Forum'05 "Technology and its Impact on the City of the Future"

Press Release

HITACHI HOST THE EU HITACHI SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FORUM 2005

Athens, Thursday 12th May, 2005 - The 8th EU Hitachi Science & Technology Forum will take place in Athens, Greece. It will be officially opened by H.E.M. Evripidis Stylianidis, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs. From Hitachi Group in Europe, Sir Stephen Gomersall, Chief Executive for Europe, will also attend.

The EU Hitachi Science & Technology Forum has been held annually since 1998.The theme of this years Forum, to be held from May 20th to May 22nd, will be Technology and its impact on the city of the future. Participants will discuss the role of technology in Urbanisation and its impact on European Society.

H.E.M. Stylianidis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, said: We welcome the Hitachi Forum to Greece. It will give the Greek Government an opportunity to underline our commitment to attracting large companies to our country through a large array of incentives. When meeting with Sir Stephen Gomersall I will emphasise Greeces role as a gateway to the Balkans. Given the new investment Law the Greek Government has recently passed, I will take the opportunity to also stress the reasons why Greece constitutes a preferred place for foreign investments. We look forward to taking part in Hitachis Forum and to seeing the results of the workshops.

Sir Stephen Gomersall said: The Forum reflects Hitachis founding concept of contributing to society through technology. This years Forum will provide a constructive opportunity to debate technology issues around Urbanisation.

The Forums official opening will also be attended by H.E.M. Toshio Mochizuki, Ambassador of Japan to Greece and Mrs. Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens.

The Forum is divided into two sections. The first part is a scientific update designed to provide all participants with a sufficient understanding of the technologies to be debated upon. The keynote speech on Urbanisation: past, present and future will be delivered by Prof. Basil Stephanis of the Democritus University of Thrace. Distinguished speakers coming from different EU countries will be presenting papers on the Forums five sub-themes of Urban Sustainability, Security and Safety, Mobility, Urban Planning and Building Technology and Materials.

The second element is a detailed discussion on the societal implications for European society related to each sub-theme. The results of each of the workshop sessions will be compiled into a summary report following the Forum. This summary will be circulated to European Commission officials, members of the European Parliament, officials from Member States, and Hitachis business partners in Europe. The summary is a clear illustration of Hitachis willingness to contribute to the EU public policy debate.

Members of the Forum are Europeans who have been offered internships in Japan by Hitachi at the end of their university studies, or as part of an executive training programme developed jointly by the European Commission and the Japanese Government. Forum members stayed in Japan as Hitachis guests for periods varying from three months to three years through internships at its plants, research laboratories or company headquarters. Approximately 150 European citizens are members of the Forum.

The 2005 EU Hitachi Science & Technology Forum has been included in the official programme of 2005 EU-Japan Year of People to People Exchanges. This is a great honor to the Forum and has been made possible through the Japanese Embassy in Athens to which Hitachi, Ltd. is most grateful.

The EU Hitachi Science & Technology Forum is chaired by Dr. Michiharu Nakamura, Executive Vice President & Executive Officer, Hitachi, Ltd. who is supported by an advisory board comprised of Forum fellows.

* This press release has been translated into Greek and distributed.