With the opening of the Invex-Computer trade fair the premiere of its "third pillar" - the Invex Forum conference - began in the Rotunda of Pavilion A. The first day of the conference, held under the auspices of the Minister of Transport and Communications Antonφn Peltrßm, bore the sub-title "The State in the Age of Information". The conference guests, who included David Drury, marketing vice-president of the company

Fore Systems, Chuck Haggerty, president of the company Western Digital, Steve Chase, regional manager of the company Intel, Purna Pareek, vice-president of Progress Software Corp. and, by means of a video connection enabling participation of a truly Europe-wide scope, Ji°φ Fabißn, managing director of PVT, Michael Lahav, European commercial director of VCON and others, were welcomed by a message from the director general of BVV Antonφn Surka and Minister of Transport and Communications Antonφn Peltrßm, after which the first day of the conference really got going.

The opening speech was given by Steven Frantzen, IDC managing director for Central and Eastern Europe. He made a brief mention of the history of information technology, and stated that the global IT market is now entering the third and most important phase in its development - a phase in which IT will affect practically every consumer in developed countries, with the number of users reaching the billion mark at the beginning of the next century. The proportion of IT users in the public sector will also increase, particularly in the public and state administration. This speech was followed by a discussion on the use of IT in the state administration, which raised a number of issues relating to state support for IT development.

The afternoon session of the conference began with a lecture by Horst-Jurgen Lahmann, special advisor to the European Commission in Brussels, entitled "Is the Integration of Europe Really So Complicated?". In his lecture Mr. Lahmann compared the problems faced by the Czech Republic in relation to entry into the EU with the problems faced by other countries with similar initial conditions. The lecture given by the Lithuanian ambassador to the Czech Republic Vygintas Grinis covered the same topic. He acquainted those present with the Lithuanian position on EU integration, particularly in terms of legal regulation, telecommunications and support for the creation of an "information society".

The next lecture at the conference, "Integrational and Legislative Aspects of the Integration of the Czech Republic into NATO and the EU" was given by Petr Kubernßt, director of the department for the coordination of relations with the EU at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His lecture summarised the requirements necessary in this sensitive area and the current situation. Comparing the two lectures this could serve as a useful example to the Czech Republic, particularly in legislative terms. The final lecture on the first day of the conference, entitled "Information Technology and the State Administration", was given by FrantiÜek Dohnal, chairman of the Association of Municipal and Local Authorities of the Czech Republic, and provided information on the possibilities for the application of IT in local government. The message of this lecture can be summarised as being that the greatest problem facing the application of IT in the Czech Republic lies not with legislation or the technology itself, but rather in the thinking of the population.

The next section in the programme gave conference guests the opportunity of seeing a number of specific examples of IT applications on the stands of exhibitors at the Invex-Computer fair, in the form of four thematic routes - electronic trade, customer databases, company information systems and infrastructure and communication. The first day of Invex Forum then came to an end with informal discussion at a reception in the Rotunda of Pavilion A.