News Release: W3C Announces European Symposium on Role of Web Standards in eGovernment

W3C will hold a Symposium to learn how Web Standards can better  
accelerate and improve eGovernment services and features. The event,  
held in early February in Spain, is open to the public, but  
registration is required. To learn more, please contact Janet Daly,  
W3C Global Communications Officer, at +1 617 253 5884 <janet@w3.org>  
or the W3C Communications Team representative in your region.

W3C Announces Symposium on Role of Web Standards in eGovernment
Participants to Discuss How Web Standards Enable Governments to be  
More Efficient, Accountable

Web Resources

	This press release
		In English: http://www.w3.org/2007/01/egov-pressrelease.html.en
		In French: http://www.w3.org/2007/01/egov-pressrelease.html.fr
		In Japanese: http://www.w3.org/2007/01/egov-pressrelease.html.ja
		In Spanish: http://www.w3c.es/Prensa/2007/nota070116_e-gov.html

	Symposium on eGovernment Home page
		http://www.w3c.es/Eventos/2007/eGov/

http://www.w3.org -- 16 January 2007 -- To understand how Web  
standards can make interactions between governments and citizens more  
efficient, accountable, and secure, the World Wide Web Consortium  
(W3C) is holding a European Symposium on eGovernment on 1-2 February  
2007 in Gijón, Asturias, Spain. Participants will discuss issues that  
governments and citizens currently face in their use of Web  
technology. The Symposium may lead to suggestions for improvements in  
W3C specifications or further W3C energies devoted to eGovernment  
initiatives.

The Symposium is organized by the W3C Spain Office and Fundacion  
CTIC, and receives support from the Principality of Asturias Government.

Attendance is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Citizens Eager for Advances in Effective eGovernment

eGovernment refers to the use of the Web or other information  
technologies by governing bodies to interact with their citizenry.  
Like any information provider, governments have found it useful and  
efficient to interact with customers — citizens — online, allowing  
them to file tax returns online, take drivers education classes,  
access forms, and vote. Access to information, and efficient and  
secure interactions, help ensure fair governance. Following  
interoperable, open Web standards helps ensure access to information  
to people with diverse capabilities, using various devices, and helps  
ensure that "the people's data" will remain available long into the  
future.

"Web standards created at W3C currently enjoy broad use in  
eGovernment," said Ralph Swick, Acting Technology and Society Domain  
Lead at W3C. "We hope that participants at the symposium provide us  
with critical information to help us develop new technologies that  
meet citizens' needs and goals."

Representatives from eGovernment Initiatives and W3C to Share Expertise

The Symposium audience will include government institutions,  
technology companies, and consultants working in eGovernment services  
and eGovernment users (citizens, local industry, etc.). They are  
likely to discuss the following topics (and possibly others):  
eGovernment requirements; challenges citizens and governments face  
when using information technology; interaction, accessibility and  
mobile Web within eGovernment services; Web Services and eGovernment;  
Semantic Web and eGovernment; Security and privacy in eGovernment  
transactions.

Speakers participating in this symposium include Peter F. Brown  
(Founder of Pensive.eu and eGovernment Focus Group Chair, CEN), Serge  
Novaretti (Project Officer, European eGovernment Services - IDABC,  
European Commission), Eric Velleman (Director, Bartimeus  
Accessibility Foundation), Vassilios Peristeras (Senior Researcher),  
and Tomas Vitvar (Group Leader SIB - National University of Ireland,  
DERI Galway), as well as W3C experts such as Daniel Dardailler  
(Associate Chair for Europe, W3C), Ivan Herman (Semantic Web Activity  
Lead, W3C), Steven Pemberton (Chair of HTML and Forms Working Groups,  
W3C), and Yves Lafon (Web Services Activity Lead).

W3C and W3C Spain Office are grateful to sponsors Ayuntamiento de  
Zaragoza, Satec, Universidad de Oviedo, Fundación Dintel and  
Ayuntamiento de Gijón, who have generously agreed to provide  
financial or in-kind services to help ensure the success of the W3C  
European Symposium on eGovernment.

Contact Americas and Australia --
     Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Contact Europe, Africa and Middle-East --
     Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94
Contact Asia --
     Yasuyuki Hirakawa, <chibao@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium  
where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work  
together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission  
through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to  
ensure long-term growth for the Web. Over 400 organizations are  
Members of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer  
Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the  
USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics  
(ERCIM) headquartered in France and Keio University in Japan,and has  
additional Offices worldwide. For more information see http://www.w3.org

Received on Tuesday, 16 January 2007 14:53:45 UTC