Kick-off and Lyon - a promising start

The kick-off meeting held in Madrid united for the first time all project partners from 6 countries and two continents. The get-together on the eve of the meeting was a perfect ice-breaker that helped consderably that the tight schedule the next day could be met without difficulties. Yolanda Ursa of Inmark, project coordinator, organised the event with Spanish conviviality and professional rigidity. The agenda gave an introduction to the ICT programme and principles of EU projects, followed by detailed tasks description of the work packages. The oversee partners are: Rosita Wachenchaucer, Argentina; Gilson Schwartz, Brazil; Humberto Carrasco, Chile; and Manuel Bello, Uruguay. It was particularly useful that 3 of the 4 Latin American partners could participate in the Lyon ICT event. That gave a first glimpse on the EU ICT community and served as perfect platform for first contact. Indeed, networking worked well, not only with potential future partners but also with currently ending projects such as Solar-ICT and Winds-LA. A common agenda has been established, and the first workshops in Latin America are scheduled between 16 March and 7 April 2009.