Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Get an All Access music pass on Google Play
Thursday, August 8, 2013
With millions upon millions of songs out there, it can be a daunting task to figure out what to choose. Sometimes you just want to sit back, press play and hear something new. Starting today, you can do just that.
All Access
, our new monthly music subscription service in Google Play, is now available in Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and the UK.
All Access provides an unlimited pass to a huge library of music on all your devices — from all the major record companies, as well as top local and independent labels.
The new service lets you create an ad-free, interactive radio station from any song or artist. You can add, remove or re-order your station and see what’s coming next. Or browse recommendations from our expert music team and explore songs by genre. The “Listen Now” tab puts artists and radio stations we think you’ll like front and center allowing you to start listening the minute you open your library.
When millions of songs just aren’t enough, Google Play Music lets you combine our collection with your own collection. You can store 20,000 songs for free online, and listen to them alongside the All Access catalogue on any Android device, or via the web at
play.google.com
. You can even ‘pin’ specific albums and playlists songs so they’re available offline.
Try it today for free for the first month and -- as a special introductory offer -- pay only EUR7.99 each month after that. Regular pricing for those who sign up after September 15 will be EUR9.99 a month, with a 30-day free trial.
With today’s launch, Google Play moves one step closer to your ultimate digital entertainment destination, where you can find, enjoy and share your favourite apps, games, books, movies, magazines, TV shows and music on your Android phone or tablet. Go ahead and start discovering a whole new world of music.
Posted by Paul Joyce, product manager for Google Play Music
Inspiring the next generation: Apply for a 2014 RISE Award
Monday, August 5, 2013
Inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers is crucially important—breakthroughs don't happen without people to make them. We want students to not just be consumers of technology, but also creators of it; to enrich not only their own lives, but those of their communities. That's the motivation behind the
Google RISE
(Roots in Science and Engineering) Awards.
Given once a year, Google RISE Awards are designed to promote and support education initiatives to increase engagement in science and technology, especially computer science. Google grants awards of $15,000 - $50,000 USD to non-for-profit organizations around the world working to expand access to these fields for K-12/Pre-University students, specifically girls and underrepresented groups.
In 2013, 30 organizations
received
RISE grants—with projects ranging from robotics contests in Germany to programming challenge days for girls in New Zealand. In June, we brought all of our partners together for a Global Summit. It was an inspiring meeting, and since the Summit several organizations have begun to work together to expand their reach.
For example, our RISE partners in Nigeria,
WAAW Foundation
and
W-TEC
, have teamed up to organize a one-week residential Advanced STEM Camp. The program launched this week and will provide 27 public school girls exposure to robotics. Over in Argentina, an
organization
already connecting Belgium to Argentina is is now collaborating with
another
on programming workshops for students and teachers. And organizations in
Liberia
and
India
are sharing resources to overcome common challenges in access to technology for girls.
The hard work of RISE organizations has also drawn support from leading figures such as
President Obama
, Ireland’s
Taoiseach Enda Kenny
and
HRH Prince Andrew
.
We’re looking for more organizations to partner with in 2014.
Submit
your application by September 30, 2013. You can submit your application in English, French, Japanese, Russian or Spanish; all eligible countries are listed on our
website
. Show us what you can do to get students excited about STEM and CS!
Posted by Marielena Ivory, K12/Pre-University Education Outreach
Dude, where’s my phone? Protecting your Android device
Sunday, August 4, 2013
This summer we’re
posting regularly
with privacy and security tips. Knowing how to stay safe and secure online is important, which is why we created our Good to Know site with advice and tips for safe and savvy Internet use.
-Ed.
With summer vacation in full swing, you’re likely out and about, using your smartphone or tablet to get answers on the go or check out the latest cool apps and games. But you don’t have to leave safety at home! In this post, we’re sharing a few tips and tools that you can easily set up if you’re on an Android phone or tablet to keep your device—and the contents inside—safe and secure, including a new service that makes it easy to locate a misplaced device.
1. Lock your device screen.
Whether you’re on a phone or a tablet, it’s easy to set up a
screen lock
. This is important to do in case your device gets left in the back of a car, or you’re worried about someone picking up your phone and scrolling through your stuff. You can lock your device with a pin, password, pattern (or even
your face
!) by going to Settings > Personal > Security > Screen Lock.
