Overview October 1999: Hungary

1. Overview

1.1 Government and administrative offices, programs

• The Deputy Secretary of State is responsible for the development of the governmental information policy, controls and organizes the government information technology and telecommunication activities that fall within the competence of the Prime Minister’s Office and coordinates the centralized public procurement tasks. Supervises the Information Technology and Telecommunications Division integrated into the Public Procurement and Economic Directorate, controls the preparations of the centralized public procurement of information technology and telecommunication goods. Coordinates the work of Information Technology Committee (ITB) that harmonizes the informational activities of the state public administration, performs her vice presidental duties. He guides the Prime Minister’s Office’s internal IT and telecommunication development, prepares the controlled activities’ and organizations’ annual budget, and following approval is in charge of the implementation. He organizes the tasks related to the govermental telecommunication network under the competence of the Prime Minister’s Office and is in charge of the lawful and proper utilization of the special purpose allocations for the development of information technology.

• The government commissioner for Y2K coordinates the work of ministries and government bodies concerning the problem of Y2K, prepares proposals for required government steps and expresses opinion on the information technology. Regularly informs the government about the actual phase of the preparation and problem solving work, if invited, takes part of government meetings about the problem of Y2K, maintains relations with the government’s Controlling Office, the government’s Audit Office and the Information Technology Committee. Establishes and runs a monitoring network for reviewing the circumstances and situation connected with Y2K. Implements the tasks given by the leading minister of the Prime Minister’s Office to maintain relations with international organizations and informs the press.

• The National Information Infrastructure Development Program (NIIFP)

The introduction of computer networks and their extensive applications has been carried out since 1986 in the scope of NIIFP (formerly IIF). The program is a guiding and integrating movement of the national computational culture and plays an important role in the workout of Hungarian networks. The NIIFP has succeeded in providing the right conditions in which the computational culture could develop very fast. The NIIFP works in the same way as the Research Network

Organizations that became usual in Western Europe. The results show that the number of Internet hosts working in the scope of NIIFP take 80% of the total of 50 thousand that exist in Hungary. Because of the program Hungary was the first that succeeded in connecting to TEN-34 project which runs the EU’s most modern and fastest information network. The WWW server which currently gives the best possible use of the Internet is available in hundreds of institutions nationwide, similar informational services are available to users worldwide in a fast and simple way.

According to the decree No.95/1999 (23/06) about the National Information Infrastructure Development Program:

1.§ The aim of the Development Program:

1. The coordinated development of computational services and information infrastructure of institutions of higher education, places where development work or research is carried out, libraries and public collections and other educational, scientific and cultural organizations.
2. To provide availibility of information services on a European level for those mentioned in part a)
3. To subsidize the applications and development of information network technologies and utilizing them in those mentioned in part a)
4. To promote Hungary’s participation in international researches of information technology and communication
5. To provide an IP connection on required frequency between the government’s computer network and the Internet.

2.§ The Development Program, subsidized by the government, is a national program for information infrastructural development of higher education and research. The financial basis from the government Budget must be planned and separated in the annual budget of the Ministry of Education as institutional provision.

Participating bodies of the Development Program:

1. the Ministry of Education
2. the Prime Minister’s Office
3. the Health Ministry
4. the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Water Management
5. the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage
6. the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
7. the National Technical Development Committee
8. the National Scientific Research Fund Committee
9. the Ministry of Agriculture
10. the Ministry of Defence
11. the Ministry for Environment Protection

• The HUNGARNET Association was found in 1992 and has been functioning with more than 600 branches parallel to NIIF program. The aim of HUNGARNET is to help its members in participating in national and international organizations, especially in the field of international computer networks, to act on behalf of its members and forward the support of NIIF and other programs to its members. HUNGARNET means:
  • the Association that was found by those higher educational institutions, research institutions and public collections (libraries, museums etc.) that belong to NIIF Program. And
  • the Network of academic sphere.

1.2 Professional, public and civil organizations

1.2.1 The Scientific Society of Infocommunications (HTE) is an association of voluntary professionals who work in the technological, financial, educational and legal fields of infocommunications, electronics or broadcasting. It has more than 4000 private and 130 legal members ( with 15 foreign ones). The society analyses technical, economical and public issues and forwards the experts’ opinions to scientific, legal, industrial and educational institutions and organizations. Provides a professional forum to argue and to harmonise opinions. Through its members it takes part of the work of the Qualifying Board of Telecommunication Engineers and also works on tecnical, scientific and legal problems. The association pays attention to the national and international results in this field, promotes contact and business between foreign and Hungarian companies and maintains relations with other professional organizations. Organizes presentations, discussions, congresses, conferences, seminars, demonstrations, exhibitions for the better understanding of science, technology and economy. The association gives written information in its monthly newsletter called ’Hírlevél’ about current professional events and the corporate life of the society. The ’Híradástechnika’/Journal on Telecommunications is published in English and Hungarian. It gives publicity for articles of scientific level as well as commercial products and company information. The profile of Scientific Society of Infocommunications is open and has a wide range of services provided, members enjoy significant discounts.

