Saulė Gudauskaitė, Head of Information and European Union Issues Division, Information Society Development Committee under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania

In his speech at the winners’ gala of the fifth annual “Modern Bookman” competition, the director of Lithuania’s Information Society Development committee, Aurimas Matulis, said that projects which are submitted to the competition are of a better level of quality year by year, and so it is truly a challenge to select the “New Bookmen”. It is a great honour, he said, to reward the best initiatives from the Information Society.
The purpose of the competition is to congratulate the individuals, communities, initiatives and Internet solutions which have contributed the most to the development of the Information Society and digital content in Lithuania. There are five nominations:
• Internet solutions which are useful for local residents;
• Initiatives which reduce the digital divide;
• Initiatives demonstrating collaboration between science and business;
• Use of information technologies in education and adult training;
• Personal contributions toward the development of the Information Society at the national and regional level.
Each project is judged on the basis of criteria such as functionality, efficiency, usefulness for society, support for social integration, sustainability, etc.
The Jusada company won the “Internet solutions which are useful for local residents” category for a virtual art gallery at www.savasmenas.lt.  The Web site offers information about Lithuanian artists and distributes information about Lithuanian art in English, as well (www.artbeauty.eu).
A volunteer organisation, Garliaviečiai, got the nod in the “Initiatives which reduce the digital divide” category for its work with the Kaunas Region Public Library (www.krsvbiblioteka.lt).
The Lithuanian Innovation Centre took top honours in the category “Initiatives demonstrating collaboration between science and business” for two projects – the innovation portal www.inovacijos.lt and the “Gateway to Innovation in Lithuania” catalogue.
The Kaunas County Public Library received the award for “Use of information technologies in education and adult training” for the project “E. Dictionary Kaunas: Dates and Facts”.  The project focuses on Lithuanian, history, culture and society and makes that information available on the Internet.
Several individuals were honoured for “Personal contributions toward the development of the Information Society at the national and regional level”.  On the national scale, it was Emilija Banionytė, chairman of the Association of Scientific Libraries.  The regional winner was Alina Dėmenienė, a member of the Lithuanian Computer Association.  The incentive prize went to Liucija Mončienė for helping to develop the Information Society in her region.
All of the winners were congratulated electronically by Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas.  Part of the event was an expert discussion on the subject of “The Future of Lithuania as an E-State”.  Experts who took part in the discussion were Aurimas Matulis from the Information Society Development Committee, Gintautas Vilkelis, chancellor of the Lithuanian Parliament, Dr Alfredas Otas, council chairman of the Lithuanian Computer Association, Dr Valentinas Snitka, director of Microsystems and the scientific nanotechnologies centre at the Kaunas Technological University, Dr Algirdas Kunčinas, director of the State Data Protection Inspectorate, and Gintautas Babravičius, an expert on the Information Society.
The focus of the discussion was on the “one step” principle in Lithuania, the use of E-signatures, the provision of E-services, etc.  Participants said that Lithuania has achieved remarkable results in the field of the information Society and that this is a recognised priority for the state.  They also argued that the infrastructure of the Information Society must become an engine for the knowledge economy in Lithuania.
The Information Society Development Committee will organise the sixth annual “Modern Bookmen” event in autumn of 2008.  For the first time, the “Modern Bookman” competition  will be held together with the third international World Summit Award (WSA) competition.  The WSA is a global initiative which selects and promotes the world’s best E-content.  It was launched in 2003 at the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society.  National contests and a global competition are organised once every two years, with numerous content-focused conferences and workshops at the national and the international level.  These are grouped together under the auspices of what is known as the WSA Road Show.  The WSA awards ceremony is the highlight of the process – a unique ceremony which honours excellence in multimedia work and E-content creation.  As many as 40 winning teams from all over the world attend this event, and awards are presented by international dignitaries of the highest level.