2. Protect your phone from suspicious apps.
We automatically scan Google Play to block and remove harmful apps. That makes Google Play the safest place to get Android apps. But Google Play can also help
protect you
even for apps you get elsewhere, like the web or a third-party app store. The first time you start to install an app from an unknown source, a message will pop up asking if you’d like Google to scan the file to make sure it’s not harmful. Tap “OK” to let Google help protect you from harmful apps.
3. Locate, ring and wipe a misplaced device.
Have you ever lost your phone in between the couch cushions or left it in a restaurant? Later this month, you will be able to use a new service called Android Device Manager, which can quickly ring your phone at maximum volume so you can find it (even if it’s been silenced), or locate it on a map, in real time, using Android Device Manager. If your phone can’t be recovered, or has been stolen, you can quickly and securely erase all of the data on your device to keep your data from ending up in the wrong hands. The Android Device Manager will be available for devices running Android 2.2 and above, as part of Google Play. You can read the full announcement on the Android blog.
For more advice on how to protect yourself and your family online, visit our
Good to Know site
, and stay tuned for more posts in our security series.
Posted by Adrian Ludwig, Android Security Engineer
Following in Galileo’s footsteps
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Many of us spend the summer lounging on Europe’s beaches and use the Internet to plan our vacation and satellite navigation to get there. This summer, hundreds of ambitious students are spending their vacation in a different way - improving their computer programming skills with
Google’s Summer of Code
. Among them is Italy’s Mara Branzanti, a 26-year old PhD student in geomatics at the University of Rome’s La Sapienza. She’s working to, among other goals, improve your holidays.
Her
project
, financed by Google, is to write software that will make it quicker and easier to use the European Union’s Galileo
global navigation satellite system
. The EUR 5 billion
Galileo programme
being built by the European Union and
European Space Agency
is named after the Italian astronomer
Galileo
. It aims to provide a high-precision positioning system upon which European nations can rely, independent of competing Russian and U.S. systems.
Mara Branzanti in
EconomyUp.it
Branzanti is helping write open source source software that will enable satellite receivers back on earth to better identify and connect with Gallileo satellites in orbit. Her work is part of a larger software
effort
under the leadership of Javier Arribas at the non-profit Catalonian research foundation
Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya
. Currently, the software in Gallileo receivers is only designed to 'see' the satellites that are already in orbit, and needs to be adapted so it can discover new satellites as they are launched. Branzanti’s code will make it easy to find the nearest orbiting Galileo signal, even from the most remote of locations. The European Commission recently
praised
her contributions.
Google Summer of Code is a global program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source software projects. We work with many open source, free software, and technology-related groups to identify and fund projects over a three month period. Since its inception in 2005, the program has brought together nearly 6,000 successful student participants and over 3000 mentors from over 100 countries worldwide, all for the love of code. To learn more about the program, read our 2013
Frequently Asked Questions
page.
Meanwhile, enjoy your holidays and let’s thank Mara and other summer coders for developing technology that improves them. Mara gave up a planned trip to New York to stay at home and code. though she will take a week this month on the beach in Sardinia. “But I’m taking my computer,” she promises. “I need to finish by September.”
Posted by Marco Pancini, Public Policy Senior Counsel, Brussels
Inspiring talented children in Northern Russia
Monday, July 29, 2013
The
Northern Arctic Federal University in Archangelsk
in Russia's far north ranks among Google’s furthest flung outposts for
RISE
, our Roots in Science and Engineering programs. Its summer camp recently brought 40 talented children to Moscow's Institute of Mathematics, Informatics and Space Technology.
During five days, the teens learned about computing and ways to solve real world problems. They received hands-on lessons about how to build and program a robot to manage a computer without a keyboard or mouse.
Local Google engineers aimed to inspire the students to think big. Software engineer Anna Kondratieva from our Moscow office described Google's
self driving car
and
Google Glass
. Via Hangout, engineer Gulnara Lastovetsky spoke about career opportunities in computing.
The visit to the Moscow provided students with an opportunity to test a future studying science and technology. As the Institute’s director Lyudmila Haymina said:
“
Most of the students are keen to pursue IT studies and to come here as undergraduates.”
