SILK AVENUE
A Matchmaking Event co-financed by the Asia Invest Programme of the European Commission
Rome, Italy - October 13-14, 2005

The Silk Avenue Event is designed to increase cooperation between European and Asian SMEs in the Audiovisuals sector. In particular, 150 European enterprises (from Italy, Spain, Germany and the England) will have the opportunity to meet and launch new projects in cooperation with 100 enterprises operating in the AV sector in South-East Asia (from India, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines).
The Asian SMEs will be entitled to a flight-incentive grant that will partially cover travel expenses.
The Silk Avenue Matchmaking Event Programme has been designed to provide European and South-East Asian SMEs operating in the Audiovisuals sector with the unique opportunity to:

    > be listed in the Silk Avenue catalogue along with other selected AV companies;

    > meet with other AV companies through specific pre-arranged appointments;

    > network with AV Industry delegates from Europe and South-East Asia;

    > gain a better understanding of the European and South-East Asian Audiovisual markets.


The Silk Avenue Event

Day 1

    > The day will begin with a plenary session with welcome addresses by the institutional authorities to kick-off the event. This    will    be followed by an introduction to the event by the main organiser and a seminar, including a speech by an invited testimonial,    the    analysis of remarkable experiences in the AV industry, and a wrap-up conclusion on the future of collaboration between Europe    and Asia in the AV sector;

    > Following the lunch break, the bilateral meetings among the participants will be held for the remainder of the afternoon. The    meetings will be pre-arranged on the basis of the indicated profiles and interests of the participants. However, there will also be    the opportunity for all delegates to organise unscheduled meetings;

    > A networking event will be hosted at the end of the day to allow the further development of contacts between delegates in a more     informal atmosphere.

Day 2

    > The bilateral meetings among the participants will take place for the entire duration of the second event day.

Eight "one-to-one" business meetings will be arranged for each participating enterprise, amounting to a total of 2000 meetings.
The focus of the event will be on the revolution of the AV sector caused by the impact of the digital technologies.


Pre-event programme Guided Visits

A pre-event "Day 0" on October 12, 2005 will precede the actual Silk Avenue Event. The pre-event programme will include guided visits to the studios of important Lazio region AV audiovisual firms, including demos of the products, services and facilities that these organisations can provide to interested parties. In particular, visits have been organised to: