Euro-Mediterranean policy makers renew commitment to e-Infrastructures in the region
EU-Med Event 2, InterContinental Jordan hotel, Amman
Health, education and the environment within the Mediterranean region are all benefiting from the growth of e-Infrastructures, such as high-speed Internet connections and distributed (Grid) computing. e-Infrastructures for research and education allow members of the Mediterranean region’s scientific and academic communities to work together, and to collaborate with their counterparts in Europe and beyond. Many of the projects they collaborate on will benefit the population at large in the Mediterranean, promoting not only scientific but also social development. Yet the availability, quality and accessibility of e-infrastructures are still significantly uneven - not only across the region, but within individual countries.
To take stock of the achievements to date and to discuss the required strategies to secure the long-term sustainability of e-infrastructures in the region, today’s ‘EU-Med Event’ saw the gathering of researchers, invited policy makers and civil servants from relevant ministries and institutions, executives and officials from international organisations as well as private companies and foundations.
Following the launch of the SESAME facility, Amman also hosted this important event focusing on infrastructures for research. “This is not a coincidence” says HRH Princess Sumayya Bint El Hassan,“but a demonstration of the commitment of our country towards the development of the region and its cooperation with Europe. E-Infrastructures play a key role in this process, because they allow our talented scientists to be competitive and to collaborate worldwide. As you can see today, this vision of scientific development and peaceful cooperation is shared by many others in the region.”
EU-Med Event 2 included a celebration of the launch of EUMEDCONNECT2, the second generation of a high-capacity data communications network for the Mediterranean which, thanks to its interconnection to its European counterpart GÉANT2, provides a gateway for global collaboration for the region. Regional policy makers reinforced their commitment towards the network, which they had already given at the Euro-Med ICT Ministerial Meeting held in Cairo in February 2008.
“The seamless continuation of the EUMEDCONNECT network is a landmark for the development of e-infrastructures in the Euro-Mediterranean region, and the success of this event is testimony to how much policy makers care about this development.” Says David West, the EUMEDCONNECT-2 project coordinator, “we registered a great interest from other countries not yet involved in the project: Libya, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates for example. This is an important indication that the cooperative environment set up so far can further expand to include other countries in the region.”
FURTHER INFORMATION
EU-Med Event 2:
• Builds on the success of an initial event that was held in Brussels, Belgium, in October 2007. It brought together VIP speakers and an invited audience from more than 15 countries around Europe and the Mediterranean region to discuss collaborations in e-infrastructures and networking for research and education.
• Is hosted by three sponsoring projects that foster the creation of e-infrastructures in the Mediterranean region: EUMEDCONNECT2, LinkSCEEM, and the Development Support activity of GN2 (GÉANT2), thanks to the support of the European Commission.
• Is organised by DANTE, TERENA and Consortium GARR under the auspices of these projects. Active support is also being provided by JUNet, the Jordanian Universities Network.
EUMEDCONNECT2:
• Follows the end of the project to establish the EUMEDCONNECT network (2004 to December 2007).
• Provides a high-capacity dedicated Internet for the research and education communities of the Mediterranean region and is linked to the pan-European research and education network, GÉANT2.
• Benefits countries in the Mediterranean region including: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia.
• Jointly funded by the European Commission and the Mediterranean partners to reduce the digital disparity between the Mediterranean and European regions.
GN2 (GÉANT2):
• Is a large-scale research infrastructure project in the 6th Framework Programme of the European Commission and is co-funded by the EC and by 34 of Europe’s national research and education networks.
• The best-known service provided by the GN2 project is the multi-gigabit pan-European research and education network GÉANT2. The network and project are managed by DANTE.
• A number of other activities are included in the GN2 project, among them the ‘Networking Development Support’ activity. It aims to understand the status of research and education networking in and around Europe and to undertake specific actions in support of research networking organisations in countries where relevant policies, technologies and services are less advanced.
LinkSCEEM:
• Supports the development of a Computation-based Science and Technology Research Centre (CSTRC) by the Cyprus Institue, and its integration with the European high-performance computing and computational science environment.
• Organises remote and trans-national access by virtual communities of users from the Eastern Mediterranean region.
• Will conduct a feasibility study for the creation of a regional research network to interconnect eastern Mediterranean countries with each other and with Cyprus. Will disseminate information from studies and actions of the project among decision-makers and the research and education communities.
• LinkSCEEM is funded by the European Commission through the FP7-Capacities programme.
Cairo Declaration:
• Subscribed by the Governments’ representatives at Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on the Information Society, entitled ‘Building an Enabling Environment for the EUROMED Information Society‘, held in Cairo on 27 February 2008.
• Reaffirms the Minister’s commitment to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (the so-called Barcelona Process, launched by Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Ministers in November 1995 and aiming at building together an area of peace, security and shared prosperity, through setting out joint activities in some key sectors, including research).
• Highlights the accomplishments of bilateral and regional projects aiming at regulatory reform of the electronic communications sector and at improved networking between the information technology and research communities and presents a vision for further enhancements.
• Acknowledges the strategic relevance of some projects funded by the EU’s Regional Programme, such as EUMEDCONNECT.
•The Declaration is downloadable at: http://www.eu2008.si/en/News_and_Documents/download_docs/February/0226TTE_EUROMED/070Declaration.pdf
More information and the updated programme are available at: www.terena.org/eumedevent2.
