Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Supporting innovation in Europe’s capital
Monday, December 5, 2011
In these challenging economic times, it's important to focus not just on today's immediate problems, but on innovating for the future and for growth.
European Commission President José-Manuel Barroso
and
Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn
are to be commended for tackling this long-term challenges by hosting an
Innovation Summit
today in Brussels.
We were delighted that our Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, was invited to give one of the keynote speeches. Eric outlined a pro-innovation agenda, focusing on how governments can identify “smart problems” and steer entrepreneurial energy in a productive direction.
Data is key, Eric said. Today’s computing power, including on mobile phones, makes it possible to address problems in new ways by taking advantage of the vast datasets available and in so doing identify big opportunities. And decisions driven by data need to measured carefully:
"GDP measures, for example, may not be enough, as the productivity benefits of IT adoption in the workplace and the uncounted consumer benefits from online services are not included in such estimates.(for details, see the
McKinsey Study for IAB Europe).
."
Eric set out an agenda designed to take advantage of data-driven innovation:
Education: “We need to invest in training a new generation of smart problem-solvers, and encourage innovative methods for teaching and learning.”
Copyright and other Internet issues: Eric called on Europe to implement a regulatory framework which fosters cloud computing and other innovations.
Patents: Europe should avoid following the U.S. lead on patents. “I don’t want to get too far into the intricacies of the various debates underway on patent legislation, but here is my top advice - don’t copy the US. You’re still light years ahead of us!,” Eric said.
Culture of entrepreneurship: Governments should provide support and investment for world-class clusters of innovation, like the UK government’s
Tech City
initiative in East London. We’re a sponsor and active participant in Tech City - and in France, we’re backers of the Startup Cafe resources center for entrepreneurs, as well as the Le Camping incubator.
Europe’s future need not be one of crisis - but one of innovation, Eric concluded. Europe has the talent. It has the human potential. Now the task is to summon new thinking and leadership at every level in society to ensure that the full promise of technology is unlocked.
Posted by Simon Hampton, Director, European Public Policy and Government Affairs
Honoring innovative digital journalism in Paris
Friday, December 2, 2011
Journalism is is in the midst of moving onto the Internet and Google is committed to helping ease this transition. We drive millions of readers to media sites every day and we split billions of dollars each year in advertising with publishers. We also aim to reward journalism that takes advantage of new digital tools.
A sign of the commitment is our partnership with the School of Journalism at Sciences Po in Paris. We created an award to showcase student projects, as well as professionals. A panel of prestigious journalists was recruited as judges: Jean-Marie Colombani, the founder of
Slate.fr
, Jean-Marc Manach, author of the blog
Bug Brother
, Thibaud Vuitton, deputy editor of the platform of continuous information France Television, Pascale Robert-Diard, author of the blog world
Chronicles Judicieres
and Alice Antheaume, deputy director of the journalism school at Sciences Po and author of the blog
Work In Progress
.
The awards were delivered at an event today at Sciences Po.
Villeneuve 5/5
, led by a group of students from the Grenoble School of Journalism, won the student award for a project that uses the video, sound, text and images to bring readers into the heart of violent riots which shook the district of Villeneuve in 2010. In the professional category, the jury praised the innovation of two journalists Slate.fr, who seized the tools used on social networks to investigate the
murky finances
of France’s richest woman Liliane Bettencourt.
Prix Google de l'innovation en journalisme
from
Sciences Po
on
Vimeo
.
This initiative is part of a comprehensive partnership with Science Po's School of Journalism, announced in May 2011. We look forward to pursuing it - and continuing to support online journalism.
Posted by Elisabeth Bargès, Institutional Relations, Google France
Making Internet a safer place in Russia
Friday, December 2, 2011
As in the real world, keeping kids safe online is a challenge. Children move fast with an insatiable curiosity which drives the questions and answers, sparks innovation, and can ultimately lead to a brighter future. At Google, we believe in empowering families with technologies and resources to help kids grow -- as well as tools to protect them online.
Google SafeSearch
,
YouTube Safety Mode
and other
safety features
are built into our products help our users make their own choices about what minors do and see online.
These controls need to be adapted to local concerns in order to be effective. We have launched more than 50
Family Safety Centres
across the world in national languages, with more countries joining all the time. Last week, the Russian Ministry of Telecommunications awarded a national Internet award. the Runet Prize, to our
Russian Family Safety Center
. This award signals government recognition of our efforts to build transparency, choice, and security into our products.
Online child safety is emerging as a major issue in Russia. A recent Law on Protection of Children from Harmful Information will enter into force in September. It stipulates several Internet-challenging issues, namely mandatory content filtering at the level of access providers. We are concerned that such an approach may not eradicate illegal content from the web and could instead impact Internet freedoms.
In less than three decades of existence, the Internet has grown into an exciting world of
e-books
,
digitised culture
and
connected communities
. Kids are naturals to this environment. While we have much to teach children about staying smart online, they, in course, have much to teach us. Harsh regulation will not solve the problem. Instead, we all should work together to develop tools that promote online responsibility and user choice. We’re glad that the Russian Ministry of Telecommunications recognizes our work in this direction.
Posted by Ksenia Karyakina, Policy Analyst for Russia
Luvvies and Boffins embrace in London
Thursday, December 1, 2011
When Eric Schmidt delivered his
MacTaggart lecture
at the
Edinburgh TV Festival
this summer he spoke of the importance of bringing the worlds of art and science back together if Britain’s creative industries are to succeed in the digital era. Luvvies and boffins, he said, need to work together.
That call seems to have struck a chord with industry, the arts and government, so this week we gathered a group of more than a hundred prominent figures from both worlds at our London offices for our first Luvvies and Boffins event.
