The central theme of the world conference is science and technology literacy, which is regarded as one of the key factors in forming quick-thinking and innovative citizens and in completing the transition to a knowledge society.

The conference programme includes over ten keynote addresses and highlight presentations on the teaching of science and technology, delivered by internationally renowned researchers and experts. In addition, scores of papers will be presented in specialised workshops focusing on aspects such as opportunities for the modernisation of teaching and for raising the motivation of learners.

The conference will be opened by the Estonian Minister for Education and Research Tõnis Lukas. Conference participants include representatives from UNESCO’s Paris office, the President of the International Council of Associations of Science and Technology Education (ICASE) and representatives of foreign embassies to Estonia. The conference will be closed by Ene Ergma, Speaker of the Estonian Parliament.

The main organiser of the 2010 World Conference on Science and Technology Education is the Centre for Science Education of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Tartu, in cooperation with the ICASE, the University of Tallinn, the Tallinn University of Technology and the associations of Estonian science teachers. The organisers also received support from the Estonian Ministry of Research and Education, th Archimedes Foundation, the Enterprise Estonia Foundation, the mobile telephony and communication services provider EMT and the travel agency Kaleva Travel.

For more information, conference programme and registration visit http://www.icase2010.org

Additional information:
Prof. Miia Rannikmäe, Centre for Science Education, University of Tartu, e-mail miia.rannikmae@ut.ee

Julia Laffranque, president of FIDE Estonia, said that Estonia will be the first country from Eastern Europe to host the conference. The event, held every two years, brings together more than 500 lawyers from all over the world.

The conference that presumably will take place in Tallinn at the end of May or in early June 2012 is expected to focus on three topics:

the protection of human rights in Europe;
relations between energy, environment and competition policy in the EU; and
legal aspects of the information society in Europe based on freedom, security and law.
A year earlier, at the end of May 2011, a high-level delegation made up of national FIDE presidents will come to Estonia to look at preparations for the conference.

Laffranque added that the idea to choose capitals of European law in addition to European capitals of culture and green capitals emerged in the course of preparations for the conference. Tallinn will be the first city to bear this title.

Source: http://estonia.eu/news/131-tallinn-to-be-capital-of-european-law-in-2012.html

The second competitor for the status of host of the 2012 event was the JSC Technology Park of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Tehnopol said.

The 2012 conference is expected to bring together the leaders of 800 science parks worldwide.

With nearly 400 members in 70 countries, IASP is the worldwide network of science and technology parks.

Tehnopol is member of IASP since 2003.

Tehnopol is a science and business environment for knowledge based companies located next to the Tallinn University of Technology and the Estonian IT College. More than 150 businesses are active in Tehnopol at this point.

Source: Tallinn Technology Park Development foundation Tehnopol

Chairman of the Board of the Nordic Hotel Forum Feliks Mägus believes that using a Skype telephone will make communication even easier. “Using Skype generally means that you have a computer and headphones, but here you only need to dial a number – you do not even need to log on to your Skype account. Nordic Hotel Forum gives you Skype Credit, so you can use it to make great value calls to landlines and cell phones across the world.”

Mägus added that as Skype is growing in popularity with many people using it for personal and business purposes, having a Skype phone in a hotel room makes keeping in touch easier and cheaper. “At first, we will try using the Skype telephones in 18 business class rooms but if successful, we will add Skype telephones to all rooms,” said Mägus.

In addition to Skype telephones, business class rooms offer better views, complimentary mineral water, tea and coffee making facilities, complimentary film channels, bath robes and slippers and free of charge parking in the underground car park. The price of a room also includes an extensive breakfast buffet and use of the leisure club. A business class room is the ideal choice if you visit Tallinn to attend a business meeting or a conference.

Nordic Hotels (www.nordichotels.eu) is an Estonian-owned hotel chain, which was established in 2002 for the purpose of developing and operating hotels in Tallinn and in other Baltic capitals on the basis of lease and management contracts. Nordic Hotels operates the Nordic Hotel Forum in Tallinn and the Nordic Hotel Bellevue in the centre of Riga.

For further information please contact:
Feliks Mägus
Chairman of the Board
Nordic Hotels OÜ
Phone: +372 605 3822
Mobile: +372 504 0766
Skype: feliks.magus
feliks.magus@nordichotels.eu

A new report by the ICCA puts Estonia in 40th position, with 46 association meetings held in the country last year. The ranking makes Estonia the number one ICCA destination country in the Baltic States. The figures mark a jump from 2008, when Estonia came in at 43rd with 37 association conferences held in the country.

