Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Celebrating data-driven innovation in Brussels
Monday, April 8, 2013
Update, April 22:
Videos of the innovation forum are now available. Take a look on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Foundation's
website
or below:
We now create as much information every two days as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003. And this rich flow is destined to accelerate.
McKinsey
projects 40% growth annually in global data generated. To showcase the potential of data for Europe’s economy and society, we recently teamed up with the
European Institute of Inovation and Technology Foundation
, the
Bavarian Representation to the European Union
and
Euronews
.
The forum,
Data-Driven Innovation: The New Imperative for Growth,
debated how data can improve the delivery of public services, provide accurate healthcare diagnosis, and generate higher business productivity.
Androulla Vassiliou
, European commissioner for education, culture and multilingualism, and
Neelie Kroes
, European commissioner in charge of the digital agenda, both called for unleashing a Big Data revolution in Europe. "This is the new frontier of the information age," Vassiliou said. "In the current path to stimulate European growth and jobs, there has never been a more critical time to harness the potential of data."
Androulla Vassilou
Alfred Spector
Debate Room
Senior representatives of the education, research, policy and business communities presented compelling evidence of how data could address big societal challenges. Computer-powered DNA sequencing open the possibility of accelerating medical diagnoses. Online college courses could revolutionize education. Google's own Vice President for Research
Alfred Spector
showed how we use data for products such as Google Translate.
Data also is powering entrepreneurs. New online business models make sense out of data include social media power startups such as news organiser
Storify
. Its founder
Xavier Damman
explained how established organisations and top politicians such as BBC, the White House or UK Prime Minister David Cameron use his company’s services to share knowledge from different online data sources, including Twitter, Google+, and traditional media websites.
The concluding panel looked at the ethical aspects of collecting, sharing and using data. Among other examples, they discussed how organizations such as
DataKind
are bringing together data scientists and NGOs to address social problems ranging from dirty water to urban sprawl. While speakers stressed that data-driven innovation is not based exclusively on data about people, they acknowledge, that all data regardless the source and type requires making tough ethical choices.
The Innovation Forum aims to inject data-driven innovation on the Brussels policy agenda. As well as focusing on privacy and data protection, we also need to encourage the unprecedented economic potential of data.
Posted by Sylwia Giepmans-Stepien, Public Policy and Government Relations Analyst, Brussels
Global Impact Awards targets innovative UK entrepreneurs
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Cross-posted with the
Official Google Blog
From
cracking the human genome
to
advancing medical research through computer games
, British social entrepreneurs have a proud history of using technology to make the world a better place.
Last year, we launched the
Global Impact Awards
to support nonprofits using technology to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems. We gave $23 million to seven organizations working on projects ranging from aerial technology that protects wildlife to data algorithms that ensure more girls and minorities get placed in advanced math and science classes.
As the next step in the Impact Awards, we’re kicking off our first
Global Impact Challenge
in the U.K., inviting British nonprofits to tell us how they would use technology to transform lives. Four nonprofits will each receive a £500,000 Global Impact Award, as well as Chromebooks and technical assistance from Googlers to help make their project a reality.
Applications open today, and registered British nonprofits are invited to apply online at
g.co/impactchallenge
. We’ll review applications and announce 10 finalists on May 22. At that point, people across the U.K. can learn more about the projects of the top 10 finalists, donate to the ones they like and cast a vote for fan favorite. On June 3, the top 10 finalists will pitch their concepts to a judging panel that includes us (Matt Brittin and Jacquelline Fuller), Sir Richard Branson, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Jilly Forster. The three awardees and the fan favorite will be revealed at the event, which will take place at Google London.
Technology can help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges and we’re eager to back innovators who are finding new ways to make an impact. Today we’re starting the hunt in the U.K., but we also know that nonprofits all over the world are using techy approaches to develop new solutions in their sector. Who knows, the Global Impact Challenge might head your way next.
Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google Giving, and Matt Brittin, VP, sales and operations, Northern and Central Europe
Bringing online a venerable Roman Catholic archive
Friday, April 5, 2013
Jesuits have published
La Civiltà Cattolica
without interruptions since 1850, making it among the oldest and most prestigious of Catholic periodicals. The title’s name translates as "The Catholic Civilization" and it offers a dialogue between faith and culture.
Today, at a press conference held at the Vatican, Civiltà Cattolica’s editor in chief
Antonio Spadaro
announced that a large portion of the publication’s voluminous archives were being made available online, thanks to
Google’s book project
. The older, public domain issues long have been available to users of Google Book Search. But now, La Civiltà Cattolica has authorized us to make the complete set of issues, up through 2007 available in full view, worldwide, for free.
Civilta Cattolica held a press conference today at the Vatican
The issues have been scanned from libraries around the world, ranging from the University of Michigan to Oxford to the Bibliotheque Municipale de Lyon. Examples are this
issue
from 1976 and this
one
from 2007.
The online archives illustrate La Civiltà Cattolica’s and church history. Easy access will allow researchers and readers to probe the publication’s much debated positions and influence on issues ranging from anti-semitism to the Second Vatican Council reforms.
This is only La Civiltà Cattolica’s latest initiative to engage its readers through the Internet. It is reaching out through all forms of social media, from Facebook to YouTube to Twitter. During today's press conference, Spadaro explained that sharing of the publication's digital content represents an important step forward in reaching global audiences of all ages.
We’re delighted to help offer access to such an important digital resource.
Posted by Giorgia Abeltino, Public Policy & Gov't Relations Counsel, Italy
Helping journalists stay secure in Somalia
Friday, April 5, 2013
Journalists around the world face security risks. Journalists in the war-ravaged country of Somalia face particular danger. According to the
Committee to Protect Journalists
, last year was the
deadliest year
on record for a country with a long history of press killings:
12 journalists
were killed in the line duty. The threat of violence has driven more journalists from Somalia into exile than from any other country in the past year.
Somali journalists protesting the death of one of their colleagues - Human Rights Watch iimage
In a bid to help improve Somali journalists’ personal safety, Google supported the Committee's project translating its
Journalist Security Guide
into Somali.
While the guide is designed for a global audience, a veteran Somali journalist reviewed the material for local relevance. It is our hope that many Somali journalists will find it useful in their day-to-day work. The entire Somali guide can be read, printed, and downloaded
here
. The Committee will also organize for tutorial sessions on the content in partnership with Somali journalist associations.
Just last week, the Committee reported that two gunmen waited near the home of a young Somali journalist,
Rahmo Abdulkadir
. The 25-year-old Rahmo had just left an Internet café in Mogadishu around 9:30 p.m. on March 24 with a friend when she was
shot
and killed. Her companion was not harmed.
Let’s hope that this deadly narrative can be stopped.
Posted by Ory Okolloh, Google Policy and Government Relations Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa
Helping French business go online with Google for Pros
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Internet generated more than 700,000 jobs in France between 1995 and 2010, according to a
2011 McKinsey study
. Through 2015, McKinsey estimates that the web’s digital contribution will grow to 5.5 percent of GDP, and that 450,000 additional jobs will be created.
In order to help reach - or better yet, surpass these goals - we recently launched a new program called
Google pour les Pros
. It aims to help 100,000 small French businesses get online by the end of this year.
Google coaches at the Unami Tea House in Lille
Many traditional French businesses continue to hesitate going online, fearing that it will require large investments, lots of time, and fancy skills they lack.
Google pour les Pros
aims to overcome these hurdles by providing an "on the ground" coach who provides personalised training.
We first tested the
Google pour les Pros
concept in the south of France. Results were encouraging enough to launch a full-fledged program in the north of France, around the region’s major metropolis Lille. This region has faced a dramatic economic transition, from fading heavy industry to new, modern services.
The 16 Google coaches we are deploying there are young university graduates. In the coming months, they will go from shop to shop, office to office, to propose their services, free of charge. Our partner in this ambitious operation is the
Greater Lille’s Chamber of Commerce
, which brings together 52,000 businesses. We will deploy coaches in other French regions throughout the year.
