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Press release, 12 December 2007

Living Labs In Helsinki Metropolitan Area Under Joint Helsinki Living Lab Marketing Brand

The Living Lab Innovations - Successful User Cases seminar provided an understanding of living lab in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in the form of presentations and on site visits. The seminar also announced the establishment of a European Network of Living Labs office (ENoLL) in Helsinki.

The Living Lab Innovations - Successful User Cases seminar attracted almost two hundred participants interested in living labs to Helsinki on 28 November, 2007. Among attendees were representatives of companies, public organizations and members of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) as well as representatives the press from Finland, China and Portugal.

The event also saw the launch of Helsinki Living Lab, an alliance of the living labs in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa), which in the initial stages will consist of six living labs in various areas of activity, several science universities and polytechnics, companies and consultancies.

Helsinki Living Lab is a network in which the players, together with genuine users, develop products, services and innovations in genuine urban environments and genuine usage situations. The aim is to generate better services and products and to create new business. Helsinki Living Lab will operate as an open umbrella and as a joint brand for all living-lab players in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, making it possible for them to cooperate with each other.

Besides living labs already operating in Arabianranta, Pasila, Oulunkylä, and Otaniemi and one near Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the construction of the next generation living labs; Suurpelto in Espoo and Kalasatama and Jätkäsaari in Helsinki; is about to start.

Aiming For A Global Network

The Living Labs Innovations seminar also announced news about a new European Network of Living Labs office to be opened in Helsinki in January 2008. Forum Virium Helsinki, a cluster developing digital services and content, will be in charge of running the office.

The main coordination inside ENoLL will be carried out by its Brussels office, which is managed by Susanna Avéssta. The operational side will be led by a management group selected by the Living Labs, with Veli-Pekka Niitamo from the Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR) at the Helsinki School of Economics and Nokia acting as chairman.

The Helsinki ENoLL office will coordinate the living lab cooperation network both witin the EU andabroad, and it will be responsible for the network's communications. Ties with China have already been opened and the aim is to create a global network of living labs.

The European Network of Living Labs was established by nineteen member organizations in Helsinki in November 2006 during Finland's Presidency of the EU. The present country holding the Presidency, Portugal, and its successor, Slovenia, have assumed responsibility for developing the network, which has already grown at breakneck pace: at this moment there are 51 living labs in 18 European countries.

Further information is available from:

Forum Virium Helsinki
Jarmo Eskelinen, Director
Tel. + 358 50 593 3441

Greater Helsinki Promotion
Johanna Korhonen, Director, Communications
Tel. + 358 400 995699

Helsinki Living Lab
Helsinki Living Lab is a network in which the players, together with genuine users, develop products, services and innovations in genuine urban environments and genuine usage situations. The aim is to generate better services and products and to create new business.

The living labs in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area that are involved in the initial stages are: Arabianranta, Forum Virium Helsinki, Kustaankartano Centre for Elderly, m-cult, RFID Lab Finland and Well Life Center. Helsinki Living Lab cooperation is being made possible in the first stages by: the Center of Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR), Culminatum, DIMES ry / LiTe Open, Greater Helsinki Promotion, HIIT/HUT, Laurea, Movense, Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation), the University of Art and Design Helsinki, VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland) and the Cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa.
Further information is available at: www.helsinkilivinglab.fi

Forum Virium Helsinki
Forum Virium Helsinki promotes the development of digital services. Forum Virium Helsinki is an independent bouncer of ideas and creators, bringing together large and growing companies, managing development projects and opening up connections with international markets. Forum Virium Helsinki is closely involved in creating real-life test environments in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and in planning Länsi-Pasila and the Fortum Virium Centre, which will be built in that area of Helsinki. The aim is to generate better services and increasing business on the basis of strong expertise. The companies that are providing the impetus for Forum Virium Helsinki, which was established in 2005, are Destia, Digita, Elisa, Nokia, TeliaSonera, TietoEnator, Veikkaus, WM-Data, which is a LogicaCMG company, YIT Group and YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company). Co-partners are IBM, Itella, MTV Media, SOK, Swelcom and Vaisala, and from public management the City of Helsinki, Sitra (the Finnish Innovation Fund), Tekes and VTT. SMEs are represented by Idean, ConnectedDay and Fromdistance: A large number of growth companies operating in the Helsinki area will also be taking part in development projects.
Further information is available at: www.forumvirium.com

Greater Helsinki Promotion Ltd Oy
Greater Helsinki Promotion Ltd Oy is a publicly funded company supporting international professionals and companies by promoting all that the region has to offer. Greater Helsinki is made up of four cities; Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen and Vantaa; and their surrounding municipalities, represented by the Uusimaa Regional Council.
Further information is available at: www.helsinkibusinesshub.fi

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