Information and Communication Technologies: expanding women’s roleCompanies and industries signing the European “Code of Best Practices for Women” commit to “increasing the numbers of women in science, technology and engineering higher education, and to recruiting and retaining female talent to Europe’s telecoms and internet-related industries.” A few days ago the European Commission ratified the document, launched past March, binding 28 European corporations to encourage young women to study and follow careers in the telecoms, technology and internet industries. The number of signatories has grown from initially five to 28. “I applaud the increased commitment shown by the ICT industry, especially by the 28 signatories to the code of conduct”, said Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media. “This shows the growing awareness of the ICT sector that it can benefit from and contribute to economic growth and innovation only if it addresses the shortage of qualified staff expected to reach 300,000 by 2010”. “”Although women get 45% of all European PhDs, they get only a quarter of those in engineering, manufacturing and construction”, the Commissioner stated. The Code focuses on education and employment through “girls’ days, mentoring programs, flexible working hours and other innovative activities that help raise awareness and attract women to the tech industry”.The “European Entrepreneurial Region award”The EU Committee of the Regions launched “The European Entrepreneurial Award” designed to identify and reward EU regions with outstanding entrepreneurial vision and to encourage local and regional authorities to do more to promote small businesses” across Europe. CoR President Luc Van den Brande said: “This year’s theme for the OPEN DAYS is ‘global challenges, European responses.’ With the European Entrepreneurial Region scheme, the CoR, in partnership with the European Commission, has launched a new springboard for growth and jobs at the regional level. It is a concrete response to the urgent need to support small and medium sized enterprises which are source of growth, jobs and innovation and 98% of which operate at a strictly local level, often having very strong socio-economic attachments to their territory”. The EER is open to every region of Europe, regardless of its size, population or wealth. “Any region, city or local authority that has the political mandate to draw up and implement its own strategy for boosting entrepreneurship is eligible to apply for the award”. Each year, up to three regions from across the EU will be granted the right to call themselves ‘Entrepreneurial Region of the Year’. “The jury will take into account the specific characteristics of the candidate region concerned (such as its competences in the area of business policy, its entrepreneurial potential and the sustainability and credibility of its proposals), as well as the overall presentation of its so-called ‘Vision Plan’. Regions wishing to apply for the award must do so via the EER website (www.cor.europa.eu) by 15 January 2010.Integration and local democracy: ten “pilot cities””Making citizens in the 47 member countries of the Council of Europe more familiar with local institutions and democratic processes, forge closer links between the population and local elected representatives and to raise awareness of grassroots policy programs”. These are the objectives of the European Local Democracy Week (ELDW), which launched on October 12-15 a series of events in CoE member Countries focused on “participatory processes and youth awareness”. Keith Whitmore, ELDW coordinator from the UK, described the week’s initiatives. ELDW is being held during the plenary meeting of the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (October 13-15). “In view of the UN Conference in Copenhagen” the CoE plenary “addresses the role of local political representatives vis à vis the global climate change challenge”. The European Week this year involves 10 “pilot cities”, “whose mission is to be committed in these areas and give visibility to the Week”. These are: Bradashesh (Albania), Brussels (Belgium), Ierapetra (Greece), the municipal district of Finlyandskiy in Saint Petersburg (Russia), Boryspil (Ukraine), Kutina (Croatia), Podkowa Lesna (Poland), Strasbourg (France), Salford (the United Kingdom) and Iasi (Romania).
