9 May – Europe Day

09/05/2022

The Research and Innovation (R&I) area at Optiva Media is heavily involved in European Union innovation activities. It’s important to stay up to date with EU policies and values as outlined in the EU treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which gather all the rights that EU citizens enjoy on an individual, civic, political, economic, and social level such as:

• Being protected from discrimination on any ground, including sex, race, religion, ethnic or social origin, disability, age or sexual orientation.
• The right to have your personal data protected.
• Strong EU consumer protection.
• Health protection by tough EU environmental standards, such as rules on the quality of air and water.

These values should always be a part of the innovative actions designed by Optiva Media and reflected in our projects financed under the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 called Horizon Europe (HEU). HEU has a total budget of €95.5 billion and the goal of enhancing Europe’s competitiveness.

In this spirit, the president of the European Commission Ursula Von der Layer outlined her Political Guidelines focus on six headline ambitions for Europe over the next five years and well beyond:

• A European Green Deal
• An economy that works for people
• A Europe fit for the digital age
• Protecting our European way of life
• A stronger Europe in the world
• A new push for European democracy

These guidelines set out four orientations for research and innovation investments under the Strategic Plan of HEU:

• Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains;
• Restoring Europe’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and managing sustainably natural resources;
• Making Europe the first digitally-enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy;
• Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society.

Moreover, the EU’s Cohesion Policy is strongly aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with 65% of the HEU’s budget devoted to addressing these goals.

How does Optiva Media contribute to HEU’s objectives?  

By defining these objectives together with its Member States, the EU has laid a solid foundation for the work to come. We are facing complex challenges, and solutions are expected to have a high impact.

Optiva Media strives to contribute to new frontiers of human development through our research and innovation efforts. Through transversal ICT technologies, Optiva Media has an impact not only on media and entertainment, but also on other areas within Horizon EU such as health, inclusive societies, smart cities, and creative industries. We believe that cooperation and creativity – especially scientific, social and technological – are the bedrock of peace and prosperity for all.