Information society showcase: solutions for tomorrow's world
Interactive distance learning, on-the-street access to information on job opportunities and public access to documents from the British Library are just some of the many applications to be featured at the Information Society Showcase being held in Brussels on 25-26 February 1995. It will take place in conjunction with the G7 ministerial meeting on the information society on the same dates. The event will present over 100 technology applications that will deliver major benefits to communities and nations around the world. The showcase will underline the increasing potential of information and communications technologies to enhance the quality of life. One area which the Commission has chosen to highlight is that of education and in particular the advancement of distance learning. Two-way radio has been used for many years in Australia to allow teachers to reach children living in remote areas. Educational television programming employs moving and still images to enhance education and instruction courses by bringing together teachers and student separated by substantial distances. Interactive technology enables students equipped with a television and a personal computer to be instructed by "remote" teachers and to exchange documents electronically. Among the displays in the "teaching and learning" areas of the showcase is a computer-based multimedia conference facility linking schools in Tokyo, Sydney, San Jose and London. The other areas covered by the showcase are: - Culture; - Healthcare and the environment; - Manufacturing; - Applications for the office; - World Wide Web.