SEEREN Inauguration Event Prospects of collaboration for SE Europe January 9 th, 2004 Thessaloniki, Greece

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1 SEEREN Inauguration Event Prospects of collaboration for SE Europe January 9 th, 24 Thessaloniki, Greece organized by The Greek Ministry of Development in collaboration with The SEEREN consortium local organization, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)

LOCATION Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, http://www.auth.gr Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece with a population of 1,, inhabitants, is one of the oldest cities in Europe.

The city was founded by Cassander, King of Macedonia, and was named after his wife, Thessaloniki, sister of Alexander The Great.

2 LOCATION Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece with a population of 1,, inhabitants, is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It stretches over twelve kilometers in a bowl formed by low hills facing a bay that opens into the Gulf Thermaikos, on a site of old prehistoric settlements going back to 23 B.C. The city was founded by Cassander, King of Macedonia, and was named after his wife, Thessaloniki, sister of Alexander The Great. At the crossroads between east and west, this multicultural metropolis has a dramatic history of conquests and counter-invasions. In Roman times it was visited by Saint Paul, who preached the new religion, and who later addressed his two well-known epistles (the oldest written documents of Christian literature) to the Christians of Thessaloniki. In Byzantine times, Thessaloniki became a cultural and artistic centre second only to Constantinople in the whole empire. The missionary brothers Cyril and Methodius also have a special place in the history of the period; they invented and used the Cyrillic Alphabet to bring literacy and Christianity to the Slavs. Thessaloniki is a prosperous waterfront city, its sophisticated business centre balanced by a lively student culture. The town has today two quite distinct sectors: The "old town", continuously undergoing reconstruction, and the modern sector, whose many modern buildings are examples of advanced architecture. The Aristotle University, founded in 1925, is Greece's largest university, with 6, students. In addition to the University, there are numerous institutions that contribute to the academic and cultural life of the city. Among them are the Macedonian University, The Archeological and Byzantine museums, the Folklore museum, the State Conservatory, Theatres and Orchestras, the Society of Macedonian Studies, the Institute for Balkan Studies, and other cultural and artistic organisations. Climate: ( C) Jan: min 2, max 15; Jul: min 18, max 32.

3 EVENT CHAIRS Spyros Konidaris Vasilis Maglaris EC LOCAL HOST Ioannis Antonopoulos Ioannis Tsoukalas AUTH AUTH ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Bernhard Fabianek EC Jorge-A, Sanchez-P. Dimitra Kotsokali Lajos Balint HUNGARNET/NIIFI Eduard Andrei RoEduNet Zoran Jovanovic AMREJ Orlin Kouzov ICTDA Rossitza Petrova ISTF Borislav Popovski MARNET Gudar Beqiraj INIMA Azemina Vukovic BIHARNET SECRETARIAT Krystallia Drystella Christina Pikrammenou Hara Biba Athina Sakka For the latest workshop information and news

4 WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES The objectives of the event are the inauguration of the South-Eastern European Networking Infrastructure (SEEREN) the promotion of the Action Plan for collaboration in the field of research and technology between the European Union and the South Eastern European countries (candidates or not) the promotion of new collaborations organisation of parallel meetings: Task Force for electronic networking, actions for SEE-GRID, etc. ORGANIZER Greek Ministry of Development, in collaboration with the South-Eastern European Research and Education Networking (SEEREN) initiative. Local organization: Greek Research and Technology Network () and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. WORKSHOP SPONSORS European Commission - DG Information Society. WORKSHOP VENUE Thessaloniki, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Ceremony Hall. REGISTRATION On-site registration on Friday, 9 January, 24 at 8:3-1:. SOCIAL EVENT TBD LUNCH Lunch will be served at 12:3-13:3 in the venue area.

