Lithuania as the EU presiding member state hosts the ICT 2013 conference together with the European Commission.
At the conference, Europe's top ICT scientists, representatives of IT companies, strategists in the digital technology sector will discuss issues of European ICT policy. Participants will debate how to use science and technologies for boosting competitiveness of the Union's industry and how to promote, through financial programmes, productivity and innovation, modernization of public services and progress in science and technology.
The ICT 2013 event will be an opportunity to learn the details of research funding for ICT-related projects under Horizon 2020, the EU's new research program for 2014-2020. The program aims at turning the EU scientific achievements into innovative products and services that would offer more business opportunities and improve the quality of life. It also seeks to strengthen an international standing of the Union as a global leader in science and to promote investment in future technologies.
ICT 2013 comprises an international conference, an exhibition, a meeting for establishing connections, an investor forum, and classes for students and young researchers. The exhibition will house a special pavilion - the Lithuanian Village - devoted to the best Lithuanian companies known for their innovative IT solutions.
Among keynote speakers at the conference will be President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves, founder of GetJar Ilja Laurs, President of Digital Europe Peter Olson, European Parliament members Amelia Andersdotter and Jan Christian Ehler, chief operating officer of the Angry Birds maker Teemu Suila, and other experts in the field.