Plans are already underway for 2014, including creating an online version to reach more children. As this success from Russia's far north demonstrated, science and technology stars can come from anywhere.
Posted by Alison Cutler, Pre-University Education Outreach, Europe, Middle East and Africa
WeAreOpen brightens Budapest
Friday, July 26, 2013
Throughout much of Europe, intolerance towards minorities is on the
rise
. The
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
published data last year showing ethnic minorities face a high level of hate crime. More established politicians, not just the far-right, are increasingly scapegoating migrants and minorities.
We think that it's important to remind ourselves and others - even in trying times - that diversity and tolerance are core to every community's success. As a part of our efforts, we have joined with two Hungarian companies,
Prezi
and
Espell
, to launch
'WeAreOpen'
, a diversity initiative in Hungary with a simple message: "Being open is not only the right thing to do, but it's also worth it."
The WeAreOpen website encourages other companies, organizations and other communities to stand up in support for inclusion and diversity by putting their logos on the site. At this month’s
Budapest Pride
march, we supplied an
army of colorful balloons and oversized sunglasses
and invited everyone to join. The march was live streamed the march via Hangouts on Air.
The initiative caught the public imagination. Record numbers of people turned up for the Pride march, three times more than in previous years. More than 17,000 viewers watched our Budapest Pride Hangouts on Air.
Since the 'WeAreOpen' website went live, more than 500 companies, organizations and other communities have joined. As well as local Hungarian companies, multinationals ranging from Morgan Stanley to Vodafone, signed up. Whether you are Hungarian or not, please go ahead and speak up in favor of tolerance.
Posted by Richard Schuster, Communications Manager, Budapest
Creating the Library of the Future in Greece
Thursday, July 25, 2013
The famed
Library at Alexandria
was located in Egypt - but an expression of Greek culture. A student of
Aristotle
created the library and it was designed in the style of Aristotle’s Lyceum and placed adjacent to a Greek temple. Most of its collection came from trips to the book fairs of Rhodes and Athens. So perhaps it is no accident that we’re working in Greece to launch one of the world’s most exciting projects to reinvent the library for the digital age.
The
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
is investing EUR560 million to build a Cultural Center which will host the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. As part of the project, the Foundation is also funding
“Future Library”
, an effort that aims to transform public libraries into media labs and hubs of creativity, innovation and learning, attracting many groups who now spend little time there - entrepreneurs, students, unemployed, and immigrants. So far, nine libraries are participating from all over Greece - including the municipal libraries of Kozani, Trikala, Corinth, Keratsini-Drapetsona, Heliopolis, Chania, Drama,Levadia, and Nafpaktos.
Google is participating, providing design know-how to the architects hired by Future Library to help create innovative and creative spaces. With the help of the Google real estate team, we will review the architect submissions, provide technical comment on all proposals and assist the Foundation in executing the exciting project. In addition, we are holding workshops for participating librarians, helping them acquire skills on effective use of Google tools and including Google search, Google+, YouTube and Docs.
Some might have imagined that the Internet would make libraries superfluous or irrelevant. But the reality looks like quite the opposite - the Internet can help libraries become a center for new digital learning and a point of reference for local communities.
Posted by Dionisis Kolokotsas, Public Policy & Government Relations Manager, Greece
Measuring the UK’s Digital Economy
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The British mathematician and physicist
Lord Kelvin
famously said “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” In 1948, the post-war British Government badly needed to improve the nation’s economy. To help it draw up the right policies for jobs and growth, the Government took a scientific approach - one of which Lord Kelvin would have been proud. Government statisticians were instructed to count, classify and measure the economic activity of every business in the country. They developed a set of Standard Industrial Classification codes and the data they collected was used to shape policy in every aspect of the British economy.
This week, a
new report
by the
National Institute for Economic and Social Research
, and supported by Google, updates these SIC codes to include the new, fast growing digital sector. After 65 years, the old codes are out of date. One in ten companies in the UK are now classified vaguely as ‘other’. One in five have no classification at all.
This new report is based on pioneering big data techniques. It draws not just from official tables and accounts but instead is gleaned from more than five billion data points, providing us with a level of detail and insight that statisticians in 1948 could scarcely have imagined.
