- How can cultural e-content be used?

- How important are the creative industries?

- Why are digital libraries highlighted in i2010?

- How are technologies that present digital content merging - multimedia, broadcasting

In recent years, ICT developments have gained pace to arrive at the threshold of massive growth in information society and media, made possible by widespread fast communications, connecting multiple devices.

Traditional content (such as films, video, music) is now available in digital formats, and new services that are 'born digital', such as interactive software, are emerging. The digital convergence of information society and media services, networks and devices is finally becoming an everyday reality: ICT will become smarter, smaller, safer, faster, always connected and easier to use, with content moving to three-dimensional multimedia formats.

Western European online content markets are expected to triple by 2008 (with the consumer part growing tenfold).

These developments pose challenges to all European regions. It poses a threat in that dominant media cultures, such as the USA, may even dominate more. However, it also provides an opportunity for each region to express and communicate its cultural heritage and values using the new channels, creating new valuable jobs, skills and enterprises along the way.

i2010 will devote considerable resources to this area.

The focus of this theme is to discuss and highlight the opportunities that all regions have in terms of re-focusing their cultural assets to the new media. This includes the arts (incl. performing arts), museums, libraries, film companies, public information. The theme will also consider the proposed demonstrator project in the field of Digital Libraries.

Each Breakout session will address:

- The Information Society - Where are we now? Where could we be?

- Explore the current state of play in the thematic area

- Show best practice examples

- Presentation of the future EU policy agenda i2010

- Highlight the i2010 policies relevant to each theme and explain the ICT flagship initiatives in the agenda - the ageing society, the intelligent car, digital libraries

- Raise key current issues

- Look at a future vision of an Information Society

Each Breakout session will address:

- The Regional Information Society - A Roadmap - Where do we want to go from here? How do we get there?

- Prepare participating Regions to take advantage of potential funding opportunities arising from i2010 in 2007-2013

- Assess participating regions main goals, aspirations and needs in developing the information society in their regions in each thematic area

- Create a roadmap - a regional information society strategy for each theme

- Match potential funding opportunities which may arise from i2010 to regions' goals and needs