AIT represented at EU-Asia cooperation forum
Dr. Roland Amoussou-Guenou, head of intellectual property programs and visiting lecturer, represented AIT at the Euro-Southeast Asia 2006 Cooperation Forum on Information and Communication Technologies (EUSEA 2006) which was held in Singapore from 19 to 23 June 2006.
Dr. Amoussou-Guenou gave a training workshop on 'Software protection: Software vs. Patent A case study of the music industry in the digital era.' He also made a presentation on 'IPR Challenges and opportunities in accessing knowledge in Asia' and co-chaired a parallel session on 'Intellectual Property Right and Digital Right Management.'
The conference was attended by 800 delegates from 66 countries: 56 percent from Southeast Asia, 30 percent from Europe and 15 percent from India, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United States and Australia.
EUSEA 2006 opened with a welcome address and speeches from: Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports and second minister for Information, Communications and Arts; Mrs. Viviane Reding, European commissioner for Information Society and Media; H.E. Ong Keng Yong, ASEAN secretary-general; and Mr. Shanker Iyer, president of Singapore's European Chamber of Commerce.
The opportunity was also taken by the AIT representative to present the new Regional Intellectual Property Management Course which will be organized at AIT in from 25 September to 7 October 2006. Many key organizations with intellectual property-related activities, including Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, expressed interest in sending participants. This program was also welcomed by leading Asian intellectual property institutions such Infocom Development Authority of Singapore, potential partners, academics and experts in intellectual property who pledged to support this new AIT regional program.
During the preparation of this event, organizers solicited the strategic support of partners offering valuable commitment, expertise and assistance in making sure the key information and communications technologies players both in Europe and Southeast Asia and research, academic, industrial, small and medium enterprises, business, public administration and government communities are present at the event.
AIT is among the three strategic partners selected by EUSEA in Thailand, besides the National Science and Technology Development Agency, and Software Park Thailand.
This forum was an initiative of the European Commission, Information Society and Media directorate-general with the support of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Its purpose was to highlight a series of strategic areas for strengthened cooperation between Europe and Southeast Asia, one of which is information technology.
EUSEA 2006 has the main goal to offer a co-operation platform for European and Southeast Asians information and communications technologies organizations and to promote knowledge sharing between businesses, research, government, academic and industrial communities.
The main sponsor of EUSEA 2006 was British Telecom, one of the world's leading providers of communication solutions and services operating in more than 170 countries.
The Asian Disaster and Preparedness Center based at AIT was represented by A.R. Subbiah who presented AIT's experience and projects in disaster management.
All the papers and presentations during the conference as well as the list of participants to this Forum are available on http://www.eusea2006.org