5 WORKSHOP AGENDA 8:3 Registration and Coffee Opening Session Welcoming of participants and greetings 9: I. Antonopoulos, Rector AUTH P. Psomiadis, Prefect of Thessaloniki V. Papageorgopoulos, Mayor of Thessaloniki TBD, Representative from the Ministry of Development D. Deniozos, General Secretary for Research and Technology, Ministry of Development, Greece Y. Kalogirou, Secretary for the Information Society, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Greece S. Konidaris, Advisor to the Director General, European Commission, - DG INFSO V. Maglaris, Chairman of the Board, Session 1: Inauguration South-Eastern European Research and Education Networking 1: B. Fabianek, Scientific Officer, European Commission - DG INFSO J.-A. Sanchez-P., SEEREN Project Manager, David West, DANTE Valentino Cavalli, TERENA Oliver Popov, CEENet 11: Coffee break Directors of the SEEREN NRENs: Z. Jovanovic, O. Kouzov, G. Beqiraj, B. Popovski, A. Vukovic W. Kaffenberger, Programme Director, NATO Science Programme Α. Αggeloglou, OTEGlobe, CEO J. Butler, Cisco Europe

6 George Bonas, Chairman Task Force on the Improvement of electronic networks 12:3 6 min Lunch break + Press conference Session 2: Prospects of collaboration for SE Europe 13:3 Α. Tsochatzopoulos, Minister, Ministry of Development E. Liikanen, Commissioner, EC A. Diamantopoulou, Commissioner, EC D. Domazet, Minister of Science, Technology and Development of Serbia S. Backovic, Minister of education, Government of Montenegro N. Nedelchev, Vice Minister of Transport and Communications (responsible for Communications), Ministry of Transport and Communications, Republic of Bulgaria K. Velev, Vice-Minister (responsible for Scientific Affairs), Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Bulgaria T. Ionescu, Ministry of Education, Research and Youth, Romania A, Doko, Minister Foreign Trade and Economy, Bosnia & Herzegovina L. Memush, Minister of Education and Science, Tirane, Albania A. Polozani, Minister for Education and Science, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Α. Loverdos, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HiPERB 15: 3 min Coffee Break Conclusions 15:3 17: min Open discussion and wrap-up Workshop end

8 PARTICIPATION FORM SEEREN Inauguration Event Prospects of collaboration for SE Europe January 9 th, 24 Thessaloniki, Greece Please, fill this form in capital letters (one separate form for each participant) and send it by fax or to : Greek Research and Technology Network () Attn: Ms. H. Biba, Fax: biba@grnet.gr until at the latest Name: Organization: (Mr/Mrs) (LAST) (first) Title/Position: Address: Telephone: Fax: Signature : Date:

9 BACKGROUND A major objective of the Framework Programme of the European Commission (EC) is the cooperative approach to Research and Technological Development across Europe. The European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) have a long tradition of providing the most advanced platforms for cooperative, transnational research, coupled with their dual function in supporting the academic and educational communities. This was emphasized in the Feira European Council in which the eeurope initiative was formalized. One of the eeurope objectives stressed the urgent need for faster and reliable Internet for researchers and students; as a consequence, the FP5 workprogramme supported the establishment of GÉANT, the latest generation of pan-european research network infrastructure interconnecting at gigabit rates more than 3, research and education institutions in 32 countries through 28 national and regional research and education networks. Unlike previous EC Research Networks projects the GÉANT project strongly encouraged global connectivity; this meant support for connections and coordinated activities with peer advanced next generation network initiatives in the USA (Internet2) and Canada (Canarie), but also for extending its coverage to the newly associated and 3rd countries in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe, 3rd Mediterranean countries, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Far East, etc. The universally acknowledged success of GÉANT stressed the need for expanding its coverage to its immediate neighbours in South Eastern Europe, thus helping to ease the digital divide and contribute to the stability, peace and development of a region that up to recently was considered as one of the most volatile and unstable areas of the world. The South Eastern European Research and Education Networking initiative, SEEREN, aims at expanding the European research network in the region by providing GÉANT connectivity to non-géant countries and will enable joint research and educational activities, as a first step towards integrated e-science applications. Hence the concept of equity will be promoted in SE Europe, expressing the willingness of EU to enable equal research opportunities as well as equal access to information sources for all habitants of the continent. SEEREN will do its share to release the scientific and productive talents of the region, thus helping European research and industrial concerns to attract highly skilled personnel and at the same time contribute to the urgently needed improvement of ICT infrastructures. SEEREN is expected to be an essential vehicle for the creation and exploitation of a range of new services and best current practices to support research and education as well as offering facilities for collaboration and experimentation carried out as part of the IST and other international projects. SEEREN will bring together the research and development communities of SE Europe enabling them to cooperate towards achieving their common scientific endeavors. This is clearly a positive development, taking into consideration the recent history of the region, where social unrest and political conflicts had affected the intra country cooperation and put the local academic and research communities into practical isolation.

