Vloggers get political in Norway [BBC]
A video-blogger from Bergen in Norway is aiming to energise a new generation of voters ahead of Norwegian parliamentary elections, and turning his camcorder on politicians. Read full story
Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Category Europe
How Europe fails its young [The Economist]
The Economist has just published a survey of higher education (which can be viewed without subscription) and argues in an editorial that the state of Europe’s higher education is a long-term threat to its competitiveness. Europe’s only chance of preserving…
Glocalmap.to – social tagging for mobile phones
Glocalmap.to (site currently in Italian only) is a large-scale cultural “social tagging” project that integrates web mapping, thematic tagging and mobile phone messaging, to create a new urban narrative for the city of Turin. It allows citizens and visitors alike…
Conference on empathic market sensing involves Experientia
One of the first activities of the newly founded Launch Institute is a conference on empathic market sensing on 20-21 September in Hamburg, Germany. Empathic market sensing builds upon voice-of-the-customer and observational “applied ethnography†techniques to dive deeply into how…
Horizons2020, a Siemens foresight study
The August issue of Siemens Journal introduces Horizons2020, a Siemens foresight study on European life in 2020. Rather than attempting to predict the future, Siemens hopes that Horizons2020 will intensify public discussions and invite people to think about changes that…
120,000 European workers needed in India over the next five years [Yale Global]
India will face a shortage of managerial and marketing skills while dealing with Western customers, creating a significant opportunity for European and American workers. A recent report from researchers Evalueserve estimates that 120,000 continental European workers will be needed in…
John Thackara voicing doubts again on EU research priorities
The European Commission has published a new plan, called i2010 for ‘the completion of a Single European Information Space’. The Commission proposes an 80% increase in funding for ICT research focused on areas where Europe has recognised strengths: nano-electronics, embedded…
Green petite cars tempt tourists in southern Spain [BBC]
The narrow, cobbled streets of Cordoba in southern Spain are no place for a car, but Alfredo Romeo, a Spanish entrepreneur wanted to change that and set up a business with “blobjectsâ€, electric hire cars that are proving popular with…
Denmark in the culture and experience economy – 5 new steps
In this publication the Danish Government* presents initiatives within five new strategic target areas designed to create favourable frameworks capable of reinforcing development and growth potential in the culture and experience economy. The five target areas include the sports industry,…
How to best face globalisation? [CPH127]
The following CPH127 post features an analysis about innovation strategies in Denmark, but the implications of this reasoning are relevant for many other European countries. “During the last year there has been a lot of discussion in Denmark around how…
Jeremy Rifkin on Europe’s next industrial revolution [Der Spiegel]
The industrial revolution is over, and the machines have won. But as jobs in factories and offices disappear, there are still opportunities to create new kinds of employment. According to Jeremy Rifkin, the first opportunity lies in what he calls…
John Thackara critisises the EU’s “tech first” approach
John Thackara, director of Doors of Perception, just posted a critical comment on how the EU’s innovation and research programmes put an emphasis on tech rather than on people. For instance, the EU’s Information Society Technologies programme contains, according to…
European Cities Monitor
What do European companies think about European cities? Here is a sample of the results of a survey with 500 of Europe’s 15,000 biggest companies: The top 10 European cities to locate a business to today (in order): London,…
Ireland today is the richest country in the EU after Luxembourg [International Herald Tribune]
The country that for hundreds of years was best known for emigration, tragic poets, famines, civil wars and leprechauns today has a per capita gross domestic product higher than that of Germany, France and Britain. How Ireland went from the…
How US consumerism changed the face of Europe [Christian Science Monitor]
The Americanisation of Europe by way of mass marketing is not at all a new phenomenon and, despite all of Europe’s umbrage, its participation has been quite voluntary. Read full review
Laying out an agenda for a European innovation ecosystem [Business Week]
Europe seems to have everything it takes to be a hotbed of high-tech innovation: a highly educated workforce, great universities, a solid legal system, and advanced financial markets. Yet it is anything but. Read full story
Reflecting on Europe’s identity
A series of articles on the current European debate: Meet me in Eumerica for the best of two worlds [International Herald Tribune, 22 June 2005] Grass roots change for Europe (by EU Commissioner Margot Wallström) [International Herald Tribune, 21 June…
Monks use hi-tech camera to read ancient texts [Reuters]
“When I came to Sinai I came to live in the desert. I didn’t know I’d be doing computer photography and going to London four times a year,” Father Justin said. Read full story
Mediterranean Social Forum in Barcelona
The Mediterranean Social Forum opens today in Barcelona. The Spanish city hosts some 280 events, including conferences, seminars, workshops, devoted to the promotion of a public space for communication within the Mediterranean coasts. Since its creation the Forum has opened…
The future of European e-government [The Guardian]
Last week was not a great time to unveil a new pan-European initiative. Yet the programme is an important source of funding for IT-based innovations in public services. It is aimed not at putting services online (most already are)…