May 4, 1998
University of Washington unveils APEC Internet Collaboration Center:
Washington, D.C.–The University of Washington unveiled today on Capitol Hill the APEC Internet Collaboration Center-next generation Internet technology that will re-define how international policy is formulated in the Internet Age.
The Asia Pacific E conomic Cooperation forum (APEC) is the principal international organization for promoting open trade and economic cooperation among 21 member economies around the Pacific Rim. The APEC Internet Collaboration Center (ICC) provides a new model of how poli cy-makers in government, business and academia can work collaboratively across the Internet to advance foreign policy initiatives in the Asia Pacific region.
The ICC delivers advanced Internet technology to the desk-tops of policy-makers across the As ia Pacific region via a standard Web browser, overcoming the many cost and time penalties associated with traditional means of communication (fax, mail, phone). Policy-makers from Singapore to Washington can now access the same Internet tools on the ICC to co-author electronic documents, conduct research and develop policy initiatives securely and reliably with their peers regardless of distance.
Beginning this month, several policy initiatives will move their communications to the ICC. The first, APE C Open Food System, is a major initiative of the United States and New Zealand to liberalize agriculture markets, promote rural infrastructure development and increase technology transfer in the Asia Pacific region. Using the ICC on a daily basis, over 3 00 decision-makers around the Pacific Rim will be sharing ideas, co-writing proposals and generating recommendations to present to APEC officials when they meet for their annual summit in November.
The University of Washington developed the ICC for APEC as part of the APEC Leaders Education Initiative. Universities operating at the forefront of Internet change continue to lead in the application of Internet technologies to new areas. With over twenty years experience in Internet R&D and five years wor king with APEC, the University of Washington has spent the last two years in a partnership with IBM, Microsoft and the Cordada Group to design and deploy this advanced Internet platform for APEC.
For further information, contact:
APEC Internet Collab oration Center
University of Washington
Box 353690
Seattle, Washington 98195-3690
Tel 206.616.9101
Fax 206.616.6982
collaborate@icc.apec.org
http://www.icc.apec.org
