Dear Reader,

Welcome to the fourth issue of the EU-LA ICT Weather Forecast newsletter, produced by the SOLAR-ICT and the WINDS-LA projects with the support of the European Commission, presenting reflections, news and events related to Europe-Latin America cooperation in ICT research.

The aim of the SOLAR-ICT and WINDS-LA projects is to foster cooperation between Europe and Latin America focusing on the Seventh Framework Programme, one of the main opportunities and tools to turn our cooperation effort into actual results. These two projects exist to help interested Lain American organizations (research centers, universities, companies and SMEs) to promote their R&D capabilities; to support them in defining and fine tuning project ideas; and to help build international project consortia to support all ICT research project endeavors.

Finally, we would lie to remind you that WINDS-LA focuses on Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, while SOLAR-ICT on Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Enjoy your reading,
The SOLAR-ICT and WINDS-LA Partners

In the last three months, WINDS-LA has been active in three different fronts: promoting ICT research cooperation with Europe in Latin America, supporting EU-LA clustering around themes f interest, and facilitating EU-LA long-term policy dialogue on ICT research.

In terms of promotion of cooperation with Europe, WINDS-LA has organised in La Plata, Argentina, on the 16^th May the Seminar "Scientific Cooperation Europe – Latin America on ICT research: Electronic Government and Services to Citizens", in cooperation with the V Forum on E-Government and the II Forum on Digital Cities. The event gathered a multisectoral group of scientific researchers, entrepreneurs, government officials, and civil society organizations members, in order to strengthen R&D cooperation on ICT between Europe and Latin America, encourage the presentation of joint projects to FP7, animate the expression of Argentine researchers and entrepreneurs’ expectations and needs regarding international scientific cooperation, and build a multinational and multistakeholder community that will involve a significant representation of the relevant R&D European and Argentine actors (researchers, policy makers, producers, users). The event counted with the participation, among other key actors, of the Argentine Bureau for Enhancing Cooperation with the European Community in Science, Technology and Innovation (ABEST), the National Office for Information Technologies of the Ministry of Management and Development, the National Chamber of Informatics and telecommunication Enterprises (CICOMRA), and the Network of Argentine Digital organizations (RODAr).

For more information, please visit the EVENTS section in the WINDS-LA website.

In terms of support to EU-LA clustering and cooperation, WINDS-LA is actively supporting six clusters composed by European and Latin American researchers in discussing project ideas and in transforming them into possible cooperation projects, in the following themes:

• ICT research for social inclusion, accessibility, connectivity

• ICT research for environment and biodiversity

• ICT research and energy

• ICT research for health

• Digital libraries and learning networks

• Software engineering

Participation in the clusters is very encouraging: more than 600 European and Latin American researchers have joined the platform, each cluster is counting on a specific webspace in the website www.winds-la.eu, and six online and face-to face collaborative sessions are being organised.

To join a cluster, please visit the WONKING GROUPS section in the WINDS website.

In terms of support to long term dialogue, WINDS has organised the Policy Seminar: “Strengthening EU-Latin America links in ICT research: towards a joint Roadmap” in Sao Paulo, Brazil on the 3^rd of July. The objective of the Seminar was to gather European and Latin American experts, research network representatives and policy makers working on ICT research to discuss cooperation strategies between the two regions and to validate the ideas of the joint EU-LA Roadmap on ICT research and of the Euro-Latin American Multistakeholder Committee. More than 40 participants from Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico joined the event and actively participated in the debate on policy recommendations on interregional cooperation on ICT. Those proposals and ideas are going to be the basis of next WNDS-LA policy event in Brussels, in October 2008, where the EU-LA Roadmap on ICT research will be introduced to the European Commission and to key European actors in the field of UCT research.

For more information, please visit the EVENTS section in the WINDS-LA website.

On the 25-27 November 2008, approximately 4,000 - 5,000 ICT research actors from all over the world are expected to attend the ICT-Lyon 2008 Event, organised by the Directorate General Information Society and Media of he European Commission. This biennial ICT Event (formerly called the "IST Event") is the most important forum for discussing research and public policy in information and communication technologies at European level. The Event brings together researchers and innovators, policy and business decision-makers working in the field of digital technologies. The ICT Event:

* Presents Europe's future priorities for research funding in the ICT area

* Examines crucial issues of public policy for stimulating innovation through ICT development and uptake

* Creates opportunities to establish research and business partnerships and simply keep up to date in what is happening in various ICT research fields.

