European Telework Information Day Brussels - 28th May 1998 Report By Jeremy Millard ETD Project Manager

The European Assembly on Telework and New Ways of Working, Lisbon, 23-25 September 1998

The Fifth European Telework and New Ways of Working Assembly (Telework‘98) will be held in Lisbon between 23-25 September 1998. With the High Patronage of the President of Portugal, Mr. Jorge Sampaio, and an Honorary Committee consisting of Professor Mariano Gago (Portuguese Ministry of Science and technology), Francisco Murteira Nabo (President of Portugal Telecom) and Dr. Peter Johnston (DGXIII, the European Commission), the Assembly is attracting speakers and participants from all over the world.

Using the overall theme of Rediscover life...Be there from anywhere, Telework'98 will be the opportunity for an informed discussion on the state of art of telework at a global level. Above all, it will be a privileged forum for evaluating the prospective architecture of work in the next century. During the five parallel sessions and two plenary discussions, a range of important topics will be discussed, including telemedicine, the technological and organisational environment, new working opportunities, the integration of disabled people enabled by teleactivity, the legal and contractual framework, and the future of the work society.

Top speakers from several continents, public decision-makers, parliamentarians, businessmen and entrepreneurs, disabled people, teleworkers, medical practitioners, as well as other public and private actors, will all make their contributions to a vivid and balanced debate. Welcoming them will be a dedicated team who will do their utmost to make Telework'98 an unforgettable experience for all concerned.

Telework'98 is being organised by two Portuguese organisations. APDT, the Portuguese Association for the Development of Telework (http://www.teleman.pt/apdt), launched on 23 July 1997, is a non-profit-making organisation created to help improve and develop telework, thus contributing to the growth of the economy and the creation of employment opportunities. TELEMANutenção (http://www.teleman.pt) is a network of people supplying quality professional services from their homes through the use of information technologies.

These organisers are supported by three primary sponsors: Portugal Telecom as the leading Portuguese telecommunications supplier; DGXIII of the European Commission which is playing a central role in stimulating the beneficial introduction of new ways of working; and Sun Microsystems as one of the world's leading providers of award-winning products, services and support solutions for building and maintaining networked computing environments.

Because Telework'98 is taking place at the end of Expo'98, which is turning Lisbon into a focal centre for Europe in the summer of 1998, the number of delegates is limited to 500. This means that early registration is very desirable, for the conference itself, for accommodation and not least for air travel. Block bookings of hotel rooms and advance reservations from major European destinations have been made. All flights are carried by TAP Portugal which is the official carrier of the event.

The registration fee, for both the conference and social events, is PTE 99,000, which covers participation, documentation, lunch and coffee, evening reception and the banquet dinner at Pavilhão das Galeotas. An entrance to the Virtual Reality Pavilion in Expo'98 is also included for the Friday afternoon after the closing of the conference. Delegates who register before 15 July 1998 will have their places at Telework'98 guaranteed and will receive a free one day ticket to Exop'98. The booking and payment deadline is 15 August 1998.

Participation in Telework'98 will, as in previous years, be the highlight event of the European Telework Agenda. It will be a unique chance for all interested in telework and new ways to work developments to keep abreast of the latest thinking and to meet the main influencers and players in this expanding field. Keep up-to-date with Telework'98 news and developments on the web-site:

http://www.teleman.pt/telework98/