Following the successful European Innovation Dialogue conference that took place in Brussels in December 2005, the event in Budapest is the first in a series of regional meetings conceived to stimulate innovation at the local level and support EU innovation policy goals from the bottom up.

The event will take place from 21 to 23 June 2006 at InfoPark and Hotel Béke in Budapest, and will bring together EU, national and regional policymakers with innovation actors from business, academia and the world of finance.

The Budapest meeting provides a platform for innovation stakeholders to explain and debate the challenges they are facing. Opportunities on how to support the Hungarian innovation community will be discussed and summarised in an action plan. Main purpose is to emphasise the concerns of innovative small businesses, including their co-operation with large companies.

The agenda comprises two major parts:

1. A pre-conference at InfoPark on 21 June, organised in two sessions:

• Presentations of projects, programmes and tools supporting innovative businesses.
• Examples of how large companies innovate and the role small businesses play in this process.

Both sessions prepare for the 'one-on-one' individual information sessions that will be organised in parallel to the conference itself on 22 and 23 June.

2. The conference at Hotel Béke on 22 and 23 June, covering the following key themes:

• Keynote session: Presentations from government and business leaders;
• Innovation policy: Establishing the right framework at the EU and Hungarian levels;
• Strengthening the innovation ecosystem: Views from the main actors;
• Financing innovation roundtable: The perfect mix; and
• Best practice panel: Representatives from other European regions will present their solutions.

An official reception will take place at the Hungarian Parliament in the evening of 22 June. Networking lunch and coffee breaks will take place in the exhibition area that is attached to the conference room. For further information and registration, please visit the conference website.

With kind regards from the conference organiser

Platte Strauss Partners