The scale of the UK’s digital economy that emerges from this research is immense. In June 2013, the Government estimated from SIC codes that there were 120,000 businesses in the digital economy. The most conservative estimate from this new report of the number of digital companies is more than double government estimates - 269,695. In addition, the report found that digital companies employ 15% more, grow 25% faster than non-digital companies.
The digital economy has spread into every part of the United Kingdom, not just in London and the South East but throughout the country, with particularly great intensity in places like Manchester, Middlesbrough and Aberdeen. It has spread into every sector, from architecture firms whose activities have become almost entirely digital to machine tool manufacturers who now use huge online data-processing facilities, such as Hadoop, to monitor every aspect of their processes.
This is a groundbreaking work. For the first time in 65 years - it presents us with a new way of measuring the economy that can only help us to take the right steps to support growth and jobs.
Posted by Hal Varian, Chief Economist
Supporting Spanish cinema - and combating piracy
Monday, July 22, 2013
Spanish cinema is famous around the world thanks to the likes of directors such as
Pedro Almodovar
,
Luis Buñuel
and others. Now, thanks to a groundbreaking agreement with Spanish collecting society
Egeda
, these filmmakers could collect royalties from their works on YouTube.
The agreement represents a significant endorsement of our
Content ID
system, which helps combat piracy by allowing video producers to identify their copied content - and make money from it. Whenever copyrighted content is uploaded, the rights owner is asked whether the material should be blocked, allowed to stay up - or whether advertising should be inserted, with the copyright owners receiving revenue as a result.
Once signed up to Content ID, the vast majority of advertising owners choose to insert advertising and generate income from their works. Over recent months, Egeda conducted a pilot study that generated promising results. Advertising was inserted in 65% of a set of videos, increasing revenue from the videos by 87% compared to before the test. “This agreement with YouTube is an example of how the film industry and the technology sector should cooperate: protecting the works of creators and opening the door to new business models,” says
Enrique Cerezo
, Egeda’s president.
In addition to our Content ID cooperation, Egeda also has launched a new YouTube channel featuring trailers, sequences, scenes, selection of actors and other information about Spanish cinema. Take a look below - and enjoy new insights into much of the best of Spanish language filmmaking.
Posted by Maria Ferreras, Director of Strategic Alliances for YouTube, Madrid
Growing our Map Maker community in Europe
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Exploration is at the heart of the summer season, and what better way to take part than sharing your knowledge on the places you love on Google Maps? Today,
Google Map Maker
is diving into summertime by welcoming mappers of Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to our ever-growing team of citizen cartographers in our quest to map the world.
With Google Map Maker, you can contribute your local knowledge to make a more useful and comprehensive map of the changing world around us. Begin in your neighborhood and try adding the building footprints for local shops and restaurants. Then, embrace your inner traveler and enrich the maps of national parks and historic landmarks. If you’ve got the itch for adventure, try adding campgrounds, beaches or your favorite hiking trails.
View Larger Map
Jajići, Bosnia and Herzegovina was a blank space on the map
before citizen cartographers put it on the map.
Whether it’s a cycling route through Budapest or a cafe alongside Prague’s Vltava River, each improvement to the map will help locals and tourists alike as they navigate your neighborhood this summer. Once approved, your contributions will appear on
Google Maps
,
Google Earth
and
Google Maps for Mobile
.
To get started, join other mappers on the Google Map Maker
community forum
, explore the
Help Centre
for tips and tricks, or watch mapping in real-time with
Map Maker Pulse
. Now, from the
Heart Shaped Land
, through Central Europe, to Swedish Lapland, you can help Google Maps to embody the rich culture and spirit unique to your homeland -
starting today
!
Posted by Kaushik Sridharan, Software Engineer
Scaling the heights of the Eiffel Tower
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Since its construction in 1889, more than 250 million people have visited Paris’ iconic
Eiffel Tower
. The highest monument in the world for more than 40 years (today that title is held by
Burj Khalifa
in Dubai), the Eiffel Tower remains the most visited monument globally. But not everyone has been or can hope to go—until now. If you’ve ever wondered what the view is like from above the City of Light or wanted to learn more about the Tower’s history, now’s your chance to find out.
