The OII Standards and Specifications Fora List In the G7 Ministerial Conference on the Information Society, held in Brussels in February 1995, the G7 partners made a commitment to pursue interconnectivity and interoperability in the information and communication technologies (ICT) domain through the promotion of a consensu... In the G7 Ministerial Conference on the Information Society, held in Brussels in February 1995, the G7 partners made a commitment to pursue interconnectivity and interoperability in the information and communication technologies (ICT) domain through the promotion of a consensual standardization process which is market-led and which encourages open interfaces. In the specific area of Open Information Interchange (OII), which covers the exchange of information in electronic form, there is demonstrable evidence that both formal standards bodies and industry consortia have produced inter-related and, at times, competing output. Detailed background information on these formal standards and publicly available specifications is provided in the OII Standards and Specifications List. The OII Standards and Specifications Fora List, compiled under the auspices of the European Commission (DG XIII), is intended as a compendium to the OII Standards and Specifications List in that it provides additional information on the organizations referenced in the latter. On the other hand, the Fora List is also a self-standing reference for providing basic information on key organizations whose activities are relevant - either directly or indirectly - to the development, dissemination and promotion of standards or specifications in the OII domain. Given that the scope of OII constitutes a significant component of ICT, it is felt that the Fora List would be additionally useful to those who seek to obtain entry level information on activities which fall under the broader category of ICT standardization and specification. The current issue of the Fora List covers some of the key industry consortia, who can be broadly categorized as follows: - Industry consortia whose primary activity is the development of specifications and/or related technical material (e.g. technical guidance material); - Industry consortia whose primary activity is the dissemination/promotion of standards/specifications developed by other organization(s), including the promotion of their market acceptance. The Fora List is presently in its initial stages and will be expanded subsequently to cover: - Additional entries under the above categories; - Industry consortia with a specific industry sector focus; - Information on formal standardization bodies.
