World Wide Web Consortium Launches Hungarian Office

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W3C strengthens presence in Central Europe through Hungarian outreach

 

http://www.w3.org/ -- 24 September 2002 -- The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) launches its Hungarian Office, based at the Computer and Automation Research Institute (SZTAKI) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) in Budapest, Hungary. Dr. Daniel Dardailler, W3C Deputy Director for Europe, a representative of the Ministry of Informatics and Communications, and Dr. Péter Inzelt, Director of MTA SZTAKI are among those attending today's opening ceremonies at the MTA, in Budapest.

The Hungarian Office is the first office in Central Europe, joining an active roster which includes a number of European Offices of W3C as well as the W3C European host site at INRIA in France.

The opening ceremony is a public event, with presentations and tutorials from the W3C Team, including:

  • Dr. Daniel Dardailler, W3C Deputy Director for Europe: "Overview of W3C's Operation"
  • Dr. Marie-Claire Forgue, European Communications Officer of W3C: "W3C Process for Issuing W3C Recommendations"
  • Dr. Ivan Herman, Head of Offices at W3C: "Introduction to the Semantic Web"
  • Dr. Vincent Quint, W3C Document Formats Domain leader: "Device Independence and Multimodal Access to the Web"
  • Dr. Max Froumentin, Math Activity Lead and XSL Working Group Team Contact: "XML Technologies in Action"
  • Dr. László Kovács, Head of W3C Hungarian Office and Head of the Department of Distributed Systems of MTA SZTAKI: "Projects about the Web"

Hungary's Internet Presence, Industry is Growing

Hungarian economy shows the most dynamic and attractive growth in the region, especially with respect to information technology and telecommunication. Multinational companies increasingly establish their research and development centers in Hungary. This is accompanied by a strong local IT industry, and a multitude of SMEs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises), which is arguably the most exciting development of contemporary Hungarian economy. As a result, Budapest is currently growing into a major IT center and significant market in Central Europe.

The Hungarian Government recognized the significance of the Internet relatively early. In 1987, in cooperation with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, it launched the first program to establish an information infrastructure for the entire Hungarian R&D and academic community. In doing so, Hungary was at the forefront of the development in the entire region. Today, Web adoption in Hungary is strong. Exciting new developments, Web applications, services are born every day, bearing witness of a top-level local development community. For these reasons and others, Hungary is an ideal site for a new W3C Office.

SZTAKI to Provide W3C Connection and Outreach in Hungary

As a vendor-neutral, active Member of W3C, MTA SZTAKI matches the requirements of a W3C Office. It is a state owned research Institute in the field of information technology and networking. MTA SZTAKI is a member of W3C since 1995, so it is already familiar with the structure and the activities of W3C.

SZTAKI has well-established co-operations with leading institutions and firms covering different areas of Information Technology, Computer Science and Control. The Institute maintains more than 100 contracts yearly with industrial, governmental, and other partners, including joint projects with European Union funding. Several successful digital artistic projects were carried out using different World Wide Web technologies, shown in national and international exhibitions for digital art.

W3C looks forward to a long-term partnership with SZTAKI, leading to a stronger Hungarian voice within W3C and a greater awareness in Hungary of W3C's Activities. Dr. László Kovács of SZTAKI serves as the Manager of the W3C Office in Hungary; Éva Megyaszai serves as the Coordinator of the Office.

About W3C Offices

As part of realizing the full potential of the Web, W3C partners with regional organizations wishing to further W3C's mission. The W3C Offices assist with promotion efforts in local languages, help broaden W3C's geographical base, and encourage international participation in W3C Activities. W3C currently has Offices in Australia; the Benelux Countries; Germany and Austria;Greece; Hong Kong; Hungary; Israel; Italy; Korea; Morocco; Sweden; and the United Kingdom and Ireland.

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, over 450 organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/.

 

Contact Americas, Australia --
Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Contact Europe --
Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94
Contact Asia --
Saeko Takeuchi, <saeko@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170

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