The
Google Cultural Institute
and the Eiffel Tower Operating Company have teamed up to create three immersive online exhibitions which blend fascinating historical material with a sprinkling of technological magic. In order to capture the imagery, the Street View team followed in the footsteps of 7 million annual visitors and ascended multiple floors of the Tower. Using the Street View
Trolley
(designed especially for monuments and museums) they filmed 360-degree views of the monument’s architecture and its views over Paris.
These
modern-day Street View panoramas
sit alongside nearly
50 archival images, plans, engravings and photos
telling the story of the Eiffel Tower’s development and social impact in the 19th century. Some of the archive material is quite rare and precious such as a
recording of Gustave Eiffel’s voice by Thomas Edison
.
The first exhibition presents
the birth of the Eiffel Tower
from the initial idea until its realization. You can then follow
the construction
of the monument step-by-step through photos and sketches. Details on
the inauguration and the first visitors
lie in the third exhibition, with photos of
people admiring the Paris vista
on the opening day leading into today’s Street View imagery from the top floor. Did you know that during the Tower’s inauguration for the Universal Exhibition of 1889, the elevators were not yet in service but 12,000 people per day rushed to climb the 1710 steps leading to the top?
As a product manager and designer, it’s been awe-inspiring to get to see the spectacular vision and the detailed architectural capabilities exemplified by the plans more than 100 years ago. It required tremendous knowledge of special planning and physics to ensure that 18,000 separately made pieces would come together as one. So if you’ve never visited the Eiffel Tower before, want to get insider knowledge or simply want to re-discover it in a new way, visit our
site
and immerse yourself in one of the most well-known attractions on the planet.
Posted by Mark Yoshitake, Head of Product & User Experience, Google Cultural Institute
You're changing the world. We want to help.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the winners of the
Google Global Impact Challenge
in the UK, awarding prizes to nonprofits for some amazing, innovative uses of technology to help their causes. Today we are thrilled to go one step further and launch the
Google for Nonprofits
programme in the UK, starting in England and Wales.
Google for Nonprofits is a one-stop-shop that offers access to our suite of free and discounted products and tools. If you work for a nonprofit, you can
apply to join the program
today. Once your organisation is approved, you get free
Google Apps
to cut IT costs and operate more efficiently; up to $10,000 a month in advertising on
Google Adwords
to reach more donors; and premium features for
YouTube
and our
mapping technologies
to raise awareness of your cause. We’ve also developed other online resources such as
educational videos
,
case studies
and better ways to
connect
with other nonprofits.
Over the years, Google has donated over $1 billon worth of products to nonprofits, and several UK organisations are already using our tools.
BeatBullying
- a charity that fights online bullying - uses Google Apps to enable more sharing and collaboration amongst colleagues. The
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
uses Google AdWords and YouTube to raise awareness and recruit more supporters; and
WaterAid
uses Google mapping technologies to show where their work is making a difference.
We’re inspired and humbled by the amazing ways nonprofits are making the world a better place, and look forward to supporting the work of more UK nonprofits.
Posted by Xiaonan Zhao, Product Manager, Google for Nonprofits
A few easy tools the whole family will love
Thursday, July 11, 2013
This summer we’re
posting regularly
with privacy and security tips. Knowing how to stay safe and secure online is important, which is why we created our Good to Know site with advice and tips for safe and savvy Internet use.
-Ed.
Summer is here, and with kids out of school it is a great time for families to explore the web together—from learning what makes fireflies glow to playing online games together. But while there is a lot of entertaining, educational content online, there are also materials I’d rather not see when I’m surfing the web with my family. Google has built a number of tools that parents can use to help keep content they would rather not see from popping up on the family computer. It takes less than five minutes to turn them on, so follow the steps below to help make your search results more family-friendly this summer.
1. Turn on SafeSearch in Google Search
Turning on
SafeSearch
is an easy way to help you hide images, search results and videos intended just for adults. It’s especially helpful if you’re concerned about the content that might pop up on your family computer, and it’s easy to turn on. Just visit the Google
Search Settings page
, go to the "SafeSearch filters" section, and check the box to filter mature content from Google Search result pages. These preferences will apply for any searches done using that browser on your computer. If you have multiple browsers on your family computer, you might want to turn SafeSearch on for each one.