10 SEEREN will create the conditions for growth throughout SE Europe, by enabling the exchange of ideas, launching of joint experiments and projects, disseminating RTD results, and activating market forces, all substantial elements in the process of regional development. The project will have a positive effect in the area of braindrain prevention making the right information and knowledge resources accessible to the scholars both locally and globally. We are acutely alert by the daily mental hemorrhaging in SE European countries with so many young and educated people leaving. While this is part of a more general phenomenon that also happens in developed countries, it is of great concern in the developing ones, particularly in academic environments. Countries in SE Europe have a wealthy cultural heritage that dates from several hundred years ago. Indeed, up to now the existing common as well as diverse cultural elements of the fairly small and closed local societies, could hardly be considered as being integral parts of the cultural fabric of the region. The SEEREN infrastructure will promote common cultural ties through applications that will enable publishing, access and sharing of cultural assets among users and possibly educate the various social and even ethnic communities. In addition, the SEEREN networking environment could be potentially used as a working paradigm towards improving the everyday life of the citizens of the region. This could be accomplished by designing and running advanced telematic applications such as tele-medicine, tele-teaching etc. Furthermore SEEREN will enact a communication channel between the SE Europe scientific community and the European industry (liaisons to major ICT vendors), thus resulting to an increase of the demand for specialized services provided by the highly skilled academics and researchers of the region. Last but not least, it is believed that the SEEREN project will also positively affect the Democracy and Equity cause in the region. SEEREN Project Objectives Establish the South-East European infrastructure interconnecting the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Serbia-Montenegro, Greece, Hungary and Romania (called regional NRENs). The NRENs will be linked via 2-34 Mbps international connectivity. Interconnect the regional NRENs to the major GÉANT Points of Presence (PoPs) in this area and thus to the Pan-European research network. The major GÉANT PoPs in the region are located in Athens, Budapest, Bucharest, Ljubljana, Zagreb and Vienna. Guarantee the stable operation of the networking infrastructure and interoperability with GÉANT; Serve as a guide for future upgrades, so that all regional NRENs will be able to participate in GÉANT and be part of the European "e-science" distributed platform.

11 Ease the "digital divide" that still separates most of the SEE countries from the rest of the continent. Build awareness of IST in SE Europe non-eu countries and serve as a paradigm for bridging the digital divide in other areas. Provide a platform for cooperation of scientific and educational communities of EU Member States with Newly Associated States (NAS) and 3rd Countries. Exploit and disseminate the results. Investigate additional sources of funding from the EC, from EU States national funds and international organizations that are actively involved in the SEE region, such as UNESCO and NATO, CEENet, UNDP, World Bank, USAID. Work accomplished Subcontracts prepared and signed with NRENs of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, FYROM and Serbia-Montenegro. NRENs interconnectivity require-ments collected based on questionnaires sent to all SEEREN NRENs. Early consultations with providers, active in SE Europe to acquire rough estimates for the networking availability and cost. Analysis of the market conditions, supplier capabilities and technical, operational, commercial requirements. Analysis of the SEEREN NRENs equipment and upgrade needs and agreement on the SEEREN NOC organization and sustainability model. Relations established with organizations that are actively involved in the SEE region, such as UNESCO and NATO, in order to work out common visions towards reducing the "digital divide" in the region, i.e. the information and technological gaps within the region, as well as between the region and European Member States. Around 1,4, pulled together from sponsors (NATO, UNDP, Industrial Advisory Board) in various complementary subprojects. SEEREN training workshop organized, aimed at providing the SEEREN NRENs with certain technical know-how, and technical vision. Tender Notice published at the OJ/EC following EU legislature. Preparation of tender dossier. Evaluation of offers technically and financially. Selection of suppliers. Based on feedback all possible implementation approaches and topology options of GÉANT SEEREN interconnection will be assessed. Final negotiations with the selected providers. From the negotiations recommendations, the final interconnectivity topology will be designed. Definition of acceptance tests for connection lines and equipment, ensuring their required quality-performance, configuring the network elements and ensuring the stable operation of the interconnections by day-to-day supervision. Deployment of networking services and tools (e.g., Helpdesk, monitoring tools, statistics, etc).

