Update April 2000: Poland

In the past quarter (January - March 2000), a number of promotional activities have taken place. These activities include, for example, programmes and calls for projects or proposals, communication actions such as the organisation of meetings and conferences, and publication of promotional materials. They included activities at both the international and local levels.

1. Evaluation of Y2K actions

In early January, many Y2K launch teams presented reports referring to the state of art technology. The Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications Board published a declaration entitled "After the Year 2000 problem" on 5 January 2000 <www.piit.org.pl>. In this declaration the Board ascertained that the Y2K problem had not created any serious local or international danger. Nonetheless, it recommends monitoring crucial utilities. Since then, interviews with key persons responsible for Y2K have been published in specialised journals and daily press. Other publications related to the Y2K problem include "Problem Roku 2000" of "TELEINFO" and "TELECOMMUNICATION WORLD" and "PR2000 After Two Months" by TELEINFO.

2. Information Society policy and e-business

• The First Conference "Information Society Problems in Provincial Development Strategies" took place in Warsaw on 18 January 2000. The conference was organised by the Polish Agency of Regional Development, MINICIPIUM S.A., Federation of Communes and Administrative Districts, and Association "Cities in Internet". The main targets included representatives of provincial government, district and commune authorities, and professionals interested in strategic planning. The objective of the conference was to introduce European experiences to audience so as to allow them to incorporate these experiences into provincial development strategies in Poland. Development strategies of Information Society for different regions were discussed. The regional projects were presented by experts of the European Commission, European Regional Information Society Association, European Local Authorities Network and representatives of the Polish Government.

• On 24 January 2000 the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications (PIIT) and the Polish Information Processing Society (PTI) held a conference on e-economy in Warsaw. The following questions were discussed: E-banking and E-commerce on the Internet; development of telecommunication infrastructure; regulations for E-economy development; operation security; capital expenditure for E-economy development; and prospects for E-economy.

• The 15th International Fair, "Komputer Expo 2000," took place in Warsaw on 25-28 January 2000. The event aimed to present Polish and international companies that are leaders in the computer software and hardware industry. "Education 2000" segment offered IST solutions for education and training. Associated conferences, seminars and debates have been held and were dedicated to topics such as computer telecommunications in public administration, information society for regions, and Internet at schools. The best computer products presented during the "Computer Expo 2000" Fair were awarded Grand Prix prizes at the Gala held on 25 January 2000 in Warsaw. 50 products competed for these prizes.

• The 3rd Conference "SecurNET," organised by IDG Poland S.A., took place in Zegrze near Warsaw on 2-3 March 2000. The conference aimed to present overviews of the FireWall systems; protection against computer viruses, microchip cards, computer software for security monitoring; Secure Virtual Network; Public Key Infrastructure to apply in an enterprise; Certificate Authority as the Trusted Third Party for PKI systems.

3. Telecommunications

• The 11th International Fair of Telecommunications "INTERTELECOM '2000" took place in Lódz on 14-17 March 2000. The fair was organised by the International Fair Office in Lódz under the auspices of the Minister of Telecommunications and patronage of the Mayor of Lódz. 308 companies participated in this event. The following products were presented: commutation, terminal, radio and TV equipment; equipment for transmission of television signals; conductors and telecommunication cables; power supply devices; equipment for automation of postal systems; short-wave transmitters and CB radio. In addition, computer telecommunication, design, and consulting services were offered.

• On 14-15 March 2000, the scientific-technical symposium "Systems and Technologies in Multimedia Communication STM2000" took place in the Technical University in Lódz. This meeting was organised by Lódz Section of the Society of Polish Electricians, Institute of Electronics of the Technical University of Lódz and Institute of Radio-electronics of the Technical University of Warsaw.

• The conference "Wide Area Networks and European integration" organised by ATM S.A. company, took place on 22-24 March in Zakopane. The meeting was devoted to the following questions: integration of the scientific networks in Europe; new solutions of data storage in the Wide Area Networks; creation of medical networks at regional and national level with advantage of the EU experiences; European integration of telecommunication companies; IP VPN networks as a new technology of information transmission; mobile global commerce; satellite communication for the Wide Area Networks; strategies of the trans-European broadband networks development; modern multimedia services through broadband networks of cable TV. There were also two panels on information protection in the national telecommunication networks.