The
Rambert Dance company
’s artistic director Mark Baldwin and resident scientist Professor Nicola Clayton explained how they worked together to create
Comedy of Change
, a ballet based on Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Ian Livingstone, founder of the video game pioneers
Eidos
and author of
Next Gen
, a new report on the future of our creative industries, made a passionate plea to the Government to include computer science in the schools curriculum.
The Science and Universities Minister
David Willetts
dropped in and showed he’s listening. This week the
government responded positively
to Ian Livingstone’s report, Prime Minister
David Cameron
agreeing that “we're not doing enough to teach the next generation of programmers.”
It was an evening of intense conversation, inspiring demonstrations and scientifically prepared cocktails. We plan to continue to meet as a group to promote the aims of what’s now being called STEAM education - Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths.
Posted by Peter Barron, Director, External Relations, Europe Middle East and Africa
Working together to make the web a better place for kids
Thursday, December 1, 2011
We’re strong believers in the benefits of the Internet for young people, whether in the classroom, at home, or out and about. But we also know that like all technologies, the value of the Net is what you make of it. If you’re a parent (and many of us here at Google are), then you want to ensure that your kids can navigate the web smartly and safely.
That’s why today we’re pleased to become a founding member of European Commissioner Neelie Kroes’
Better Internet for Kids coalition
. The new coalition brings together a wide range of technology companies with diverse experience in protecting children online. We’ve
committed
to working together and sharing our expertise to achieve a better Internet for kids.
Over the years, we’ve dedicated significant engineering and educational resources to providing families with choice, transparency, and security. Our
SafeSearch Lock
enables parents to block offensive content; our flagging system and
Safety Center
on YouTube provide an easy way to report abuse and find support from professionals. We also regularly run pragmatic digital literacy campaigns - the most recent being our “Good to Know” initiative (in
English
and
German
), in partnership with citizens’ advice organisations.
We’ve learned a lot in the process - but know that on the ever changing web, it's important to work with others to keep on top of the challenges. We’re looking forward to getting started with this new initiative, and we encourage other companies across the spectrum of the technology business to get involved too.
Posted by Simon Hampton, Director of European Public Policy
Magic moments in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, thanks to the web
Monday, November 28, 2011
Cross-posted on the
Official Google Blog
Today more than 50 million Egyptians started heading to the polls to cast their votes for an independent Parliament, many for the first time in their lives. The revolution in Egypt, which captured the attention of the world beginning in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2011, made this possible by opening the floodgates of political participation.
With the free flow of information online, people can connect and engage in a open dialogue about the future of Egypt. The web is enabling many new voters to become better informed on their choice of candidates, and letting politicians reach electors in new and exciting ways.
Getting information about the new rules and the new players is no small feat for Egyptians: there are nearly 11,000 candidates vying for 498 seats across 27 governorates nationwide during a multi-stage election that started today and lasts until March 2012. We’re doing our best to organize information to make it easier for voters to find everything they need in one place. For example, millions of Egyptians have learned where they can vote through our landing page,
www.google.com.eg/elections
.
We’ve also worked to give a voice to thousands of candidates to reach voters through interactive video. The
YouTube Townhall
includes nearly 400 videos posted by candidates and political parties explaining where they stand on issues from education and the economy to health care and political reform, sparking vibrant conversations in cafés from
Alexandria
to
Aswan
.
We’re helping voters and politicians connect not just in Egypt, but throughout the entire Middle East and the world. For
Tunisia’s recent parliamentary elections
, we partnered with startup news portal
Tunisia Live
to offer a training workshop in Tunis on Google tools and social media for politicians. In France, we set up a special
YouTube site
for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Internet is playing an increasingly significant role in Egypt. It’s bolstering civic engagement and becoming a powerful mechanism for information sharing—crucial to helping the nation make the tough transition to democracy.
Posted by Samir ElBahaie, Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs for Google Middle East North Africa
Celebrating innovation in digital journalism
Monday, November 28, 2011
Cross-posted with the
Official Google Blog
Journalism is changing fast as media businesses adapt and experiment with ways of gathering and reporting the news in the digital age. Here’s news of two contests we’re sponsoring to help stimulate innovation in digital reporting.
IPI News Innovation Contest
We’re pleased to congratulate the first three winners selected by the Vienna-based
International Press Institute
in its News Innovation Contest. The prizes are part of a $5 million
global contest
launched by Google last year.
Today’s winners, who will receive grants totalling $600,000, are:
World Wide Web Foundation
for its Voice-based Citizen Journalism project in France, the Netherlands and Mali. The project will enable voice-based citizen journalists to gather and deliver news in rural areas through community radio and mobile phones.
Internews Europe
for its crowd-sourced journalism project in five African countries. The project aims to promote expertise in crowd-sourced journalism techniques to contribute to press freedom.
Journalism Leaders Programme
at the University of Central Lancashire, for its digital media training programme for the U.K. and Turkey. The project will focus on training in data journalism skills and the fundamentals of digital business aimed at disseminating learning to the wider news industry.
This is just the first round of the contest. In 2012, the IPI will consider a new set of proposals and award the remainder of the grant. More details are available at
www.ipinewscontest.org
.
GEN Data Journalism Awards
In Hong Kong, at the News World Summit hosted by the Global Editors Network, we're announcing a partnership on a new data journalism contest.
GEN’s Data Journalism Awards will celebrate the best examples of this new form of journalism from established news organisations and newcomers.
The winners will be chosen by an international jury and prizes awarded at the next GEN conference in Paris next year. Details on how to take part are at
globaleditorsnetwork.org
.
We look forward to seeing the impact these initiatives will have on digital journalism and hope they will encourage continued experimentation at every level of the media.
Posted by Peter Barron, Director, External Relations, Europe, Middle East and Africa
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