You can turn SafeSearch on or off from the
Search Settings page
2. Save and lock your preferences
Once you’ve set your preferences, make sure to click the Save button at the bottom of the page. And if you're signed in to your Google Account, you can also lock the SafeSearch filter so others can’t change your preferences—just click “Lock SafeSearch.” Now the setting is protected with your Google Account password. While no filter is 100 percent perfect, with SafeSearch on you can feel more confident browsing the web with your family.
3. Turn on YouTube Safety Mode
YouTube Safety Mode
helps you and your family avoid videos that might be OK with our
Community Guidelines
, but you might not want popping up on your family computer. Turning on Safety Mode in YouTube takes just one step. Scroll down to the bottom of any YouTube page and click on the button that says “Safety” at the bottom of the page—now you can choose your preferences for Safety Mode.
Click the button that says “Safety” at the bottom of any YouTube page, and then choose your preferences
4. Lock your Safety Mode preferences
Just like with Safe Search, you can also log in with your Google Account and
lock YouTube Safety Mode
on each one of your computer’s browsers. It will filter videos with mature content, so they won’t show up in video search results, related videos, playlists, shows or films. YouTube Safety Mode will also help hide objectionable comments.
5. Turn on SafeSearch on mobile
SafeSearch is available on your phone or other mobile device, as well as the web. You can turn on SafeSearch for Google on your mobile device by opening your phone’s browser and visiting
google.com/preferences
. Scroll to the SafeSearch Filters section to select what level of filtering you would like to enable. Be sure to tap “Save Preferences” after you’ve made your selection.
To enable SafeSearch on YouTube’s mobile app, first open your settings, then press “Search.” From there, select “SafeSearch Filtering” and select moderate or strict filtering.
Helping your family have a positive and safe experience with Google is important to you, and it’s important to us, too. That’s why we’ve partnered with parents and experts on free and easy to use tools and resources to help your family stay safe and secure when browsing online. If you’re interested in even more of our tools and tips, please see our
Good to Know
site, and stay tuned for more security tips throughout the summer.
Posted by Matthias Heiler, Staff Software Engineer
Hanging out with a Nobel Prize economics laureate
Thursday, July 11, 2013
We believe the Internet represents the motor of the 21st century economy, and its always nice to hear a Nobel Prize winner explain how best to encourage net innovation. Czech
CERGE-EI
think tank recently organized a Google Hangout with Nobel Laureate for economics
Eric Maskin
.
The Prague setting was appropriate. The Czech Republic’s economy remains dependent on traditional manufacturing, particularly the auto industry, which accounts for nearly a quarter of Czech output. Czech policymakers regularly acknowledge the need to move toward a more high-tech, services-based, knowledge economy. How?
Professor Maskin suggested that the Czech Republic and the rest of Europe needed to be careful about imposing a heavy patent burden on the tech sector. Software, semiconductor, and computer industries have been innovative despite historically weak patent protection, he argues. “In software you don’t have single big breakthroughs, but rather a succession of many small improvements,” he explained. “If I patent a small discovery and you want to build on it, you won’t be able to do that easily - I’m going to block you with my patents.”
The Nobel Prize winner discussed these ideas, along with many others, with Czech commentators
David Marek
(Chief Economist, Patria Finance) and
Jakub Steiner
(Associate Professor, CERGE-EI). During his discussion, Professor Maskin is not an anti-patent zealot. He compared the software to the pharmaceutical industry, where he said patents could be effective. “In the case of drugs, where you have a single big breakthrough and have to spend hundreds of millions, patents have been useful for drug companies and society,” he said.
The Czech Republic, along with the rest of Europe, needs to embrace Internet innovation and Professor Maskin offers some important insights in how to construct the best possible innovation environment. We hope to hold new Hangouts from Prague to foster a healthy debate on Internet regulation.
Posted by Denis Gibadulin, Public Policy & Gov't Relations Analyst, Czech Republic
Supporting Israeli and Palestinian technology students
Monday, July 8, 2013
In his recent Jerusalem speech, President Obama referenced one of our 2013
RISE
award recipients,
MEET - Middle East Education through Technology
as an example of how innovation is reshaping the Middle East.