As we urge Lille’s bakeries, butchers, and other small businesses to get online, we already can point to success stories such as the
Unami tea house
. Owner Jean-Benoit Bourel opened an e-commerce site that enables him to export its products to the international market. "Now we sell in Marseille, Italy, Belgium, and in Russia," he says.
In a time of economic challenges, the Internet can help France regain its economic competitiveness - and its traditional strong small businesses win many new markets.
Posted by Clement Wolf, Communications, France
Improving Internet access in Africa with 'White Spaces'
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
White spaces are unused channels in the broadcast TV spectrum. They offer the potential to improve Internet connectivity where they are most needed - in the developing world. This week, we announced the launch of a trial with ten schools in the Cape Town area, which will receive wireless broadband over a white space network.
White space has the advantage that low frequency signals can travel longer distances. The technology is well suited to provide low cost connectivity to rural communities with poor telecommunications infrastructure, and for expanding coverage of wireless broadband in densely populated urban areas.
Google supported its first white space
trial
in the US in 2010, and Google.org recently launched its
spectrum database
for 45 day public comment period with the FCC. In October 2011, we hosted a
workshop
in Johannesburg, along with partners, at which the
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
(ICASA) lent support for an industry-led white spaces trial in South Africa. We then worked together with the
CSIR Meraka Institute
,
Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa
,
e-Schools Network
, the
Wireless Access Providers’ Association
,
Comsol Wireless Solutions
,
Carlson Wireless
, and
Neul
to take up the challenge.
The service will be broadcast from three base stations located at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in Tygerberg, Cape Town. Ten schools in the Cape Town area will receive wireless broadband to test the technology. During the trial, we will attempt to show that broadband can be offered over white spaces without interfering with licensed spectrum holders. To prevent interference with other channels, the network uses Google’s spectrum
database
to determine white space availability. To confirm results, the CSIR Meraka Institute will take spectrum measurements and frequently report back to ICASA and the local broadcasters.
White Space technology is gaining momentum around the world. In the US, it is already available for licensed exempt uses. In the UK, regulator Ofcom is working on a model regulatory framework based on a licence-exempt or ‘managed access’ use of television white spaces spectrum. We hope the results of the trial will drive similar regulatory developments in South Africa and other African countries.
To read more about the trial background, please visit
TENET
’s website.
Posted by Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Public Policy Manager, Google South Africa
Launching a hunt for innovative UK social entrepreneurs
Monday, March 25, 2013
From
cracking the human genome
to
advancing medical research through computer games
, British social entrepreneurs have a proud history of using technology to make the world a better place.
Last year, we launched the
Global Impact Awards
to support nonprofits using technology to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems. We gave $23 million to seven organizations working on projects ranging from aerial technology that protects wildlife to data algorithms that ensure more girls and minorities get placed in advanced math and science classes.
Today, as the next step in the Impact Awards, we’re kicking off our first
Global Impact Challenge
in the U.K., inviting British nonprofits to tell us how they would use technology to transform lives. Four nonprofits will each receive a £500,000 Global Impact Award, as well as Chromebooks and technical assistance from Googlers to help make their project a reality.
Applications open today, and registered British nonprofits are invited to apply online at
g.co/impactchallenge
. We’ll review applications and announce 10 finalists on May 22. At that point, people across the U.K. can learn more about the projects of the top 10 finalists, donate to the ones they like and cast a vote for fan favorite. On June 3, the top 10 finalists will pitch their concepts to a judging panel that includes us (Matt Brittin and Jacquelline Fuller), Sir Richard Branson, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Jilly Forster. The three awardees and the fan favorite will be revealed at the event, which will take place at Google London.
Technology can help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges and we’re eager to back innovators who are finding new ways to make an impact. Today we’re starting the hunt in the U.K., but we also know that nonprofits all over the world are using techy approaches to develop new solutions in their sector. Who knows, the Global Impact Challenge might head your way next.
Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google Giving, and Matt Brittin, VP, sales and operations, Northern and Central Europe
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