Once again over 49,000 people with a unique relationship to the mobile industry were gathered in Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress. There is no doubt that the conference has been a great success - when you put that many people in such a small space, from an industry that is so dynamic, the result will be a very special energy that cannot be described, but needs to be experienced.

The Mobile World Congress has many traditions and the combination of gaining industry knowledge, the possibility of meeting colleagues from all over the world, and the social events, results in almost all participants leaving Barcelona much wiser, much more tired and with a great many opportunities to develop and expand their business
 

Forum Nokia announced Calling All Innovators 2010, an international application development contest designed to inspire creativity and change.
 
Calling All Innovators 2010 features four categories for submissions that enhance the use of Nokia mobile devices in real-world scenarios:
- Eco/Being Green
- Productivity
- Life Improvement
- Entertainment
 
The top 3 submissions in each of these 4 categories will be rewarded with the following prices:
First price: 30,000 USD in cash
Second price: 15,000 USD in cash
Third price: 5,000 USD in cash

Beside the above mentioned categories, Belgium also offers a price for the best submission (in one of the above categories) which is locally relevant for consumers of mobile phones in Belgium. On top of the global prices, you can win an extra price of 5.000 euro cash. The winners of the 2nd and 3rd place will be rewarded with the newest and coolest nokia device.
 
To find all the information to participate to Calling All Innovators, go to http://www.callingallinnovators.com.

Robin Wauters of Open Coffee Club Brussels shares following  events:

- Plugg 2010: I'm the lead organizer of this event, and we've just kicked off earlier this morning. The event will be held Thursday 11 March in Belgacom SURF House in Brussels.

Limited early-bird tickets available for only €250 until the end of this month. I sincerely hope you'll be there this year (again), we're going to put on a great show!

More info here.

- BetaGroup #15: Thursday 21 January at ULB. You can register for free here.

- Café Numérique au Mirano: Wednesday 20 January from 7PM. More info here.

- For more events you might be interested in, check the shared BetaGroup calendar.

In many ways, while our technologies are already 4G, our philosophies are still 1G. We have our cell phones and everything they symbolise, technological wizardry nothing short of magic, but we have yet to leave Plato's cave.  Read more of this excellent article on ethics- science and the rest.