Mike O'Brien MP, to open ASEM 2005 eCommerce conference

It takes place 21-22 February 2005 at the ExCeL Convention Centre in London.

This, the fourth ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Conference on eCommerce, is a multilateral forum for action-orientated debate on promoting the speed of online technologies and applications in business and cross-border trade.

Mike O'Brien, MP, the UK eCommerce Minister, says: "This Conference takes place during a time of unprecedented technological change. The forum has important objectives. One of these is to reduce the barriers to trade and investment by promoting development of eCommerce. We need therefore to deepen dialogue between our two regions and develop greater cooperation. We can then create a stronger and more strategic partnership between Europe and Asia in eCommerce. This will help to create a truly global information economy - and a more stable and prosperous global economy."

ASEM 2005 will be chaired by Professor John O'Reilly, Chief Executive of the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Hosted by the UK's Department of Trade and Industry, top level speakers from Europe, Asia, the European Commission and the United Nations agencies will examine the latest technology developments and opportunities for cooperation in eHealth, eLearning, Tackling Spam Paperless Trading and eLogistics.

There will also be a special session chaired by the World Health Organisation to discuss ways in which the sharing of knowledge and skills through eHealth can help reduce the impact of future natural disasters and help during the reconstruction phase of Tsunami.

450 senior experts from business, government and academia in the 38 participating countries in ASEM, together with senior members of the European Commission, will attend the two-day conference to examine opportunities for increasing cooperation between Europe and Asia through sharing information, ideas and best practice, and where necessary, consider the need to establish common technical standards

There will also be a seminar to consider joint European and Asian action in the fight against spam.

Keynote addresses will be made by Sir Richard Sykes, the Rector of Imperial College, and Mr Natsuno Takeshi, the architect behind the mobile telephony revolution in Japan. The Conference Chairman is Professor John O'Reilly,

ASEM comprises the 25 EU Member States, the European Commission and 13 Asian partner countries: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

ASEM's activities are divided into three pillars: political, social partnership and economic cooperation. A key priority under economic cooperation is identifying ways of strengthening the trade and investment flows between Europe and Asia.

The 'streams' Around 450 senior experts are expected from government, business and academia. The conference programme will comprise an opening and closing plenary session and five parallel seminars on the following topics:

eHealth

eHealth and telemedicine are transforming the physical infrastructures where healthcare has traditionally been exchanged and driving health delivery out into the community, the retail environment and even directly into the home. One of the key topics will be ways in which the sharing of knowledge and skills through eHealth and telemedicine can help reduce the impact of future natural disasters.

eLogistics

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has the potential to transform the distribution sector because of its ability to track moving objects. The global market for RFID data carriers (tags), readers, software and services is currently $1 billion, but is expected to increase dramatically to between US$3 billion and US$4.7 billion by 2007.

Paperless Trading Estimates suggest that up to 10% of product costs are wasted on paper-based communication throughout the supply chain. Globally the total potential savings by converting paper documentation to digital communication could be as much as $500 billion.

Tackling spam

Spam is no longer simply an annoyance. It is increasingly criminal in nature - demonstrated by the fake charity messages that reached many email accounts websites that have been set up in the wake of the Asian Tsunami disaster. New platforms are also emerging - such as 3G mobiles and PDAs. The only way to combat spam is greater co-operation between countries. ASEM 2005 offers the opportunity to provide a common platform for 38 member countries.

eLearning

The way that the world is divided between the "haves" and "have nots" is no longer simply about income. Increasingly it is about individuals and communities having access to education through the internet. Experts will discuss ways to build bridges between the developed and developing world through "eLearning".

Related links to this article:

e-Government National Awards 2004: Winners were announced on 19th January

The e-Government National Awards (www.e-GovernmentAwards.org.uk) recognise and praise the best strategies, achievements, teams and individuals in UK e-Government. The guest of honour at the 2004 Awards dinner was Ian Watmore, head of e-Government at the Cabinet Office e-Government Unit.

Full details on winners can be found at this link.

A gallery of photos of Awards winners and the dinner can be found at this link.

Organiser for the awards was PublicTechnology.net, the leading online news provider for those in UK e-Government and public sector IT, with 29,300+ readers per month. The Awards were supported by the Cabinet Office e-Government Unit and Socitm. Platinum sponsor was Intel and also a sponsor was Jobsgopublic.