General Assembly of the World Technopolis Association in September in Gliwice

Congress will be held on 10-12 September.

The word technopolis is used to describe a city that promotes the development of high-tech. These cities form the World Technopolis Association - WTA. Gliwice is a member of the Association since 2005, and President of Gliwice Zygmunt Frankiewicz has been one of the WTA leaders for the last four years is.

"This is the most important international event held in Gliwice in long years. WTA membership itself is very beneficial, and organising the general assembly an honour and an opportunity to present Gliwice, Polish and Europe to our guests - mainly those from the Far East" - said President Frankiewicz during a press conference in Gliwice.

"To ensure a good reception, we want to involve the people of Gliwice in preparations and the event itself" - he added. A number of popular science and cultural events accompanying the WTA assembly will be held primarily for them.

The most important substantive event the WTA assembly will be the conference on fighting the crisis through the promotion of innovation (11 September). Discussion will focus also on patent issues, for example, whether the recent patent wars of electronics manufacturers benefit the development of new technologies and competitiveness or reduce the influx of new ideas.

The agenda of the 8th WTA General Assembly will include the WTA board meeting, the Mayors Forum, the University President Forum and the UNESCO workshop devoted to the management of technology parks for the representatives of the cities of Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. One of the accompanying events will be the Day of Science and Industry, presentation of innovative companies, scientific and research units and their achievements.

The cultural and popular science events, which will start on the weekend of 7-9 September, include: piano recital of Anna Fedorova, family picnic "The World of Virtual Fun", a concert of works of classical European music performed the Gliwice Chamber Orchestra, a concert of the Silesian University of Technology Choir and the Korean Choir Daedeok Innopolis Singers, science fiction film marathon, a concert of Ewa Farna and Blue Cafe and exhibition "Japanese Woodcuts by Akira Kurosami".

Frankiewicz also stressed that with 200 thousand residents, Gliwice still do not have an established image in Poland. Therefore, the PLN 500 thousand city and event promotion campaign included an ad showed on national TV channels. 150 broadcasts should reach 15 million viewers. The film shows the effects of work Gliwice scientists and entrepreneurs, including the solutions used in the so-called exoskeleton (with an original system for reading muscle signals and muscle work support), as well as unmanned aircraft FlyEye.

WTA is an international organization with headquarters in Daejeon, South Korea, which brings together dozens of the world\'s most advanced development centres. Members are recruited mainly from the Far East, but also from Europe.

This group also welcomes centres that only begin to implement innovative solutions in industry and education. Gliwice was admitted as a WTA member in recognition of the city’s efforts to promote innovation, and its good development prospects.

The main objective of WTA is enabling an experience exchange in promoting the knowledge-based economy. The Association supports technology transfer, management of incubators and research and development centres, and provides a platform for consultation.

Every two years one of the members of the Association organises a general assembly, summarizing the activities of WTA. In 2012 Gliwice will be the organizer of the event. On 10-12 September it will welcome a few hundred delegates from around the world.

8th General Assembly of the World Technopolis Association is held under the patronage of President Bronisław Komorowski and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Waldemar Pawlak.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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