The first-ever European e-Skills Week officially launched today, 2 March 2010, at the world's largest digital tradeshow CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. The opening conference marks the culmination of a compelling campaign of more than 200 stimulating and informative events and activities, coordinated by DIGITALEUROPE and European Schoolnet.

The European e-Skills Week (see http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu/) - the result of a coordinated effort by government, industry and education - aims to inform the European public about the critical role ICT skills play in securing Europe's future economic competitiveness.

The conference will be opened with speeches by Ernst Raue, CEO, Deutsche Messe, Françoise Le Bail, Deputy Director General, DG Enterprise and Industry, European Commission, and Erkki Ormala, President of the Executive Board of DIGITALEUROPE. The first panel discussion will address the current lack of e-Skills in Europe and its impact on Europe competitiveness. A second panel will tackle what industry and public bodies can do to bridge the gap.

The conference is streamed live and available online through the e-Skills Week web portal: http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu/web/guest/event/-/journal_content/56_INSTANCE_lE7d/10404/11575/EVENT_MAIN_DISPLAY.