The eChallenges e-2009 Conference takes place in the Marmara Hotel, Istanbul. This is the nineteenth in a series of Annual Conferences supported by the European Commission, which regularly attracts over 650 delegates from leading commercial, government and research organisations around the world to share knowledge and experience, lessons learnt and good practice in the areas of ICT for Networked Enterprise & RFID, eGovernment & eDemocracy, eHealth, Collaborative Working Environments, Living Labs, eInfrastructures; Technology Enhanced Learning and ICT Skills, Knowledge and Content Technologies, Security and Identity Management, High Performance Computing - Applications and Mobility.

The goal of e-2009 is to stimulate rapid take-up of Research and Technology Development (RTD) results by industry and in particular SMEs, and help open up the European Research Area (ERA) to the rest of the world.

All participants should complete registration online prior to the event.

Presenter registration should be completed by 10 July. If you wish to change the presenter in the Programme, please contact the Conference Secretariat requesting that the paper details are moved to the new presenter prior to completing registration.

Early bird delegates can receive discounted fees up to 31 July.

Applications for demonstration stands should be submitted online before 28 August. Since it is likely that the competition for available stands will be high, please submit detailed applications clearly stating what you plan to demonstrate and the value add for the conference delegates.

The Scientific Programme for eChallenges e-2009 is based on an open Call for Papers which closed on 09 March. The Advance Programme is published. Authors with accepted papers should submit final papers online via their My Page by 10 July.

Plenary speakers confirmed to date include:

- Prof.Mehmet Aydin, State Minister responsible from R&D

- Prof. Nüket Yetis, President of TUBITAK

- Mr.Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President of Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB)

- Mr João da Silva, Director, DG Information Society and Media, European Commission

Major Sponsors confirmed to date include TUBITAK and TuR&Bo ppp.

Supported by the European Commission and Technical Co-Sponsored by IEEE, eChallenges provides a prestigious, international forum to share success stories and lessons learnt from applied Information and Communications Technology (ICT) related research at European level (FP6 & FP7) as well as Regional, National and Commercial initiatives. International cooperation and discussion of commercialisation, exploitation & interoperability issues are key aspects of the programme.

The programme will combine strategic keynote presentations, technical, legal and policy papers, business and government case studies, workshops and tutorials. e-2009 will also feature an Exhibition and an attractive Social Programme for partners, presenters, delegates and exhibitors, to enhance networking opportunities both during and after the Conference.