Today, on MEET’s 10th anniversary, hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis will come together in Jerusalem to celebrate MEET's impact, showcasing technology and business projects built by students who’ve participated in their program. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube between 4-6pm GMT/6-8pm IDT, to enable MEET’s community all over the world to join the occasion. Watch
here.
Working in partnership with
Massachusets Institute of Technology
, MEET's mission is to educate and empower the next generation of Israelis and Palestinians to bring about positive change in the region. Their groundbreaking program teaches computer science, entrepreneurship and leadership to 160 high school students (age 15-17) over three years. The program comprises three consecutive summers at the Hebrew University with volunteer instructors from MIT, and weekly program sessions in the two intervening years at the MEET hubs in Jerusalem and Nazareth, taught by MEET alumni.
Google’s work with support for MEET goes beyond the RISE award. Googlers from Tel Aviv, Mountain View and London serve as project mentors; and the Venture Lab incubator for social and business initiatives led by MEET alumni is a partner of
Google’s Campus Tel Aviv Launchpad
program.
MEET has accomplished much in its first decade, and we know they have great plans for the future.
Alison Daniel-Cutler, Pre-University Education Outreach, Europe, Middle East and Africa
A new way to experience the 100th Tour de France
Monday, July 8, 2013
This year, the Tour de France is celebrating its 100th edition with a special route, from Corsica to Les Champs-Elysées, giving people around the world the chance to admire beautiful sights as well as amazing athletic feats.
Our Doodle celebrating the 100th edition of the Tour de France
The Tour de France uses a variety of Google products that can help you experience the race like never before, including a
YouTube
channel, a
Google+ page
and an
Android app
where you can keep up with this 100th edition. We’ve also used Google Maps and Street View to create a new interactive experience that lets you feel what it’s like to pedal alongside the greats. Put on your helmet and cycle
here
.
So what are you waiting for?
Line up and get started
!
Posted by Raphaël Goumain, Consumer Marketing Director, France
Hanging out with innovators
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Over the past decade, Slovakia has reformed its taxation, healthcare, pension, and social welfare systems, attracting large inflows of foreign investment into the automobile and electronic sectors, and becoming Central Europe’s first country to adopt the euro in January, 2009. But Europe’s economic woes have slowed growth. The Slovak government believes it must forge ahead finding new and innovative sources of growth - particularly on the Internet.
For this reason, the Ministry of the Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic recently worked with Slovak Alliance for Internet Economy to stream its first ever live
Google Hangout
with Israeli venture entrepreneur
Jon Medved
. Medved has invested in over 100 Israeli startup companies, helping 12 of them to get to valuations in excess of $100 million. His presentation, entitled “Israel - the Power to Astonish,” explained to the online audience that venture capital for web startups was flowing into israel despite the global economic crisis. What is Israel’s “special sauce?,” he asked rhetorically. “A willingness to accept risk and failure,” he answered.
Slovakia’s major economic daily
Hospodarske noviny
streamed the hangout live on its website and four national startup hubs participated. We are planning to continue these hangouts from Finland and elsewhere, creating a series of
“Innovators Connect”
policy discussions about innovation and Internet Economy. Tune in and see if Slovakia can become the next hot e-country.
Posted by Ondrej Socuvka, Public Policy Manager, Bratislava
An evening with the UK’s computing pioneers
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
It was fish and chips, ice-cream and popcorn all round as we celebrated the UK’s computing heritage on Monday with a night of film and stories from some of the country’s pioneers.
The evening began with unveiling a new display showcasing the extensive contributions the UK has made to computing—from
Charles Babbage
and
Ada Lovelace
, to
Donald Davies
and
Tim Berners-Lee
. It now has pride of place in the reception of Google’s Central St Giles office in London, and we hope will help make these achievements better known.
Following came more formal sessions, beginning with those who first brought the Internet to the UK. The
pioneering work of the National Physical Laboratory
was described by Roger Scantlebury and Peter Wilkinson, both members of Donald Davies’ team who built the NPL network—the first Internet-like thing in the UK. They were joined
by Peter Kirstein from UCL
and
Vint Cerf
who recounted the story of how the US Arpanet came to be connected to NPL’s network, via Peter’s workaround gateway at UCL.
