- From: Janet Daly <janet@w3.org>
- Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 21:01:27 -0800
- To: w3c-news <w3c-news@w3.org>
Good news in the age of tech contraction. W3C will be moving its
European host to ERCIM, expanding its base from one country to 16 for
improved research and development opportunities.
Quoting Tim Berners-Lee:
"The Web grows stronger and more useful when there are real commitments
to engaging international presence and influence in Web technology
development," explained Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director. "For W3C, it
means having one headquarters - http://www.w3.org/ - supported by three
global partners - MIT, Keio University and now ERCIM. With the move to
ERCIM, there is the potential for considerable growth and synergies of
Web technologies across Europe."
For more information, contact Janet Daly <janet@w3.org>, +1 617 253
5884, or refer to the contact person in your region. The list is at the
end of this email message.
Web resources:
Press release:
http://www.w3.org/2002/11/ercim-pressrelease
(it's in 18 languages this time around!)
Testimonials:
http://www.w3.org/2002/11/ercim-testimonial.html
(only in english)
---------------------
World Wide Web Consortium to Move European Host to ERCIM
INRIA Instrumental in Bringing Two International Initiatives Together
http://www.w3.org/ -- 27 November 2002 -- The World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C), the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and
Control (INRIA) and the European Research Consortium for Informatics and
Mathematics (ERCIM) jointly announced organizational changes which aim
to strengthen research relationships throughout Europe to better support
Web technology development.
The change of W3C European Host from INRIA to ERCIM will take place on 1
January 2003. The change allows W3C to better leverage research
relationships throughout Europe, while maintaining its historically
strong relationship to INRIA, one of the ERCIM founders.
W3C Has History of International Organization, Beginning With INRIA
Since its inception in the United States at MIT's Laboratory for
Computer Science in October 1994, W3C has made sure that the World Wide
Web lives up to its name and its promise. At the insistence of its
Director, Tim Berners-Lee, the W3C has equal presence in North America,
Europe and Asia. W3C identifies not-for profit institutions to serve as
regional headquarters and provide physical locations for staffing. These
institutions are identified as W3C "hosts."
When INRIA was chosen as the first W3C European host in April 1995, W3C
had 50 Members in 4 countries; the only European country with W3C
Members at that time was the United Kingdom. INRIA provided distinct and
immediate advantages, driving awareness and Membership in France and
throughout Europe. Over the next seven years, INRIA's resources
attracted both Member organizations and technical staffing to W3C. It
also provided crucial links to European research communities. Today, the
W3C Membership exceeds 450 organizations, with representation in nearly
every country in Europe.
During this time, W3C received financial support from the European
Commission to build a network of Offices throughout Europe with initial
staffing from INRIA. Currently, W3C has 13 Offices worldwide, with 8 in
Europe. Offices work with W3C hosts promoting local languages,
broadening W3C's geographical base, and encouraging international
participation in W3C Activities. Seven of the European Offices are
already based at ERCIM Institutes, including: CWI (Benelux); Fraunhofer
IMK (Germany and Austria); FORTH (Greece); MTA SZTAKI (Hungary); CNR
(Italy); SICS (Sweden) and CCLRC (UK and Ireland).
Moving From INRIA to ERCIM Is Natural for European Expansion
As the Web has grown into a more widespread and essential resource for
industry, academia, governments, and their citizens, there is a
pronounced need for an even more diverse infrastructure and support
network. Establishing the W3C's European base at ERCIM will be
beneficial to all involved.
"INRIA provided the necessary foundations for European involvement in
Web infrastructure development, and now we have the opportunity to
expand into a new phase," explained Bernard Larrouturou, President of
INRIA. "Moving the host to ERCIM is consistent with our culture of
incubating new initiatives and our commitment to strengthening the IT
community in Europe. It will enable us to maintain our strong
relationship with W3C while expanding into the boundless resources of a
pan-European network of research institutes - benefiting both ERCIM and
W3C."
W3C's Move to ERCIM Opens New Opportunities to integrate Web Research
and Industry in Europe
ERCIM was founded in 1989 by INRIA, GMD (now merged with
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Germany), and CWI (Centrum voor Wiskunde en
Informatica, The Netherlands), to build a European not-for-profit
consortium dedicated to the advancement of information technology and
applied mathematics.
