Malmö, a city in transition

On 1 July 2009, Sweden took over the Presidency of the EU. Because the scandinavian country is also ranked No. 1 in the annual United Nations e-Government report, Sweden is guest of honor of the World e-Democracy Forum 2009. The Swedish Ambassador in France will present the main trends of IT development in his country, a country with a long democratic tradition that has elected for the first time, last June, an representative of the "Pirate Party", defending its position that file sharing (e.g. music) should be decriminalized, at the European Parliament. 

Other Swedish guest of the World e-Democracy Forum 2009: Malmö, Sweden's third largest city, host of 18 to 20 November next European Ministerial Conference on e-Government. Hard hit by the crisis of 1970' and 80', Malmö has been modernized through ICT and sustainable development. Ms Carina Nilsson, President of Malmö e-Committee and Deputy Mayor, will present the initiatives of the city.

On 1 July 2009, Sweden took over the Presidency of the EU. Because the scandinavian country is also ranked No. 1 in the annual United Nations e-Government report, Sweden is guest of honor of the World e-Democracy Forum 2009. The Swedish Ambassador in France will present the main trends of IT development in his country, a country with a long democratic tradition that has elected for the first time, last June, an representative of the "Pirate Party", defending its position that file sharing (e.g. music) should be decriminalized, at the European Parliament. 

Other Swedish guest of the World e-Democracy Forum 2009: Malmö, Sweden's third largest city, host of 18 to 20 November next European Ministerial Conference on e-Government. Hard hit by the crisis of 1970' and 80', Malmö has been modernized through ICT and sustainable development. Ms Carina Nilsson, President of Malmö e-Committee and Deputy Mayor, will present the initiatives of the city.

Between 1975 and 1990, closure of shipyards and decline of other industries plunge Malmö in the worst recession it has ever known. In the late 1970s, unemployment rate exceeds 30% in some neighborhoods. In 1995, a new municipal team, led by the architect Ilmar Reepalu, reverse the spiral of decline. The new mayor gets the construction of a bridge linking the city to Copenhagen, the dynamic Danish capital, the creation of a university and the organization of a European exhibition on future housing, in 2001. Three events that will profoundly transform the regional capital of Scania, southern Sweden.

Malmö is also distinguished for the development of its online services, intended for the inhabitants. Applications include novel is Sara, an interactive online help that answers questions from citizens 24/24 from the City website. The tool includes questions posed in natural language and has already responded to hundreds of thousands of issues.

• Official Website of Malmö