It was a thrill to have these four pioneers together, reminiscing about their early work and the creative ways they overcame the many challenges, bureaucratic and technological. If you’d like to hear the inside scoop on how the Internet got started in the UK, enjoy this video:
The evening was rounded off with
some film screenings
, interspersed with presentations by Tilly Blyth from the
Science Museum
, and David Hartley from
TNMOC
, describing the great work they’re doing to help preserve and promote the UK’s computing heritage. Finishing with a lively Q&A session with Vint Cerf where we talked about the Internet’s future.
Thanks to everyone who came, and all who shared their stories, making it such a memorable night.
Posted by Lynette Webb, Senior Manager, External Relations
Joining the European Union - live on YouTube
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Croatia
this week became the 28th member of the European Union, with crowds joining celebrations in the capital Zagreb. Fireworks lit the sky as membership became effective - and the celebrations were streamed live on YouTube.
Thousands of people assembled in Zagreb's main square for the accession ceremony."Welcome to the European Union!,"
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
said in Croatian to the cheering crowd.
Croatia’s President Ivo Josipovic
said it was "a great and joyful day for our homeland".
More and more European politicians are using YouTube and other Google tools to get their message across. Lithuania this week took over the rotating six month presidency of the European Union’s Council.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite
welcomed the moment, naturally, on YouTube.
“Europe is going through tough times,” the President said. “We Lithuanians know exactly what it means. We have survived a number of occupations. We fought for our freedom. We have never doubted our European path.” We hope these stirring words will signal six months of success for Europe.
The
opening ceremony
of the Lithuanian presidency of the EU Council will be live-streamed via Hangout on Air on Friday afternoon. Watch it on
YouTube
or
Google+
from 4 PM Central Eruope Time. Guests are expected to include European Commission President Borroso, and
European Council President Herman van Rompuy
.
Posted by Marta Poslad, Policy Analyst, Central and Eastern Europe
Campaigning for Innovation in Central and Eastern Europe
Friday, June 28, 2013
Two decades ago, Central and Eastern Europe threw off the shackles of communism. Today, the region is among Europe’s most dynamic, and we recently held our first Big Tent in the region to investigate how Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary could play a leadership role in driving forward innovation on the web.
This newfound freedom encourages the region to embrace the Internet, Polish ministers said. “We prefer freedom,”
Michal Boni
, the digitisation minister, repeated twice in the keynote address.
Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Mościcka-Dendys
argued that new technologies helping “civic initiatives gain wider ground for their actions.” A concrete example is opening up public data. By examining online license plate records Zuzana Wienk, a Slovak anti-corruption campaigner, demonstrated the bidding for street cleanup services was rigged.
The Internet already is driving economic progress. At the Big Tent, we showcased successful Internet startups and social innovators. They ranged from Polands’ game startup
Dice+
and audio books pioneer
Audioteka
to Hungarys’ to
K-Monitor
transparency project and presentation tools developer
Prezi
. From Slovakia, traditional
Ultra Plast
plastic maker showed how to leverage its net presence to boost exports.
At the same time, the region needs to improve its education and regulation. While universities produce excellent engineers, they rank low in equipping graduates with needed business skills. Too few offerings exist for adult education. “If there is no lifelong learning, there is no lifelong earning,” quipped
Jan Figel
, Deputy Speaker of the Slovak Parliament. Other panelists wanted to see government change regulations to make it easier for companies to take risks, to start new businesses and to wind them down if and when they fail.
Our Big Tent took place in the wake of revelations that the U.S. intelligence agencies had conducted an online surveillance campaign. Google’s chief legal officer
David Drummond
stressed that the threats to the open web are not always from autocratic regimes and that any limitations to freedom online should be set narrowly. He acknowledged the dangers of online radical and racist speech. But he said that the Internet offers the best vehicle for dealing with the issue - “counter-speech” denouncing the hate.
Most of the debate had an optimistic tone, with faith in future innovation. The audience appreciated a demonstration of
Google Glass
. Slovakia’s Figel, who previously served as a European Commissioner, tried on a pair and checked the weather in the European Union’s capital Brussels. It was sunny outside in Warsaw - and grey and overcast in Brussels.
Posted by Agata Wacławik-Wejman, Head of Public Policy, Central and Eastern Europe
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