12 Future Work Implementation of the SEEREN Virtual NOC. Look for other possible sources of funding including the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, the Stability Pact and other European programmes such as FP6, INTERREG, PHARE and CARDS. Extra funding will be used so as to ensure network's viability beyond the project's lifetime. Promote the use of SEEREN by informing the appropriate user groups through special events such as organizing workshops, distributing publicity material, delivering presentations at scientific conferences, setting demonstrations in academic events, all aiming at presenting the new opportunities provided by SEEREN. Individual NRENs will carry out complementary promotional activities in their national user communities as well as participate in activities at the European level.

13 ABSTRACTS TBA

14 ACCOMODATION To ease booking of hotels we have pre-booked a certain number of rooms in 7 selected hotels at favourable prices. Should you choose to book a room at the following prices then you have to contact directly the hotel of you preference and use the words and/or SEEREN as reference, so as to be eligible for the special prices. MAKEDONIA PALACE HOTEL *****, Address: 2, Meg. Alexandrou Ave Thessaloniki, Tel: , Fax: , mpalace@grecotel.gr, Web site: Daily cost for single room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 147, Daily cost for double room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 175. ELECTRA PALACE HOTEL *****, Address: 9, Aristotelous square, Thessaloniki, Tel: , Fax: , salesepthe@electrahotels.gr, Web site: Daily cost for single room on bed and breakfast basis Euro11, Daily cost for double room on bed and breakfast basis Euro135. CAPSIS HOTEL ****, Address: 18, Monastiriou str, Thessaloniki, Tel: , Fax: , capsis@spark.net.gr, Web site: Daily cost for single room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 81, Daily cost for double room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 12. CITY HOTEL ****, Address: 11 Komninon str, Thessaloniki, Tel: , Fax: , city@cityhotel.gr, Web site: Daily cost for single room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 89, Daily cost for double room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 99. ABC HOTEL ***, Address: 41, Aggelaki str, Thessaloniki, Tel: , Fax: , Web site: Daily cost for single room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 63. EGNATIA HOTEL ***, Address: 16, Antigonidon str, Thessaloniki, Tel: , Fax: , Web site: Daily cost for single room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 53, Daily cost for double room on bed and breakfast basis for single use Euro 6, Daily cost for double room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 65. METROPOLITAN HOTEL ***, Address: 65, Vas. Olgas Ave Thessaloniki, Tel: , Fax: , metropolitan@metropolitan.gr, Web site: Daily cost for single room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 75, Daily cost for double room on bed and breakfast basis for single use Euro 75, Daily cost for double room on bed and breakfast basis Euro 95.

TRANSPORTATION AIRPORT Thessaloniki has an international airport. Airport Code: SKG. The airport is located 16 km. outside Thessaloniki and caters for both domestic and international flights.

16 TRANSPORTATION AIRPORT Thessaloniki has an international airport. Airport Code: SKG. The airport is located 16 km. outside Thessaloniki and caters for both domestic and international flights. Airport address: P.O Box 2265, 5513 Kalamaria, Thessaloniki, Greece. Flight information: , (24hours). Switchboard: telephone: , Airport Transportation: Bus to Thessaloniki centre: Public Service no 78, every 3 min, journey time 3 min. Taxi to Thessaloniki centre: Journey time 2 min, fare ca. EUR 8. Car hire: AVIS tel.: 2683, City International tel.: 4714, EuroDollar tel.: , Hertz tel.: , Budged tel.: , Thrifty tel.: TRAIN Information on national and international train services is updated daily. Tel:

17 SOCIAL EVENTS TBD

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