In the continuously more demanding "field" of social and business life, it is necessary to use the possibilities provided by the steep development and advancement of digital technology in fields like sciences, business, arts and generally of culture. The understanding of digital technology through the prism of culture, the developments, but also the perspectives that appear in the difficult social and financial framework in which we are active, are presented at the 4th International Conference of Cultural Convergence and Digital Technology, which is organized by the Foundation of the Hellenic World in 18-20 March 2009, at the "THEATRON" of the Cultural Centre "Hellenic Cosmos".

As part of the Conference, the First Web Science World Conference "Society On-Line" is co-organized by FHW and Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI), which is dedicated to the presentation of research on society on the Web. It is addressed to the international academic and business community, as well as to the wider scientific community of state and private educational and cultural institutions in Greece and abroad.

For the first time on international level, top scientists from the fields of Informatics, Technology and Social Sciences have the opportunity to discuss with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web (WWW), Joseph Sifakis, the first Greek to receive the Turing Award ("the Nobel prize in the field of Informatics"), Dame Wendy Hall, the first woman in the field of informatics to receive the title "Dame", and Jacques Bus (Head of
Unit, D4 - ICT for Trust and Security DG Information Society, EU) about the present and the future of the Web and to testify their views about the development of Web Science. The field of the cultural convergence will be represented by people like Mihail Marmarinos and Konstantinos Bhta. The opening of the Conference will be made by H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias, while the Minister of Culture Mr. Antonis Samaras and the Minister of Development Mr. Kostis Hatzidakis will also address the conference.

Lazaros Efraimoglou
President of the Foundation of the Hellenic World

4th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “CULTURAL CONVERGENCE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY”

An integral part of the work of the Foundation of the Hellenic World is the use of state-of-the-art applications of digital technology, for example the Internet, for the study and presentation of Hellenic culture. This principle is obvious in the procedure of research and promotion of Hellenic spirit, which led to the flourishing of philosophy, sciences and arts.

The issues that will be developed, similarly to the previous conferences “Cultural Convergence and Digital Technology”, are expected to focus on thematic units like: “Culture and society in the digital age”, “Recent theories and practices for the creation of interactive artist-user environments”, “Arts and entertainment: a brief glance into the future”, “The digital management of cultural heritage and its use in the educational procedure”.

The objective of the 4th Conference “CULTURAL CONVERGENCE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY” is to promote issues that have to do with the use and dissemination of cultural information through the digital technology, as well as the latter’s contribution to the creation of a framework of convergence and promotion of cultures. Based on this and expanding the fields of interest, the 4th Conference “CULTURAL CONVERGENCE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY” organizes in collaboration with the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI) the 1st Web Science World Conference: “Society On-Line”.

Web Science Conference 2009: "Society Οn-Line"

Web Science focuses on understanding, designing and developing the technologies and applications that make up the World Wide Web. However, the World Wide Web does not exist without the participation of people and organizations. Based on that, the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI) and the Foundation of the Hellenic World (FHW) organize, in the framework of the 4th Conference “Cultural Convergence and Digital Technology”, the First Web Science World Conference “Society On-Line”, which is dedicated to the presentation of social research on the Internet.

Web Science is a field where Computer Science and the Humanities meet. The conference’s objective is to bring these two groups of scientists together, demonstrating the interdisciplinary character of the Internet and bridging, perhaps for the first time, their disciplinary gap. The thematic framework and the Conference’s speeches, of the highest level, cover a wide range of scientific fields related to the Web and they set the inter-disciplinary foundations for the basic theoretical and methodological pivotal points of the Web Science. At the same time, the presence of top keynote speakers –academics, presidents and directors of institutes of political thought and business activity, heads of units of the European Union etc– as well as the specially designed sessions dedicated to state-of-the-art technology issues ensure the high level of the conference and provide the opportunity for advancing research regarding Web Science.

The Web Science Conference 2009: "Society On-Line" is addressed to the international academic and business community, as well as to the wider scientific community of state and private educational institutions in Greece and abroad. It has the ambition of bringing together people from all these three groups, but also all those who, with the content they produce every day, shape its dynamism and future orientation.