we find the plan to launch a strategic partnership to deal with the issue of urbanisation in China; moreover there are plans for deepened people-to-people exchanges. There is already movement on the front of cooperation in the fields of cyber security and renewable energy. These partnerships are hindered by issues such as China’s track record in human rights and the fact that there’s still an arms embargo in place.

So the question that comes to mind now is: Can the economic relationship between China and the EU be improved due to their political relation or is it the other way around?

For more information on this subject:

http://www.friendsofeurope.org

http://www.understandingchina.eu/

http://www.china-europa-forum.net/

Some of the key topics that the conferences and debates dealt with referred to the need to increase effectiveness and efficiency by supporting the principles of value for money, accountability and transparency, improving the safety of aid operatives in the field and preparation and training of humanitarian aid workers. Mainly, I was fascinated by the growing trend in standardization and professionalization in the humanitarian aid area. This process will hopefully improve communication between actors and raise the level of competencies among humanitarian aid providers while also establishing high standards in logistics. This particular subject will be further developed in the November issue of our newsletter which tackles the topic of humanitarian aid and human rights defence programs.

For further information on the exhibitions, conferences, demonstrations and workshops that took place at AidEx please visit:

http://www.aid-expo.com/en/visitor-zone/visitor-zone.aspx

This event was a great opportunity for business representatives, researchers and policy makers to engage in a debate on how to improve the performance of Europe in the field of innovation and create an „ecosystem” that encourages competitiveness. For example, one of the conferences was about the future of the internet and public-private partnerships that to my surprise focused mostly on the concept of creating smart cities. These projects revolve around the idea that we can improve the infrastructure of our cities through innovative technologies relating to instant mobility services. So how would you like your vehicle to have your own lane and be directed in real-time through traffic. It would be something more complicated than a GPS system and more comparable to a control tower at an airport. Also, there are projects that would improve our security by enhancing the capabilities of the CCTV system. Think along the lines of SF movies and then you would be able to understand the ambitions of some of these ideas that are expected to be realized in the future.

For more information about the conferences that took place at the Summit and the projects presented please visit:

http://www.knowledge4innovation.eu/EIS/SitePages/eis2011_home.aspx

This initiative is a powerful and symbolic signal from the European Union saying that by increasing the scope of the process of two-way learning it will be possible to strengthen the education agenda.

You are managing a fantastic project and you want to let people know all about it. Great! But how will you entice them? How will you make them hear you? By telling a story, of course, one that draws them into your world—not some sterile, technical explanation of what you do, but something real, that they’ll immediately want to be a part of.

People love good stories, but what makes a story great, who do you want to listen and what do you most want them to hear? The results of your fantastic project, right? Right, but those results don’t necessarily constitute a gripping storyline. Not yet. But we can work our magic. The recipe is a delicate mix of relevance, novelty, ease of understanding and tone, which should ideally be political, controversial, sensational and original, depending on the context, of course, but let’s be bold! Relevance is a key criterion too and is assessed in terms of the current and potential impacts of the information you convey on everyday life, and of its importance for society in general. The news also needs to be understandable and meaningful for your target audience. 

Japan’s nuclear threat, along with the ratcheting up of oil prices because the instability in Libya, have brought the make-up of the European energy model into question. We already knew that the worl’s supply of oil and natural gas would end someday – although there is still some left for now. And we were conscious of the fact that nuclear energy, despite being a CO2-free energy source, had the potential to be extremely destructive. But public perceptions of green energies have shifted in recent months and clean power sources are increasingly seen as a more attractive power source than nuclear or petroleum.

The current energy crisis is also being perceived by some businesses as a chance to overcome present economic difficulties: this may become a niche market, offering significant numbers of new job opportunities.

Despite this, doubts remain about how best to produce energy responsibly, using existing technologies to secure supplies effectively, while protecting the environment and keeping prices competitive.

Is it possible to replace hydrocarbons with renewable energy? What role should public authorities play in this process? Can we meet our energy supply needs using renewable sources? Can “renewables” answer the cry for energy efficiency? What will be the EU’s future energy mix?

