Ah Summertime, when the living is easy…

For us who live in Canada, at latitude 45o north, and who have been patiently waiting for months for the summer to roll in, well it finally arrived on June 21 at 3:11 p.m., as temperatures rose to 35oC.

Of course, this does not compare with the absolute record set on September 22, 1922, in El Aziza, Libya, in the North portion of the Sahara Desert, when the thermometer reached 58oC in the shade! Nevertheless, the effect here is instantaneous, and holiday euphoria makes it increasingly difficult to concentrate on our work. That is precisely what’s happening to me, as I would prefer to be on a lake or out at sea…

However, before leaving for the summer holidays, I would like to extend an invitation to the associations wishing to develop projects on the international level that call upon the expertise of their member companies, to get in touch with us as soon as possible, or upon returning from vacation. As you know, we will be meeting in Geneva next December for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and it will be the ideal opportunity to present these projects to large multilateral organisations and governments with a view to establishing partnerships.

Several associations have already submitted ideas that will be introduced in the process leading to the second phase in Tunis in 2005. Remember that to participate in the Summit, you must register before the 1st of August, 2003. For further information, see http://www.geneva2003.org/wsis/index_c01_2_07.htm .

I would also like to remind you that the FIAM Annual General Meeting will also be held in Geneva on December 9, and I invite you to note this event in your agenda right away. There will be vacancies to fill on the Board of Directors, and substantial changes will be made to the Federation By-laws. Your participation is essential if we want to proceed with these changes.

Until then, take care and have a great vacation!

André G. Côté, Director-general

Back to top

The World Bank, through its InfoDev Program, released early this year a comprehensive study entitled The Global Information Technology Report discussing the network readiness of 82 countries – readiness meaning here ‘how prepared an economy is to capture the benefits of technology to promote economic growth and productivity’. (Read more)

OECD : the Organization member countries have agreed to tackle the growing issue of cross-border fraudulent and deceptive practices, particularly on the Internet by publishing a Guidelines document outlining different possibilities and approaches to protect consumers. (Read interview)

Back to top

Malaysia
Chairman Looi Kien Leong presented early this year, in Kuala Lumpur, a document outlining the country’s new technology outlook and development for the year 2003. (Read more)

Brazil
The month of June is Information Society month in Brazil, in reference to the United Nations sponsored World Summit on the Information Society to be held in Geneva, December 10-12, 2003 (www.wsis.org) and Brazilian e-commerce association, Camara-e-net plays an important role in organizing and participating in several of these events. (Read more)

Canada
Alliance NumériQC announced early May the creation of a website that is providing export help to multimedia businesses in the province of Quebec. (Read more)

Ireland
The material is there but the Internet is daunting. Do not worry, say content specialists Editorial Consultancy who lay out, courtesy of the Irish Internet Association, the top 10 tips for effective websites communication. (Read more)

Back to top

Beam me up, Scotty! Four major private and private sector organizations and companies have pooled their human, financial and technological resources in order to deliver Filipino schools, countrywide, e-learning multimedia content through various mobile technologies. (Read more)

Will you be surfing this summer? Not really if you paid attention to the conclusions of a recent study by US-based market research company, comScore Networks Inc. Internet traffic seems to ‘mimic people’s seasonal patterns’ says Vice-President Dan Hess, and slows down as we get busy discovering the outdoors. (Read more)

Recognizing spam when it hit your mailbox until very recently was a fairly straightforward exercise for those receiving it. You either got rid of it yourself or asked your computer to do the job through filters and other content-blocking mechanisms. (Read more)

Back to top