As the eParticipation Preparatory Action, an initiative of the European Parliament launched in 2006, reaches its conclusion, all projects co-funded by the EC under the eParticipation Preparatory Action are organising an eParticipation Conference, which will be held in Brussels on Tuesday, 15th of December 2009 at the European Parliament (Rue Wiertz 60, 1047 Brussels, Belgium, Room A.3E2).

The objective of the event is to demonstrate progress and results in the use of Information and Communication Technologies to enhance citizens’ participation in democratic decision-making. In parallel, there will be an exhibition of project results produced in the context of the Preparatory Action.

Register to the conference before 10 December 2009 at: http://eparticipation.eventbrite.com (registration password: momentum, also don’t forget to choose MOMENTUM from the drop-down list ‘Which project are you representing?’ during registration).

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French ( http://www.datanews.be/fr)

Full information concerning the 18th edition of the Global Forum see www.globalforum.ro

After 3 years as a Managing Partner, Hugo Kerschot leaves on October the 1st Indigov and iVOX the Leuven based successful companies, in order to start-up his own company IS-practice, in Brussels.

IS-practice is a Program Management Office that delivers project management and high-level advice for major projects within the international and national public sector in the broader field of the Information Society. The goal is to bring together specialized parties for ambitious research and consultancy projects.

IS-practice is an initiative of Hugo Kerschot, whose years of experience in both the private and the public sector will be valuable for companies and organizations that wish to realize projects in a multidisciplinary setting within the framework of the European Information Society.

More than 20 years of experience in communication, IT, consultancy and project management plus an international network of expertise are at the disposal of potential clients to assist for developing innovative projects in the area of eGovernment, eParticipation, eHealth, eInclusion… and other initiatives that will put Europe on the map as the “Knowledge Society”.

IS-practice works together with both large consulting organizations such as Capgemini and Deloitte Consulting as with smaller, but highly specialized companies in the fields of research, technology and consultancy.

This way the IS-practice network covers a large scope of skills and guarantees geographical presence in several European countries.

“The added value is to bring together and to manage a mix of competences: the international scale of the big consultants, that will be enforced by the selected knowledge of domain experts in a specific region, or the high level competences of an academic research institute” quotes Hugo Kerschot.

Within these objectives, Indigov and iVOX will be privileged partners of IS-practice for many eGovernment and eParticipation projects and initiatives where extensive online research tools are needed.