This year, Eva Pascoe will be giving the NMK Christmas Lecture, presented in association with Cybersalon.

Cyberia, the world's first fully Internet-enabled Café opened 10 years ago in a West End backstreet, with customers who had to be taught how to use a browser and bandwidth a fraction of what we have come to expect from our computers at home. Today, there are tens of thousands of Internet Cafés across the world. Travellers and migrants populate London's, while from Baghdad to Beijing, people continue to bring machines together, in order for machines to bring people together.

Coffee houses have been at the vanguard of many of the world's most significant developments, be it Enlightenment philosophy, the financial services industries, the French revolution or global trade. No wonder, then, that at the end of the twentieth century, Cafés should have been so important in the emergence of the networked society.

With illustrations, Eva will tell the early history of Cyberia, drawing directly on her experiences in managing the Café and as a technology pioneer and entrepreneur. In the course of the talk, she will reflect on the legacy of Cyberia: how Internet Cafés have evolved over the years, what their role is today, and how society and communications technologies continue to impact on one another.

Eva Pascoe

Ms Pascoe first came to prominence in 1994 when she founded the world’s first cybercafé. Her company, the highly successful Cyberia Group was responsible for the development of the high street cybercafé concept model and rolled it out worldwide.

In 1996 she co-founded the first cybercafé in Paris, the success of which has been applauded by the French Retail Council leading to a very special award, the Gold Medal of Madame de Commerce, sponsored by Madame Chirac.

Her journey into “cyberland” started in Poland, where she studied linguistics and worked on the early computer-based speech simulation models. She then moved to London to study Cognitive Psychology at London University where she worked on computer-based risk management. She was involved in the development and design of interfaces and her research focused on designing computer interfaces for use in nuclear power stations as well as in the emergency services.

Since 1997 she has been contributing to The Independent and Guardian commenting on the lastest trends in IT and global technology. She has been awarded both the Grand Award and the Design Award by The Sunday Times for her contribution to the Information Superhighway. A regular guest on Newsnight and The Midnight Hour, she has survived a number of verbal battles with Jeremy Paxman, and has been invited to contribute to the debate on the future shape of the BBC On-line.

In 1998 she co-founded Zoom.co.uk, bringing the first fashion shops on line, amongst them Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and many other high street fashion chains. As Managing Director of Zoom she worked on a number of innovative on-line e-commerce solutions for Philip Green and Stuart Rose (CEO of M&S). Recently she has set up a new venture, combining her human-computer interface and e-commerce expertise in the new area of m-commerce.

Eva is also currently involved in the development of the European e-commerce and m-commerce regulations for the European commission.

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception hosted by Accenture e-democracy services.

This event is now fully booked. However a few additional spaces are available for those who would like to join the social and networking part of the evening and to watch Eva's lecture screened in the Dana Centre's d.cafe. This may provide an opportunity to see the lecture live, on a first come first served basis, if after 7.20pm pre-bookings have not been claimed and seats become available. Please book directly with the Dana Centre by emailing tickets@danacentre.org.

You can e-mail in your questions and comments in advance or during the event itself by contacting talk@danacentre.org.uk.

Report on the event.