ZENIT anniversary celebrations in Brussels too!

In order to honour its 25th anniversary in a European context too, ZENIT invited its network partners and friends on 1 October 2009 to the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Brussels. Some 90 representatives from European politics, business, and administration joined in the celebrations.

In the framework of the official part of the programme, Dr. Otmar Schuster, Chairman of the Advisory Board of ZENIT GmbH, stressed the unalterable values of small and medium-sized enterprises, such as free competition, responsibility, liability and close teamwork, and presented some ZENIT instruments with which SMEs can get to grips actively with the challenge of globalisation and assert their position in the marketplace. Peter Wolfmeyer, ZENIT's Managing Director, reviewed its 25-year history as a key player in European networks and shared with the audience its vision for the future. With the merging of the former Euro Info Centre and Innovation Relay Centre networks, tried and tested structures and methods have on the one hand been preserved, and access for SMEs to EU services facilitated on the other hand by the "no wrong door policy". ZENIT was and remains in this context the "external task force" for small and medium-sized enterprises in North Rhine-Westphalia, and aims to continue accompanying them along their European journey. The words of praise spoken about ZENIT by the keynote speakers, Maive Rute, Director DG RTD/E, and Mechthild Wörsdörfer, Acting Director DG ENTR/E, both of the European Commission, were an inspiring source of motivation for its future work.

At the reception held afterwards, ZENIT's guests enjoyed meeting up with friends, colleagues and partners from past and present, and making the acquaintance of new international contacts.

	Maive Rute, Director of DG RTD/E of the European Commission, spoke about the role of funding in successful technology transfer.
	The Acting Director of DG ENTR/E, Mechthild Wörsdörfer, emphasised the considerable opportunities offered to Europe's regions by the Enterprise Europe Network.
	ZENIT's Managing Director, Peter Wolfmeyer, reviewed its 25-year history as a key player in European networks and shared with the audience its vision for the future.
	Dr. Otmar Schuster, Chairman of the Advisory Board of ZENIT GmbH, Maive Rute, Mechthild Wörsdörfer and Peter Wolfmeyer, ZENIT's Managing Director, cut the birthday cake.