Currently, research institutes from 16 countries are members of ERCIM.
Each member institute is a leading research establishment in its own
country with excellent links to both national and international research
communities. All ERCIM members are national centers, independent of
commercial ties. Each institute has strong involvement in the research
programs of the European Union and joint projects with small and medium
size enterprises as well as large industrial companies.
ERCIM is a European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG), a legal entity in
Europe. Gerard Van Oortmerssen, Director of CWI, is the current ERCIM
President, and Bernard Larrouturou, INRIA's CEO, acts as ERCIM's General
Manager.
"The ERCIM Directors were already aware of W3C. ERCIM member institutes
have been active in W3C working groups, and several act as W3C Offices,"
noted Gerard van Oortmerssen. "As a network of IT research centers,
ERCIM encompasses over 10,000 researchers. W3C will benefit from this
reservoir of expertise. For ERCIM, this change brings an opportunity to
enhance cooperation on a global scale."
"The Web grows stronger and more useful when there are real commitments
to engaging international presence and influence in Web technology
development," explained Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director. "For W3C, it
means having one headquarters - http://www.w3.org/ - supported by three
global partners - MIT, Keio University and now ERCIM. With the move to
ERCIM, there is the potential for considerable growth and synergies of
Web technologies across Europe."
Testimonials
As an ERCIM Member, CCLRC is pleased to belong to the new European host
for W3C. CCLRC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory has been home to the
W3C's UK and Ireland office since 1997, and has brought W3C awareness
not only to those in CCLRC, but also through communications campaigns
throughout the UK and Ireland. CCLRC's association with W3C has provided
industrial relevance contributed to our success in acquiring funding. In
particular, developments towards the vision of the Semantic Web provide
both exciting research opportunities and the prospect of overcoming long
known of limitations in globally interoperable IT services.
-- Prof John Wood, Chief Executive, CCLRC
As a longstanding member of both ERCIM (since 1992) and W3C (since
1995), CNR is pleased to belong to the new European host for W3C. CNR
has been home to the W3C's Office in Italy since 1999, which has brought
awareness of W3C technologies throughout Italy. In particular, as part
of the new European host: we expect to extend the invaluable
opportunities for technology transfer offered by operating as a W3C
Office; and we believe the vision of the Semantic Web provides for
exciting collaborative research opportunities across ERCIM.
-- Prof Piero Maestrini, Director, Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie
dell' Informazione "A. Faedo" (ISTI-CNR), Pisa
CWI, The National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer
Science in the Netherlands, is one of the founders in 1989 of ERCIM, the
new European host for W3C. CWI has been and is actively involved in W3C
Working Groups (SMIL, (X)HTML, SVG, Semantic Web, etc.), and hosts the
W3C Benelux Office since 1998. The organisational change is welcomed by
CWI. Both W3C and ERCIM will greatly benefit from the synergy and
complementary effects.
-- Gerard van Oortmerssen, President of ERCIM and Director of CWI -
Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science, The Netherlands.
Digital Media Institute (DMI) is pleased to belong to the new European
host for W3C. DMI has hosted the W3C Finnish Office since 2002 and
>stimulated W3C awareness in Finland. DMI thrives to lead the Web to
its full potential not only as a office host but also as a W3C Member,
by doing significant research and development work in the field of
digital media.
-- Hannu Eskola, Director, DMI
ERCIM, established in 1989, views the hosting of the World Wide Web
Consortium for the European zone as an opportunity for increasing
cooperation already in existence between ERCIM members and the W3C. As
the development of web technologies requires further research
activities, technology transfer and standardisation, developing the
relationship and increasing the synergy between the W3C team and the
research teams of the ERCIM institutes is of high mutual interest.
-- Bruno le Dantec, ERCIM Deputy Manager
As the representative of Greece in the European Research Consortium for
Informatics and Mathematics, the Institute of Computer Science (ICS) of
the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) welcomes this
organizational change. ICS-FORTH, host of the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) Office in Greece since 1998 and pioneering contributor towards the
deployment and adoption of Information Society Technologies, conducts
cutting-edge Research and Development in W3C-related areas including
Accessibility, the Semantic Web, and Device Independence.
