Australian Computer Society

Media Release

IFIP 96 Brings the World IT Community to Australia

"IFIP 96 has been a tremendous success," said ACS President, Tom Worthington. "Not only has it provided a unique forum for the sharing and discussion of ideas from all around the globe about applications of new and emerging technologies, but the 600 delegates and presenters have had the opportunity to develop relationships with other people working in similar or related fields."

The biennial Congress of the International Federation for Information Processing, IFIP 96 comprised three concurrent World Conferences on the topics of: Advanced IT Tools; Mobile Computing; and TeleTeaching 96 - Practising What We Preach; as well as a fourth IT and Business Practice Stream, which focused on practical applications of technology in business and government.

The Congress also featured Canberra's largest IT exhibition with 47 companies demonstrating their latest technology offerings.

IFIP 96 Highlights

• Dr Wolfgang Wahlster of the University of Saarbrucken highlighted the newest developments in the Verbmobile Speech Translation project. He suggested that by the year 2000, cars will be available which can answer questions and respond to voice commands, while another spin-off from the project would enable automatic translation of conversations over the Internet. The Verbmobile project is supported by IBM, Phillips, Siemens and Mercedes Benz.
  
• NEC executive vice-president, Hajime Sasaki, revealed new breakthroughs in the design of large flat-panel television screens and laptop displays which will be thinner, lighter and brighter, to be available within the next few years.
• Germany's Dr Ralph Strauss discussed how small and medium-sized towns could become 'wired cities', which would maximise their ability to take advantage of increasing demands for online products and services.
• Educators from various countries overseas visited schools in Canberra and presented students with toys from their native countries. The 'Buddies' were gifts from overseas students who have been corresponding with the Australian children via the Internet during the months before the Congress.
• Sydney-based Bill Nielson and his band, Kid Sister, brought a refreshing touch to the conference proceedings with a live Internet concert on Wednesday morning, inviting participants around the world to request songs and contribute lyrics to the performance.
• Teleteaching 96 delegates spent Thursday morning building a virtual exhibition which linked to dozens of education sites around the world.
• Telstra's Bob James predicted corporate use of the Internet would increase dramatically over the next few years with many companies investing vast resources in providing direct information access to customers rather than restricting Internet access to a select few within the organisation.
• Federal Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism, John Moore, used the IFIP 96 Opening Ceremony on Monday to announce the formation of a new Taskforce to develop a national information strategy.

ACS Web Site Provides Daily Updates and Photographs

IFIP 98

ENDS

Media Enquiries:

• Tom Worthington, ACS President, Email: tom.worthington@tomw.net.au
• Caroline New, ACS Public Relations Consultant, Tel: +61 2 630 2108, Mobile: 041 188 9456, Fax: +61 2 630 1685 Email: cnew@acslink.net.au

• ACS Home Page