An even more dramatic gain was shown by the capital city Tallinn, which climbed to 44th place in 2009 from 65th place in 2008. The city hosted 35 association conferences last year compared with the 24 conferences it held in 2008. In 2007, Tallinn held 83rd position. This means that with two years since Estonian Convention Bureau was established to promote the destination, Tallinn has jumped nearly 40 places!

Riine Tiigi, Managing Director of the Estonian Convention Bureau was pleased with the results. “We´ve been actively on the market two years now. Although it is a very competitive market, it seems that our marketing activities and strong co-operation of our partners are paying off already. I am very proud that Tallinn is now among top players in the industry”. 

The rankings list included 288 destination cities around the globe.  The ICCA rankings cover meetings organised by international associations which take place on a regular basis and which rotate between a minimum of three countries. The full ICCA statistics report for 2009 will be released in June.

Organised jointly by the by the Estonian Convention Bureau and the Estonian Tourist Board, the project involved inviting 50 professional event planners from all parts of Europe to visit Tallinn, where they were given a taste of what Estonia has to offer as a meeting destination.

Highlights of the programme included a tour of Tallinn's haunted houses led by the country's former prime minister, Mart Laar, who is also a renowned historian; a visit to the now-decommissioned Soviet-era Patarei Prison, one of the country's more unusual incentive venues; a baroque concert in the18th-century Kadriorg Palace and a village-style party at the Estonian Open Air Museum.

Participants also had the opportunity to attend workshops with local suppliers and take post-event tours of Lahemaa National Park and Estonia's university town Tartu. 
 
Riine Tiigi, Managing Director of the Estonian Convention Bureau, hailed the event as a success and said the response from participants was overwhelmingly positive.

“Judging by how impressed the visitors were, we can clearly see that organising this fam trip was an excellent investment for us. We're expecting it to really raise the profile of the country as a destination for interesting and affordable events,” she said.

This release was prepared by the Estonian Convention Bureau, a non-profit organisation established jointly by public and private sector bodies in order to attract international conventions to Estonia. The ECB's 24 members include the cities of Tallinn and  Tartu, the national carrier Estonian Air, and a number of DMCs, PCOs and hotels. For further details, contact:

Riine Tiigi, Managing Director
Tel: +372 645 0029
riine.tiigi@ecb.ee
www.ecb.ee

Estonian Air and Foundation Tallinn 2011 signed on Tuesday, 20.04.2010, the partnership agreement, under which both partners will tightly cooperate in terms of presentation Culture Capital Tallinn 2011 in Europe.

According to the cooperation agreement Estonian Air becomes an official carrier of Tallinn 2011 until the end of the year 2011.

After the signing of the agreement a special aircraft, Boeing 737-500 (also known as Oskar) decorated with Capital of Culture logotypes was presented. The aircraft will fly to the majority of Estonian Air direct destinations in Europe.
 
This is undoubtedly the most complicated advertising ever laid on the outer sides of vehicle in Estonia.

The aircraft covered with Tallinn 2011 logos serves approximately 85 000 passengers per year and will deliver the message of Tallinn as the European Capital of Culture to the tens of millions pair of eyes. 

„The success of Estonian Air’s activity depends on how well Tallinn and Estonia are known abroad. This is why the cooperation with the Foundation Tallinn 2011 is extremely important for us. The title of the European Capital of Culture and delivering this message to the different European cities is an outstanding possibility to present Tallinn and Estonia. This will definitely help to increase knowledge about Estonia,” said Andrus Aljas, the President and CEO of Estonian Air.

According to the agreement Tallinn 2011 booklets and souvenirs are distributed on Estonian Air aircraft, publications of Tallinn 2011 articles in the onboard magazine, adding the events calendar on the Estonian Air’s website; introducing Estonian Air as the official carrier of Tallinn 2011 in different information and advertizing channels and other publications of the Foundation Tallinn 2011.

„We are proud to announce, that the first sponsorship agreement of that kind and volume has been signed with our national airline, with whom we have one big common purpose - to promote Estonia and Tallinn in order to bring here culture tourists from all over the world,” said Jaanus Mutli, the board member of the Foundation Tallinn 2011. Mutli also invited on his welcoming speech all other enterprises to support activities of the European Capital of Culture. “This dignified agreement of cooperation definitely won’t be the last one,” he added.

Additional information
Ilona Eskelinen
PR-direktor
Estonian Air
+372 640 1178,
+372 510 7837
pr@estonian-air.ee
http://www.estonian-air.ee/

”After developing and building up the Reval Hotels chain in the Baltics, Linstow now wishes to focus on its core role as a real estate developer and real estate investor. As an internationally renowned hotel player in expansion, Rezidor has a very strong sales organization and presence with well known brands in all markets outside the Baltics and St. Petersburg that are
important to bring new customers to our hotels. The management deal therefore assures further revenue growth for our hotels in both the Baltics and Russia. This will happen through, among other things, more effective marketing of the hotels,” says Per Mortensen, CEO of Linstow.

“We are delighted and proud that Linstow, Reval Hotels owner, has chosen Rezidor as a business partner”, comments Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor. “Reval Hotels is the leading hotel chain in the Baltics. This portfolio agreement gives Rezidor, which is the number one among the international hotel operators in Russia, a strong market position in the Baltics, too. We will be able to substantially strengthen our position in the key markets of Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, where we already are present with our upper upscale brand Radisson Blu and a total of 760 rooms”, continues Ritter.

Rezidor will open a new supervisory and support Regional Office in Riga, while Linstow will continue to own and develop the properties. All 1,200 hotel employees will remain in their present positions, and there will be no change in terms of employment, benefits or employee relations. Guests will be benefiting from the same flexible pricing as before. Corporate accounts will maintain the same contracted rates as signed, while Reval Hotels First Client members will have an opportunity to enjoy global benefits by joining Rezidor’s loyalty program “goldpointsplus”.

The agreement between Rezidor and Reval Hotels, subject to regulatory approval, covers the following properties:
• Reval Hotel Latvija in Riga/Latvia (571 rooms) will become a Radisson Blu
• Reval Hotel Elizabete in Riga/Latvia (228 rooms) will become a Radisson Blu
• Reval Hotel Ridzene in Riga/Latvia (95 rooms) will become a Radisson Blu
• Reval Hotel Olümpia in Tallinn/Estonia (390 rooms) will become a Radisson Blu
• Reval Hotel Central in Tallinn/Estonia (245 rooms) will become a Park Inn
• Reval Hotel Lietuva in Vilnius/Lithuania (291 rooms) will become a Radisson Blu
• Reval Inn Vilnius in Vilnius/Lithuania (84) will become a Park Inn
• Reval Hotel Neris in Kaunas/Lithuania (206 rooms) will become a Park Inn
• Reval Inn Klaipeda in Klaipeda/Lithuania (84 rooms) will become a Park Inn
• Reval Hotel Sonya in St Petersburg/Russia (173 rooms) will become a Radisson Blu and be Rezidor’s second property of this brand in town.

For further information please contact:

Aiga Lapina, Marketing Manager (Reval Hotels)
+371 6777 22 54, aiga.lapina@revalhotels.com

Christiane Reiter, Director Corporate Communication (Rezidor)
+32 2 702 9331, christiane.reiter@rezidor.com

Jacques Dubois, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer (Rezidor)
+32 2 702 9259, jacques.dubois@rezidor.com
About Linstow

Linstow AS, one of Norway’s leading property developers with focus on Norway and Eastern European countries and a large portfolio in the Baltic’s. The company is wholly owned by AWILHELMSEN AS, operating worldwide within cruise-industry, shipping/offshore and financial investments.

Linstow AS is a diversified real estate company which primarily focuses on property development and management. The company is one of Norway’s leading property developers.

The majority of the company’s activities are in the Baltic region, primarily in the hotel- and shopping centre sectors, with centrally located properties in the larger cities of the Baltic countries. The company also owns and develops real estate in Norway, Portugal, Russia and Sweden.

Hotels
Linstow started its venture in the Baltic hotel business in 1998, when the former Intourist hotels, Hotel Latvija in Riga and Hotel Lietuva in Vilnius were acquired and later completely refurbished. In 2000, the Reval Hotel Group was bought, including the Hotel Olympia in Tallinn.

