ETeMII

Since the beginning of the ETeMII project in January 1999, it was clear that the goal of the project could only be achieved if the results were disseminated to policy makers, providers and users of GI data and those involved in GI research and education. This way, the results of the project could be placed in the context of the development of the Information Society in Europe. The ETeMII consortium partners decided to organize a High Level Briefing in order to serve the purpose of presenting key results and to promote discussion with high-level representatives. The consortium extended the invitation to the major stakeholders involved in GI policy, GI data production, GI data use, and GI research. The primary target of the discussions was how to implement proposed action plans that resulted from the project.

The High Level Briefing took place in Antwerp, Belgium on March 7 and 8, 2002, and was attended by more than 50 representatives of government, industry, research and users. Following the presentation of the three aspects of the White Paper, responses to the Findings and Recommendations were presented by representatives from Users, Industry and Academia. A lively debate then ensued, with much of the discussion focussing on data policy, and the need for rapid development of data policy within organisations and institutions at all levels - local, national and European.

The second day of the briefing saw the participants separating into 3 focus groups, discussing the idea of 'where do we go from here' by Data Providers, Research and Education Providers, and Industry. The findings of these three groups was presented to all participants, followed by a final debate. The results of that final debate will be made available shortly, all other discussions are now available.