PEP-NET Summit Keynote Speaker: Dr Thanassis Chrissafis 5. August 2010 – 15:34 by Bengt Feil (TuTech Innovation GmbH)

Dr Thanassis Chrissafis, who will speak on behalf of the European Commission at the PEP-NET Summit, is possibly its most knowledgeable and experienced employee in the field of eParticipation. In his speech he will present the Commission’s efforts to advance the eParticipation field, including achievements, lessons learnt and next steps.

The European Commission, especially the Unit for ICT for Government and Public Services (DG Information Society and Media), is among the key enablers of eParticipation in Europe and has helped to mature the field through its funding and research. eParticipation was at the centre of a number of its activities, for example the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, the eTEN Programme and the eParticipation Preparatory Action.

Dr Chrissafis studied economics (PhD) at the University of Sussex, UK and worked as a researcher in England until 1989. He joined the European Commission in the same year and has been, among other things, active in the fields of information society in regional programmes, eBusiness, coordinated socio-economic research in Information Society and worked on EU enlargement.

In his role as Programme Manager, Dr Chrissafis has influenced and helped advance the eParticipation field over several years. His work as a project officer in numerous innovative and successful projects has had a significant impact on the practical development of eParticipation and related research efforts. In particular, his involvement in the eParticipation Preparatory Action is of major significance. This activity aims to promote the development and use of ICT in legislative and decision-making processes in parliamentary and government environments. 21 different projects have been funded and run as part of this Preparatory Action. Following the Preparatory Action Dr Chrissafis continues his work on eParticipation for the European Commission, for example on the ICT-PSP Programme.

Dr Chrissafis is involved in PEP-NET as project officer and is PEP-NET’s primary contact in the European Commission.

Tags: inenglish, Keynote, PEP-NET Summit