Information Society Council
Vanhanen's Cabinet 2003 - 2007
The Information Society Council was a negotiation body for steering the development of the information society and for coordinating cooperation between administrative branches and between administration, organisations and business life. The Council was chaired by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.
The Council has been assigned the following duties:
- to discuss the main policies regarding the development of the information society
- to anticipate, monitor and assess information society development and related impacts, possibilities and threats and to put forward initiatives to promote intersectoral cooperation
- to follow and discuss horizontal initiatives and legislative proposals relating to information society development and to monitor their implementation
- to follow international information society development and put forward proposals on Finland's policies
- to develop interaction between business life and administration in information society development projects
- to assess the Information Society Programme and its progress and to report to Government on the state of Finland's information society development.
The appointment of the Information Society Council was agreed upon in the Government Programme and replaced the former Consultative Committee on the Information Society. As a rule, the Information Society Council met three times a year.
Term of office
The Government appointed the Information Society Council on 4 September 2003. The Council's term of office was linked to the term of office of Prime Minister Vanhanen's Government. Ms Katrina Harjuhahto-Madetoja, Programme Director, acted as a Secretary-General of the Council.