The business has gradually been expanded with new hotels and Linstow currently owns 9 hotels in the three capitals as well as in Kaunas and Klaipeda in Lithuania. In October 2009, a new hotel in St. Petersburg was opened. The hotels are operated by the subsidiary Reval under the Reval Hotels and Reval Inn flags. Reval is today the leading hotel chain in the Baltic region with well over 2000 rooms. The Reval Hotel Management Organisation has been crucial for Linstow in order to achieve the development goals and in the creation of the Hotel portfolio of high International standards.

About The Rezidor Hotel Group

The Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world. The group features a portfolio of more than 385 hotels in operation and under development with more than 83,100 rooms in over 60 countries.

Rezidor operates the brands Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites in Europe, Middle East and Africa, along with the goldpoints plusSM loyalty programme for frequent hotel guests. Under a worldwide licence agreement with the iconic Italian fashion house Missoni, Rezidor also operates and develops the new lifestyle brand Hotel Missoni.

In November 2006, Rezidor was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Carlson Companies is the main shareholder.

The Corporate Office of the Rezidor Hotel Group is based in Brussels, Belgium.

For more information on Rezidor, visit www.rezidor.com

Tallinn
April 20, 2010

Estonia's First IAPCO National Seminar a Success

On April 14 – 16, Estonia successfully hosted its first IAPCO National Seminar. The training event, which took place in the Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel in Tallinn, was attended by 60 representatives from the Estonian meeting industry, who came to gain expert insight into the business’ latest methods and trends.

IAPCO,  the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers, is widely recognized as the world leader in international conference training.

The event was led by IAPCO speakers Michel Neijmann, Managing Partner of K2 Conference and Event Management Co. in Istanbul, and Sarah Storie-Pugh, Ambassador for Congrex-UK in London. Both are experienced members of the IAPCO Training Academy and have extensive backgrounds in the international conference sphere. 

After the seminar Storie-Pugh praised the advanced level of Estonia's conference industry and the positive attitude of the training participants.

"It was a fantastic experience", she said. “We certainly enjoyed being part of this enthusiastic group, who have much knowledge already but a thirst for even more. Tallinn is a great city with many wonderful facilities, and the people are friendly and professional.”

The seminar was organised by IAPCO in conjunction with the Estonian Convention Bureau, Enterprise Estonia and the Estonian Tourist Board.

“The training was invaluable for the those who took part,” said Riine Tiigi, managing director of the Estonian Convention Bureau. “It was a real eye-opener for most of them, and the feedback we've gotten has been extremely positive.”

Tiigi said she hopes the success of this event will open the door for similar seminars in the future.

Attendees were equally upbeat on the seminar.

“It was a great initiative by the ECB to organize such a prestigious seminar for Estonian meeting industry professionals,” said Kersti Vaino, Director of Sales and Marketing of Nordic Hotel Forum.

“It is our key focus to attract more international events and... this seminar has provided excellent tools for achieving this.”

Evelyn Silvet of Frens Conference Services PCO added,  “Although I've already been operating many years in the PCO business, the IAPCO Seminar offered me several new perspectives on how to manage our everyday work more efficiently and add extra value to our services.”

This release was prepared by the Estonian Convention Bureau, a non-profit organisation established jointly by public and private sector bodies in order to attract international conventions to Estonia. The ECB's 25members include the cities of Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu, the national carrier Estonian Air, and a number of DMCs, PCOs and hotels. For further details, contact:

Riine Tiigi, Managing Director
Tel: +372 645 0029
riine.tiigi@ecb.ee
www.ecb.ee

The event, which aims to highlight the best of what Estonia has to offer as a conference destination, will take place on Thursday, March 25 at the 'Bouche à Oreille' theatre.

The ECB's Managing Director Riine Tiigi said that the event was prompted by the importance the Belgian market holds for Estonian suppliers, and that interest in the event has been phenomenal.  Over 60 meeting and incentive planners are expected to attend, twice as many as originally expected.

“The Belgian market is very important to Estonia, and these attendance figures show that organisers here also have a huge interest in what we can offer,” said Tiigi.

As many as 15 ECB member companies will be on hand to present their products and meet buyers personally. Estonian culinary delights and beer will be served, and chefs will also be present to talk about the food culture of Estonia. Further entertainment will be provided by the well-known Estonian cello quartet C-Jam.

The event will also include a prize draw, with one lucky participant coming away with a luxury weekend trip for two to Tallinn. Five other exciting prizes, donated by ECB member hotels, will also be drawn.

The event is co-funded by EU Regional Development Fund.