-- Stelios Orphanoudakis, Vice-President of ERCIM and director of ICS-FORTH
The "Fraunhofer Institute for Media Communication" (IMK) is hosting the
W3C office in Germany and Austria now for more than 4 years. Web
multimedia technologies based on W3C's XML standards are an important
foundation of future media communication. Being one of the first German
members of W3C and a founding member of ERCIM we welcome opportunities
for closer cooperation that result from ERCIM becoming a host of W3C.
-- Professor Martin Reiser, Director, Fraunhofer IMK
This is an exciting time for W3C. In establishing a European Host at
ERCIM, we make it possible to continue our productive relationship with
INRIA, and to establish new relationships with prestigious research
institutions throughout Europe. These new connections will help both W3C
and the ERCIM institutes develop new ideas and technologies that may
better lead the Web to its full potential.
-- Dr. Steve Bratt, Chief Operating Officer, W3C/MIT
The Swedish Institute of Computer Science (SICS) is already the regional
host of W3C, as well as an active member of ERCIM since 1992. We
consider closer cooperation between the two organisations most natural
and well-founded as it offers clear advantages for both. SICS is proud
to contribute to this powerful research network especially in the areas
of infrastructure and global, mobile access to rich information sources
for all.
-- Gunnar Bjurel, Managing Director, SICS
MTA SZTAKI, the Computer and Automation Research Institute of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences is pleased to address the moving W3C
European Host to ERCIM because of the 7 year old strong relationship.
SZTAKI is active member in working groups and activities (eg. DELOS
digital library initiative) of ERCIM and hopes the new relation - SZTAKI
as W3C Hungarian Office and ERCIM as W3C European Host - will drive W3C
Membership and awareness in using W3C technologies in Hungary.
-- Dr. Peter Inzelt, Director of MTA SZTAKI - Computer and Automation
Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]
The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing
common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its
interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run
by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the
National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA)
in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the
Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web
for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications
to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, over 450 organizations
are Members of the Consortium.
For more information about the World Wide Web Consortium, see
http://www.w3.org/
About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]
The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing
common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its
interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run
by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the
National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA)
in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the
Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web
for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications
to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, nearly 450 organizations
are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/
About ERCIM
The European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM)
is an organization dedicated to the advancement of European research and
development in information technology and applied mathematics. Its
sixteen national member institutions aim to foster collaborative work
within the European research community and to increase co-operation with
European industry. For more information see http://www.ercim.org/
About INRIA
Founded in 1967, the French National Institute for Research in Computer
Science and Control works at the heart of the information society and
networks the skills of all French research and training organizations
active in the areas of Information Technologies and Sciences.
Consequently, half of the 95 research project-teams currently underway
at INRIA are being carried out jointly with universities, leading
schools and research organizations. INRIA plays a determining role in
four areas of research: networks and systems ; software engineering and
symbolic computation ; man-machine interaction, imaging, data,
knowledge; simulation and optimization of complex systems. INRIA is
actively involved in technology transfer programs: it has concluded 600
contracts with industry and spun off some 60 private companies, notably
through its INRIA-Transfert subsidiary, promoter of 4 seed funds:
I-Source 1&2 in the field of ICST, C-Source (Multimedia) and T-Source
(Telecommunications). For more information about INRIA, see:
http//www.inria.fr/
Contacts W3C:
Americas, Australia --
Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Europe, Middle East and Africa --
Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94
Asia --
Saeko Takeuchi, <saeko@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170
Contact INRIA:
Christine Genest, <christine.genest@inria.fr>, +33 1 39 63 57 29
Contact ERCIM:
Bruno Le Dantec, <bruno.le_dantec@ercim.org>, +33 4 92 38 50 40
(This press release is also available in Arabic, Chinese Simplified,
Chinese Traditional, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek,
Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Slovak, and
Swedish.)
###
Received on Wednesday, 27 November 2002 00:01:40 UTC