Last week Ukraine joined the World Summit Award (WSA), a global contest aimed at selecting and promoting the world’s best e- content and applications. This worldwide competition of Internet achievements is designed to bridge the so-called digital divide, expand the possibilities for people to access high-quality online resources, as well as narrow the Web content gap.
Andriy Kolodiuk, president of the Informational Society of Ukraine Foundation and our country’s representative on the WSA expert board, said that 168 countries are taking part in the WSA. The contest looks primarily for multimedia projects that effectively and creatively work with quality content on the Worldwide Web. The educational, scientific, and cultural heritage of various nations is gradually being digitalized and becoming accessible worldwide. The project’s thematic categories include various problems related to the development of a global informational society. The contest is open to all those who specialize in e-content design. The only restriction is that submitted projects must have been issued in 2004-2005.
The WSA contest includes the following categories: e-learning, e-government, e-business, e-inclusion, e-culture, e-medical care, e-entertainment, and e-science. Entries can be posted to the Informational Society of Ukraine Foundation: 15/16, prov. Kovalskoho, Kyiv, 03056, Ukraine (mark “Contest”) or by e-mail to [email protected]
In Ukraine the contest deadline is July 5, 2005. Following this, the board of experts headed by Tetiana Popova, chairperson of the Internet Association of Ukraine, will select 8 winning projects (one per category). These projects will be entered into the contest’s global base. Winners will be announced at the WSA Gala that will take place in Tunis on 16 November 2005, during the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Mr. Kolodiuk thinks that participation in the contest will allow Ukraine to be fully represented at the world summit. He outlined these prospects to The Day: “For Ukraine, participation in the contest is an opportunity to bring the best national projects to the world public. I hope that the contest winners, including Ukraine, will take part not only in the Tunis gala but also in traveling exhibits that will be held in various countries over the next two years. Participating in the contest as a civic organization, we are seeking to advance Ukrainian content projects on the international stage, while, as developers, we hope to attract investors, advertisers, or business partners.”
