An Unexpected Meeting with VP of the European Commission

A week prior to the Romania Digital Agenda conference, the Biblionet training manager feverishly called to tell me that the Vice President of the European Commission, Ms. Neelie Kroes, was going to visit Bucharest and that I should be ready to attend the conference.

That Monday, I met with Sanda Foamete, Manager for Microsoft and Gabi Barna from EOS (Educating for an Open Socienty) Foundation to discuss how to best approach a 25-minute private meeting they had organized with Ms. Kroes. I knew my unexpected meeting with such an openhearted EU official would grant IREX the platform to detail the imperative work of libraries in reaching large numbers of people in providing access to key e-government services.

Ms Kroes was impressed with the work of the three partners and recognized the need to bring government together with organizations working to empower citizens through the use of technology, by both providing new services and teaching Romanians how to access them.

It was clear this meeting would have resounding effects: two-minutes into the meeting she asked what message we want to pass forward to both the President and Prime Minister. We, along with Biblionet’s Deputy Director Scott Andersen, eagerly expressed our desire for Ms. Kroes to explain to our highest level representatives that organizations working to reduce the digital divide ultimately guarantee greater numbers of citizens’ access to e-government services. Specifically, I quickly underscored the valiant work librarians are conducting by assisting and facilitating access to information for their communities and aiding patrons to gain the real benefits of Romania’s current e-government policies.

During her speech at the Romania Digital Agenda conference, Ms. Kroes exemplified this bottom up approach presented by IREX, EOS, and Microsoft. Later that day, she took that very message to Romanian President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Emil Boc. And two days later we received a link to Ms. Kroes blog, Researching Romanias Digital Revolution.

I would like to personally thank Ms. Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, Mr. Peter Power, Member of Ms. Kroes’s team, and Dr. Nicolae Idu, Head of the European Commission in Romania for taking the time to listen and push forward our message.