The Macao Special Administrative Region Government will host the third EUREKA [meets] ASIA conference that will take place from 26 to 30 May, 2003, at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre.
A wide range of participants, including government officials, experts, scholars and entrepreneurs, is expected to attend the five-day event. The theme of the gathering will be "Green Enterprises for Sustainable Development".
The environment, life sciences, natural medicine and information technology are the major areas to be discussed during activities which include a forum, thematic workshops and negotiations for joint research projects.
Launched in 1985, EUREKA is a European-wide network for industrial research and development that has already changed the face of pan-European cooperative research and development.
Today 33 countries and the European Union are full EUREKA members, while many more countries, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, have some form of associate status. In addition, some EUREKA projects have non-European organizations as participants.
According to EUREKA's annual report (2000/2001), there are 3,007 enterprises, research units and governmental bodies participating in 703 ongoing projects, with an investment value of approximately 2.2 billion euros.
Advocated by Portugal, who assumed Chairmanship of EUREKA in 1998, and supported by the P.R.C., Macao was chosen as the venue for the first EUREKA [meets] ASIA event in 1999.
The Joint Declaration signed by the Ministries of Science & Technology of China and Portugal stipulated that this event would be held in Macao once every two years.
The second EUREKA [meets] ASIA event was held from 23 to 26 May 2000.
The 'Protocol concerning Joint Cooperation for Advanced Training and Qualification of Human Resources in the Area of Software Development and Applications' was then issued and signed by the Chinese and Portuguese Ministers of Science and Technology on May 26, 2000.
The third EUREKA [meets] ASIA conference will be supported by the Portuguese and Chinese Ministries for Science & Technology and co-organized by the Technology Exchange Center under MOST, P.R.C, Agê/;ncia de Inovaç/;ã/;o, Entrepreneurial Innovation and Technology, and the Portugal and Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center (CPTTM).
The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute will assume Chairmanship of the organizing committee.
