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18 November 2004
Van Gogh Hall, Netherlands Congress Centre
The Hague, The Netherlands

The most important event of the European Information and Communication Technology calendar, the IST 2004 conference, will take place at the Netherlands Congress Centre in The Hague from the 15th to the 17th of November under the aegis of the Dutch Presidency of the European Union. The conference “Open Standards and Libre Software in Government” will take place in coordination with the Dutch Presidency at the same venue immediately afterwards.

The conference is organised by MERIT at the University of Maastricht. It is supported by the European Commission's IST programme (through the FLOSSPOLS project) and the Dutch Ministries of Economic Affairs and Internal Affairs, and is prepared in cooperation with the Dutch government's Programma OSOSS.

This is a high-level event covering the topic of Libre Software (as free software / open source software are commonly referred to in Europe), interoperability and open standards in the public sector. Researchers and developers, local, regional, national and international users and stakeholders, as well as management experts and industry are expected to attend. The conference will provide an unrivalled platform in which to discuss open standards and the viability of Libre Software in the design and implementation of affordable, scalable, secure eGovernment services. The conference has a focus on success stories, specific policies and actual implementations, with speakers - drawn primarily from public administrations – sharing their experiences in forming policies and implementing solutions.

The conference provides an excellent setting for presentation and discussion on innovative developments and usage of Libre Software by public administrations, and is expected to draw over 400 delegates. It provides an opportunity to highlight achievements and landmark national initiatives as well as look forward to challenges and priorities for furthering the use of Libre Software. The conference will feature the following Thematic Priorities:

• E government public services
• Transforming Public Administration with libre software
• Inclusion & Development
• Interoperability and open standards issues
• Value added free software/open source business models
• Security issues
• Regulation & legislation in eGovernment technology

The conference is partly funded through the FLOSSPOLS project at MERIT, under the European Union's Sixth Framework Information Society Technologies Programme and a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Additional funding is provided by private-sector sponsors.