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Long-distance relationships: How the EU and CIS work together

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  • Long-distance relationships: How the EU and CIS work together

    EUROPA, Belgium
    Aug 3 2004

    Long-distance relationships: How the EU and CIS work together

    Teleworking - an increasingly popular form of distance working - is
    hailed by many as the solution to stressful lives, commuter road
    congestion, crowded offices and fragmented families. But it also
    offers unique opportunities for workers much further away to telework
    for European companies, according to the EU project `Telesol'
    promoting this type of working.

    Armenia calling, how can we help you?
    © Image: PhotoDisc

    Telesol's aim is to provide teleworking solutions that promote EU
    co-operation in business and research with the Commonwealth of
    Independent States (CIS), which is a group of 12 former Soviet
    countries working together for their mutual economic benefit.

    To do this, the project coordinates existing tools and research in
    the information society technologies (IST) field - and using results
    from `Staccis', a Fourth Framework Programme project - in order to
    broadcast more widely the advantages of teleworking both within the
    CIS, and between the CIS and the European Union.

    `We can help people overcome the barriers that exist in their
    countries and set up networks of interested parties,' notes Serguei
    Smaguine of the Telework Competence Centre (TCC) in Moscow, Russia,
    one of many centres set up throughout the CIS countries - Armenia,
    Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine and
    Uzbekistan - participating in the project.

    Open all hours
    EU support of just over 300 000, through the IST programme, has
    helped the three-year project to set up the series of TCCs, and to
    stage workshops and conferences to inform locals of the principles of
    teleworking. Winding up later this year, Telesol has faced many
    challenges communicating its message to the local communities: a
    major hurdle has been translating all of the material into Russian,
    the shared language of the partner countries. It has also faced
    technical barriers, such as a shortage of Internet service providers
    in the region, low access speed and legal complications.

    But how can it help the EU? Speaking with IST Results reporters,
    Smaguine offers the example of offshore software development as a
    growth area where skilled CIS teleworkers can add value to the Union
    - similar to the impact that Indian IT expertise has boosted
    profitability in the field. `Russian programmers in Moscow [can]
    produce software for companies in Belgium, the Czech Republic,
    Germany,... [using] the Internet to logon to their clients' computers
    and provide real-time telesupport with screen sharing,' he explains.

    Teleworking is also proving useful within the CIS countries, Smaguine
    continues, offering the example of how telemedicine is helping
    doctors perform remote diagnostics in the Ukraine, for example. The
    project's success to date has been built around effective
    communication and special emphasis on training, where experts from
    France and Denmark, for instance, have travelled to the region to
    `train the trainers'.

    http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/headlines/news/article_04_08_04_en.html
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