I have just received this press releas on Europenan e-Inclusion Awards 2008. I think this is an Award that as many organisations as possible should enter as an excellent way to raise the profile of e-Inclusion.

I will report on the results in December.

European e-Inclusion Awards 2008
The European Commission has just launched the first ever European e-Inclusion Awards. As part of the European Commission's e-Inclusion Initiative, the Awards will celebrate the best and most imaginative uses of Information and Communications Technology to reduce digital and social exclusion.
Digital technologies are an essential part of daily life. We use them at work, in day-to-day relationships, in dealing with public services, and a lot more besides. They touch our lives in ways which we are often unaware of, or don't even think about. Yet an estimated 1 in 3 Europeans fail to benefit from new technologies.

Overcoming this ‘digital exclusion' is not just a social necessity, it is estimated that it could be worth up to €85 billion to European companies and governments over the next five years. The European e-Inclusion Awards aim to inspire progress and to encourage industry, governments and other organisations to exploit information and communication technologies to combat social and digital exclusion.

The European e-Inclusion Awards are open to organisations in the public, business and voluntary sector or civil society. There are seven competition categories:

• Ageing Well
• Marginalised Young People
• Geographic Inclusion
• Cultural Diversity
• Digital Literacy
• e-Accessibility
• Inclusive Public Services

Entries will close on the 12th September 2008 and five finalists from each category will be invited to exhibit at the Ministerial Conference on E-Inclusion to be held in Vienna on 1 December 2008 as part of the "e-Inclusion: Be Part of It!" campaign (see http://ec.europa.eu/einclusion). The overall winners will be announced at the Awards dinner and ceremony.

For more information on the Awards or to register, visit the website www.e-inclusionawards.eu.