Europe's biggest ICT event, ICT 2008 (4,400 attendees), opened its door on last Tuesday in Lyon (France). The event (organized by the European Commission's Directorate General for the Information Society and Media and hosted by the French Presidency of the European Union) presented Europe's priorities for ICT research, development and funding, and examined how Europe can lead the ICT agenda for the next decade. Viviane Reding (EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, DG INFSO) and Luc Chatel (French Ministry for Industry and Consumer Affairs) as well as leaders from the industry including the CEOs of Thales, Alcatel-Lucent and Tom Tom joined visionaries from the world of S&T to discuss Europe's role in ICT evolution. An exhibition showcased the latest breakthroughs from 180 European ICT research projects. The ICT event also featured networking sessions for researchers and investors to find partners for potential research initiatives. Sigma Orionis was in charge of organizing 4 Networking Sessions addressing - on one side - international strategic cooperation opportunities on ICT research (with 3 different regions: Japan / South Korea, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa) and - on the other side - the role of ICT beyond GDP (session title: "Beyond GDP: what role for ICT?"). Sigma Orionis was also showcasing the benefits offered by its 3 FP7/ICT international projects: COJAK (EU-Japan / EU-Korean cooperation on ICT research), EuroAfriCa-ICT (EU-African and EU-Caribbean ICT platform), and SEACOOP (EU-Southeast Asian cooperation on ICT research). Contact