Brussels, 29 January 2002
The European Commission has issued a call for proposals for the co-financing of joint projects to enhance the transfer of information and communications technology (ITC) between Europe and Asia.
The areas of activity relevant for this call are agriculture, education, health, society, transport, tourism, intelligent manufacturing and electronic commerce.
Each activity should take place under one of the following headings:
- Get-in-touch and keep-in-touch activities
Supports the identification and linking of organisations in the form of task forces, workshops, seminars and conferences to search, specify and assess compatible solutions for adaptation between European and Asian IT & C environments.
- Short (university level) courses
Supports courses and workshops of a graduate or post graduate standard, in either business or university contexts, to explore and transfer know-how or search for solutions around key IT & C issues.
- Information society interconnectivity
Supports operations to substantially improve, publicise and intensify direct communication connections and electronic traffic both between European and Asia, and within Asia. Organisations who invest in the improvement of direct interconnectivity can be assisted by this instrument in order to facilitate the strengthening of the communications network between the continents. Operations which are closely linked to such investments, will also be supported, as are those that aim to improve the quality, reliability and security of connections.
- Liaise with European IT & C initiatives and programmes
Supports the identification and establishment of task forces, workshops and/or other events which aim to facilitate and improve contacts and/or participation in and the transfer of know-how by Asian IT & C expertise to the development and implementation of existing European IT & C initiatives, for example, under the Community research and technological development (RTD) Framework programme.
- Understanding European and Asian regulatory and legislative organisation structures
Supports studies, task forces, workshops, seminars and/or conferences with the aim of improving mutual understanding of European and Asian IT & C regulatory and legislative organisation structures, their capabilities and shortcomings and the identification and definition of improvements that could be realised through the use of IT & C to achieve this goal.
- Practical demonstration projects
Supports demonstration of ITC practices and techniques from either the European Union in Asia or vice versa. This programme component is seen as complementary to the preceding components, and prior activity in these components is recommended.
The geographical area covered by the call is the EU and the following Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Projects should last for a maximum of 36 months, and the overall amount available for this call is 14 million euro. A maximum of 100 grants will be awarded.
For further information, please consult the following web addresses: http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/asia-itc
Remarks: The deadlines for submitting tender documents are 15.03.2002, 14.06.2002 and 30.09.2002.
Before contacting the Commission, proposers are strongly advised to consult the original call text in the Official Journal of the European Communities at the reference below.