The SOLAR-ICT and WINDS-LA projects are organizing a number of activities dedicated to Latin American researchers in and around the ICT 2008 Lyon Conference:

In Lyon:

During the ICT event, the Latin American (LA) delegates in Lyon will be welcomed in a dedicated stand called “Latin America ICT Gateway” that will be the point of reference for all Lyon participants willing to have information on LA ICT competencies & capacities and willing contacting LA potential project partners present there.

On the 26 of November, a dedicated Networking Session will be organised to facilitate the contacts and enhance even more the networking activities between LA partners and the European counterpart. The Networking Session will be structured as a showcase of excellencies for the most relevant ICT themes and as a place for encounters under separate headings in the room. Then all participants will be invited to continue their talks and meetings at the “Latin America Gateway” stand.

After the ICT event ends, on the 28^th November, a “Project Concept Note day” will be organised in Lyon as a follow-up event to set up concrete project ideas with the members of the LA delegations, immediately the day after the end of the ICT event, so to involve attendees of the ICT event and give a continuation to the meetings and networking activities executed.

In Brussels:

The same concept notes thus prepared will be then pre-screened in Brussels, in the so-called “Pre-screening day”, planned for Monday 1^st December with the European Commission. In the “Pre-Screening & Networking day”, Latin American delegates coming to Brussels will have the opportunity to refine their concept notes elaborated the previous Friday in Lyon and transform them into a real pre-project document. Then, for the more mature ones, accordingly to a schedule and to the availability, meetings could be set up with some EC program representatives, to briefly discuss their project.

On Tuesday 2^nd December, the SOLAR-ICT and WINDS-LA joint Final Event will be organised at the Residence Palace in the heart of the European Union Area. It will show the results achieved by both project in a unique event. The Residence Palace houses European’s main press centre gathering almost 1000 foreign journalists working in Brussels. Media, Members of European Parliament, of the European Commission and European organisations, Officials from Embassies, International trades organisations, representatives of EU ICT Networks, representatives of the industry, will be invited to the event. European organisations interested in collaboration with LA countries will be motivated to strengthen future agreements with experienced partners that will showcase their excellence.

You are invited to join the Latin American delegation in Lyon and Brussels, if you need more information, send a message to communication@winds-la.eu

FP7 works though biannual Work Programmes, which are documents that set the priorities, objectives and calls schedules for a two-year period. The Work Programme for the period 2009-2010 will be announced in November 2008, and the next Calls for Proposals are expected in the same period.

To be kept updated on the next FP7 steps, just register in the www.winds-lac.eu website and you will get all fresh news on EU ICT research cooperation possibilities.

 Open calls for proposals at the moment are:

• Future and emerging Technologies Open scheme, deadline 20 January 2009
• ARTEMIS Call 2008, Deadline 3 September 2008
• ENIAC Joint Undertaking Call 2008, Deadline 3 September 2008
• ICT based solutions for Prevention and Management of Chronic Conditions of Elderly People, Deadline 21 August 2008

 Find more information and all the documentation related to these calls at the CORDIS website 

European Technology Platforms focus on strategic issues where achieving Europe’s future growth, competitiveness and sustainability depends upon major technological advances. They bring together stakeholders, led by industry, to define medium to long-term research and technological development objectives and lay down markers for achieving them.

The achievement of these objectives will significantly improve the daily lives of the European citizen in many areas. Technology platforms play a key role in better aligning EU research priorities to industry’s needs. They cover the whole economic value chain, ensuring that knowledge generated through research is transformed into technologies and processes, and ultimately into marketable products and services. New technologies leading to radical change in a sector, if developed and deployed appropriately and in time.

Nine European Technology Platforms exist in the ICT field:

• Artemis: Embedded Systems

• eMobility: the Mobile and Wireless Communications Technology Platform

• ENIAC: Nanoelectronics

• EUROP: the European Robotics Platform

• ISI: Satellite Communications

• NESSI: Networked Software & Services

• NEM: the Networked and Electronic Media Initiative

• Photonics21: Photonics

• EPoSS: Smart Systems Technologies

ETPs are open to international cooperation and do encourage Latin American research organisations to get in contact with them to explore possible cooperation.

ETPs are also a good way to be updated on the latest developments in a specific ICT sector in Europe.

To know more please visit: http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/home_en.html.