With the hope of finding the answers to these and other questions, more than 20,000 participants from across Europe and beyond will meet at the European Union Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), the reference event for sustainable energy issues in Europe, which will take place next week, between 11 and 15 April. The programme will largely focus on the need for energy efficiency and renewable energy sources in Europe, with a significant portion dedicated to the European energy market and smart electricity grids. Over 120 related events are already planned in Brussels and another 270 are set to take place across Europe. In this context, Eurideas interviewed representatives of FuelCell Europe and Solar Solidarity International, two organisations participating at this event, to learn more about their vision and strategy, as they move towards green energy.

More information

Over the course of the last decade, Brussels has acquired the status of international lobbying capital of the world. European associations, trade federations, consultants, companies, NGOs, international organizations, government administrations, think- tanks… Every voice wants to ensure that it is properly heard in the EU legislative process, and regions and local authorities are no exception. Brussels registers over 300 EU regional and local representations. But, what do they do? Here are some clues:

Lobbying: Local and regional authorities feel the need to be closely involved in shaping Community strategies and initiatives, since they implement nearly 70% of Community legislation. In addition, they try to obtain EU subsidies and take part in European transnational networks.

Networking: Networking is essential to those vying for influence in Brussels, as much of the information circulates through unofficial channels. That is why it is of paramount importance to maintain a valuable network of contacts within the EU institutions, rather than relying on official statements.

Visibility: With a press corps of over 1,000 journalists accredited to the EU, Brussels is a perfect enclave in which to secure media coverage of the regions‟ activities and political visits. Ensuring the participation of local and regional politicians in relevant EU events and other major conferences considerably increases the visibility of these personalities at EU, national, regional and local levels.

Exchange & learning: In an environment like this, the exchange of ideas, knowledge-sharing and mutual learning among regions is inevitable, especially through platforms that promote inter-regional cooperation.

In this sense, inter-regional associations have become important venues for the creation of transnational alliances among regions. Such associations also help the regions to establish a foothold in the EU Brussels-arena. We invite you to learn more about them through the vision of the two most important translational organizations that represent European regional governments: the Assembly of European Regions (AER) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).

Picture: © 2009 Assembly of European Regions (AER – www.aer.eu) – Studio Tiphys

Using public transport is not only a cheap, fast and environmentally friendly way to move around in the city. For those born observers it is also a useful way to confirm social trends.

As stated yesterday in the newspape’s back page of one of my metro seatmates, more than 11,000 telephone boxes had been removed in Belgium since 1997, when mobile phones started to be a must in our daily lives. Another seatmate was, at the same time, reading a book in his IPad. And I couldn’t help thinking if paper books would undergo the same retirement in the following years.

I am not an e-book reader. Well, not yet. I have to admit that I have never made a phone call again from a telephone box since I had my first mobile device. I don`t care much about telephone boxes. But I do really care about books. But, would I leave my beloved paper books behind if I was offered an amazing ebook reading device? Never say never.

To my regret, I believe days of paper books are numbered. This is the natural evolution of things. Those who have grown up in the era of technological revolution will find the pleasure of reading e-books, as we have been doing with paper books for ages. It is just a question of time.

A German EU officer speaking at an international conference on sustainable development in Brussels; a Spanish food-maker negotiating its product prices at a business fair in Helsinki; a French student buying a train ticket at King’s Cross train station in London; an Italian shop assistant selling souvenirs to a group of British tourists in Capri. What do they all have in common: they all speak Euro-English, a sort of language, which might have nothing to do with the one we hear on the BBC news. But, indeed, they are all able to successfully communicate and understand each other.

According to a recent survey carried out by the European Commission on languages and multilingualism in the EU (Eurobarometer, 2006), English is perceived by Europeans to be by far the most useful language to know (68%) and 3 out of 4 consider it to be the language the children should learn as foreign language. But leaving behind the statistics, it is undeniable that English has become a bridge between 23 official languages in the European Union.

Has Euro-English become the new European lingua franca? Or should we consider this phenomenon as a natural consequence of the expanding, changing and trading nature of English, the current global language worldwide?

See other interesting related articles and websites:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2010/06/franco-english_confusions

http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1606

http://www.slideshare.net/Beinhoff/english-in-europe-and-euroenglish

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-971X.2010.01638.x/full