Technological sovereignty of Europe, to be discussed in Madrid

The II Congress on Technological Sovereignty of Europe will be held in Madrid on 3, 4 and 5 of October, 2006. During three intense days of lectures and round tables, the conference will debate the main issues that Europe will have to face if it wants to become a real world-wide scientific and technological power.

Organized by the "Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aerospacial" (INTA), the electronic magazine Tendencias 21 and Kap Experiencial Marketing, as well as by the Institute of the Engineering of Spain, the Nebrija University and the "Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas", the conference will count on the presence of important Spanish and international scientific personalities, including Nobel laureates.

Europe must face five technological challenges in order to achieve its proper place within the the world-wide technological panorama, next to powers like the United States or Japan:

* Defense and Security of Europe
* The European Energy Model
* The Information Society in Europe
* The scientific and technological revolutions of the XXI Century
* Business, Capital, Risk.

The event will include a series of lectures by invited keynote speakers and experts of the associate companies and European institutions. The lectures will be distributed in the mornings during the three days of the Congress, and focused on each of the challenges listed above.

In the afternoons, round tables on the same themes of the morning sessions will take place, with the participation of the keynote speakers of the morning sessions together with other experts of associated companies and institutions. In addition, the Congress will elaborate proposals that will be submitted to the Government of Spain and the European Commission.

The II CONGRESS OF TECHNOLOGICAL SOVEREIGNTY OF EUROPE reflects the increasing will, within the political, scientific and business communities of Europe, to advance and not to withdraw in front the great world-wide technological powers. In this sense, the Congress is an initiative that occupies an outstanding place within a global strategy, emphasized by other recent European events:

* Paris, April of 2004 I Colloquium on the Independence and Technological Sovereignty of Europe

* Augsburg, November of 2005 II Colloquium on the Independence and Technological Sovereignty of Europe

* Toulouse, September of 2006: III Colloquium on European Space Sovereignty.

It is necessary not to forget that this II Congress in Spain has its antecedent in the I Congress, celebrated in Madrid in October of 2005, within the framework of the Centenary of the Institute of the Engineering of Spain.

The first Congress, celebrated in Madrid within the framework of the Centenary of the Institute of the Engineering of Spain, had a generic thematic focus, which permitted identifying the main global challenges for the European technological development.

It counted on a presence of more than 700 experts from Spain and Europe, and was celebrated under the auspices of the Presidency of the Government of Spain and with the participation of the most prestigious European institutions in technological investigation.

In summary, the Congress will be a key event not to be missed by citizens, companies and institutions that wish to participate in the scientific and technological development of Europe.