Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen at the closing ceremony of the IST 2006 Conference

Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the closing ceremony of the IST 2006 Conference. This week, Finland has been the centre of attention in Europe for anyone interested in the development of the information society. In addition to this IST 2006 Conference, a European Network of Living Labs was launched in Espoo on Monday. The network includes 20 living labs sites from 15 countries.

I am very pleased that the launch of the ICT section of 7th Research Framework Programme is taking place here in Finland. The timing of the IST 2006 Conference is very apt in other respects as well. The application period for the EU research projects begins in early 2007 and the related ICT work programmes were presented just this week. The IST 2006 Conference offered an excellent opportunity for acquiring more information on the central subject areas and for networking with other stakeholders. This will, for its part, pave way for a smooth application process.

To improve our competitiveness, we need new skills and innovations which can be developed in these new R&D projects as part of the implementation of the i2010 programme.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Finland is an internationally recognised information society and an active global player. The current Government has promoted information society development by means of a cross sectoral Information Society Policy Programme. As the Government's term in office draws to a close, it is time look to the future. To this end, a national information society strategy for 2007-2015 was put together in 2006 and we propose that the next Government adopt a resolution to confirm its main strategic policy definitions.

In the new strategy we have set out our national vision of the kind of information society we want to build in Finland. The new information society strategy was compiled to support the creation of a "Finland phenomenon", in other words, a process of renewal to turn Finland into an internationally attractive, human-centric and competitive expertise and service society. In the face of increased global competition, we must be able to develop our skills and creativity through effective development and utilisation of technology. We must also be ready to reassess our practices and structures to better meet the future demands.

The aim of our strategy is to contribute to the creation of a regenerating, human-centric and competitive Finland and its overall vision is to provide "Good Life in an Information Society". The policies defined in our national strategy are in line with the corresponding European-level policies and they are also written into the objectives of the i2010 Programme. This also applies to the programme's central aim which is to increase the sense of inclusion in the European information society.

The direction of technological development in Finland - and in Europe - must be towards greater user friendliness but at the same time we must ensure that existing technologies are used to the full.

Ladies and gentlemen,
In a globalising world, Finland - and Europe as a whole - is faced with the challenge of developing new solutions to science, technology and innovation policies. The intention of the Prime Minister's Awards is to facilitate the advance of new information society practices and increase awareness of these practices both nationally and internationally. A similar kind of exchange and utilisation of best practices would be needed at the European level, too.

On behalf of the Government Information Society Programme, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to all those who participated in the competition. I would also like to thank all those who contributed to the success of the IST 2006 Conference.
Thank you.