Information Society

How can your administration reap the full benefits of the information society? (EISCO 2007 conference: 16-18 April)

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) together with ELANET (CEMR) is co-organising its 6th conference on local and regional governments in the information society. EISCO 2007 will take place in Hämeenlinna (Finland), from 16 to 18 April 2007.

The conference will build upon the commitments taken at the EISCO 2005 in Krakow, when the "i2010 Digital Local Agenda" was adopted. Although many local and regional authorities have been able to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to modernise their administrations and to contribute to economic and social innovation, progress has not yet been comprehensive enough.

EISCO 2007 will focus on how to move beyond isolated success stories: how do we unleash the potential benefits of ICT at local and regional level? What are the main obstacles and how can we overcome then? The programme will promote the Digital Local Agenda process in Europe and highlight the potential contribution of local and regional governments to the "i2010 strategy". This instrument was set up by the European Commission to boost the information society in Europe and to promote innovation, competitiveness, economic growth and social inclusion.

The conference will address five thematic areas:

Engaging Citizens in local decision-making processes – eParticipation;
eCapacity Building – a main driver for social inclusion and wide eGovernment deployment;
ICT infrastructure and wireless systems for eServices in Europe's regions;
eGovernment interoperability and support of the networked enterprise;
The new generation of municipal services in a multi-channel environment.

EISCO 2007 will bring together local and regional elected representatives, experts in the field of the ICT and representatives from the European Commission. It is organised with the support and collaboration of the main European ICT networks with a focus on local and regional government: IANIS+ and eris@, Eurocities, eForum, IT4ALL as well as the academic EGOV society network. They all form part of the organising committee of the conference and are taking the lead in organising individual conference sessions.

Background information

Since 1998, the EISCO conferences have become a fixed appointment for local and regional government in Europe to discuss eGovernment and Information Society strategies, to look at good practices and evaluate achievements. They provide participants with the opportunity to learn from each other and to assess the achievements made to overcome the digital divide between regions.

EISCO 2007 is organised by ELANET and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) together with the Region Häme, the City of Hämeenlinna and the Association of Finish Local and Regional Authorities

Practical information

Dates: from 16 to 18 April 2007
Venue: Hämeenlinna (Finland)
Dates for registration: from 24 November 2006 to 23 March 2007
Language facilities: English, Italian, Finnish (other languages to be confirmed)

More information concerning the conference, fees or the full programme on EISCO 2007 website.