EROPA Bulletin Volume 35 Nos. 1-2 | Page 3

Vol. 35 Nos. 1-2 (January-June 2014) EROPA Bulletin 3 New EROPA center officially launched, conducts seminar on e-government The International Seminar on E-Governance in Asia, held in Beijing, People’s Republic of China from 2830 May 2014, was the maiden activity of the EROPA E-Government Research Center (EGRC), the newest EROPA Center. The EROPA E-Government Research Center as one of the EROPA Centers is a research institution devoted to research and development on e-government. The Center strives to attain this by building cooperative networks, developing a repository of studies and best practices in e-government, and conducting workshops, seminars and conferences that discuss relevant issues in the field. The proposal to establish the EROPA E-Government Seminar participants engaged in discussions on two different sub-themes: approaches and on e-government Research Center was approved by the EROPA Executive trends,media to engage impacts in governance. practices; and the use of social citizens Council during its meeting in Tachikawa City, Tokyo, Japan on 14 October 2013. e-government. He added that the Center will actively conduct comparative studies, collaborative projects and The Center is housed in the Chinese Academy of workshops on e-government and capacity building for Personnel Science (CAPS), Beijing, PR China. the improvement of public service delivery, as it strives to build itself as a hallmark e-government research In his welcome address, Prof. Jiang Wu, Director of institution. the EROPA E-Government Research Center, remarked that the seminar is the first international seminar The event highlighted e-governance issues from two organized by the Center, as a commitment to create a different perspectives/sub-themes: 1) E-Governance: A platform for exchange and cooperation in the field of New Approach to Governance, which focuses on trends, principles, approaches and impacts of e-government practice; and 2) Social Media: A New Path for Public Participation, which highlights social media as an alternative channel for broader and more diverse citizen involvement in governance. EROPA Secretary General Orlando S. Mercado, together with Vice Minister Xian He of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MoHRSS), China, unveil the marker of the EROPA E-Government Research Center. Renowned e-government and public policy experts across the globe shared their insights and experiences through keynote speeches and panel sessions. Among them were: Director-General Ning Fu of the E-Government Center, State Commission Office of Public Sectors Reform, PR China; Professor Zhiyong Lan, Vice Dean of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China; Deputy Director-General Hai Qin of the Department of Informatization Promotion, Ministry of Industry and Information ►►