MEDIA RELEASE

7 June 2000

QUEENSLAND HELPS SPONSOR NATIONAL WEB CONFERENCE

The Queensland Government's Department of State Development has become the latest high-profile sponsor of the Sixth Australian World Wide Conference (AusWeb2K) to be held in Cairns from 12-17 June.

The Director of the State Development Centre Cairns, Mr. Mike Fordham, said the support resulted from the Government's targeting of Information Technology and Communications as a growth area for Far North Queensland and the State at large. "Our $1,000.00 sponsorship to assist the staging of Australia's premier event for Web developers and users is part of a broad strategy to assist the growth of this key industry sector," he explained.

Mr. Fordham added that the SDC Cairns was working closely with the local Information Technology (IT) cluster, one of 11 formed by the Cairns Region Economic Development Corporation.

Queensland's involvement was welcomed by AusWeb2K's chair, Associate Professor Allan Ellis from Southern Cross University in northern NSW which has a strong record of Web-based initiatives, including co-hosting the Seventh International World Wide Wide conference in Brisbane two years ago.

He said "The Beattie government's support for the IT and communications sector has been admirable and for State Development to back this major conference will put it the good company of our major industry sponsors, Access Online, NextEd and Ansett Australia. The staging of this conference in a key regional centre will help advance Queensland's push to become a globally competitive trading economy."

AusWeb2K offers top speakers and workshops across a broad range of technical, e-commerce, educational and business fields. Participants can hear visiting keynote speakers such as the World Wide Web Consortium's Prof. Bob Hopgood who recently received Britain's first-ever OBE for computer science, San Francisco's Bob Futernick on using technology to manage gallery collections, Anthony Rowley of the highly successful Tasmania Business Online and Paul McKey, of NextEd Ltd, which designs global online education systems.

It also gives local people a range of workshops or tutorials on a half or full day basis. One highlight is 'Digital Horizons: Law & Business in the Digital Environment', a special seminar on the future of electronic commerce in such key areas as taxation, the law and E-health. It runs all day on Saturday, 17 June and costs $145.00. Details of the conference can be found at http://ausweb.scu.edu.au

Mr Robin Osborne, Media Liaison Officer, Office of the Vice-Chancellor
Phone: (02) 6620 3039 Mobile: 0418 431 484
Email: rosborne@scu.edu.au