1.2.2 John von Neumann Computer Society (NJTSZ) has been run since 1968 with a current number of 2500 private and 200 legal members .As an independent professional forum the company’s goal is to help in the following fields in Hungary or other Hungarian speaking areas:

• the application, development of information technology and the publicity of the results
• to protect and improve the quality, prestige and ethic of the profession
• to implement the interests of those who work with information technology or use information technology tools and methods in other fields
• participation in the international public life of the profession
• to inform and change views with the experts of information technology
• to spread the culture and education of information technology

The Society, in order to achieve its goals, offers services and provides the framework for businesses:

• gives opportunity for work in the profession
• expresses opinions on research, development, educational and extended training programs and takes part in the preparations
• if commissioned by government bodies, financial or civil organizations or by its members gives its opinion in important public issues related to information technology, furthermore prepares studies, professional conceptions and opinions with the help of registered society experts
• organizes lectures, conferences, congresses, seminars, professional demonstrations, exhibitions, consultations, courses, study tours in Hungary and abroad
• announces tenders, founds and awards prizes, recognizes the performance of special duties by awarding prizes, gives financial support and tries to involve students and young professionals into the profession’s public life
• maintains relations with various and international organizations, represents Hungary in international scientific organisations

The Society has 14 regional branches and further 5 in different cities. The newest experiences and results are published in various professional events. The application problems of special softwear and hardwear systems are discussed in an adequate professional meeting i.e.:User Groups are created for the application of special softwear and hardwear systems, where there is an opportunity to exchange opinions and draw conclusions.

1.2.3 Telecottages

The Telecottage is a multifunctional, open-profile information and telecommunication service centre. In the given area or in the neighbourhood it creates infocommunication, office information technology, mass communication,organizing inteligency that can be used economically in the service of different individual and collective needs. Telecottages must provide services that are direcly avalaible by the citizens. The services are introduced gradually according to the needs and are available to everybody.

Currently nearly 60 Telecottages are run in Hungary. The same number are being organized for opening in spring. The network is extending very quickly. In the next 3-4 years about 800 Telecottages and 800 smaller offices are predicted to cover the country. Regional, national and international funds are used for the realization of the program. The Telecottages possess modern equipment to store, process and forward information. Most of them are managed by the local civil organizations and work together with the city councils. All Telecottages are members of the National Alliance of Telecottages which acts on behalf of them, provides publicity and creates opportunities to implement their interests in social and economical developments and helps to obtain funds for developments.The Telecottages Kht., currently owned by the Alliance, is to serve the network, help with the management and manage the programs of developing networks and services.Information can be obtained about the situation of Hungarian Telecottages on http://www.telehaz.hu/. The central government has payed attention to the Telecottages movement from the beginning (1994) and has supported the expansion of the network. It is obvious that in some small local villages where no government bodies are found the Telecottages must substitute them and take up their roles.

The Hungarian Telecottage movement was awarded by the support of PHARE (by the mediation of PROMEI and the English West-Midland Enterprise Board) for the workout of the National Telecottages Strategy. The workout takes one year from September 1999 to August 2000. The conception of thecontinuosly maintained strategy called ’Passage’ gives the outlines of the workout project. The workout of the strategy is an important issue for both the Telecottages and their users, therefore the planning is completely open so everybody can express their opinions, advises or critisism and therefore add something to the picture of a new Telecottage.

1.2.4 Information Society and Trend Research Institute (ISTRI)

The Hungarian Technological University and the Hungarian UNESCO Board established the centre for the following purposes:

• to create a n international professional workshop of a high standard
• to enable the government to obtain professional help for a better control of its information strategy and information industrial policies by giving advises and usable background information
• to enable the participants of information industry to obtain daily trend analyses and reviews
• to commission surveys for the valuation of their own development policies and activities

The founders believed that the lack of organizations specialized in the research of society and trend would result in Hungary’s position loss in the worldmarket. Standing out of the flow of primary information and special knowledge would mean total separation from this field where we could find the answers for the questions of the future. But a well managed scientific institution can restrain the drawbacks and succeed in creating an information society.

1.3 Education

1.3.1 National Council for Distance Education (NTT)

The Minister for Education -considering the initiative of the international distance education community and to encourage, support and coordinate the national distance education system- established the National Council for Distance Education (NTT) in 1991. The NTT, as a comittee for preparations of decisions and coordination, works on the introduction of distance education together with the institutions and ministries concerned and forwards the needs of the consumers to the national network Of distance education. The Council is in charge of creating and maintaning international distance education cooperations, encouraging professional activities connected with distance education. Since the establishment the Council has created a network of regional distance education centres, has maintained relations with high ranking distance education experts, elaborates the national development concept of distance education, prepares international cooperation projects,carries out surveys by working together with foreign experts, examines possibilities of national development, has prospective international relations, participates in the allocation of domestic and international resources. The establishment of the NTT was preceeded by the comprehensive analysis carried out by the Ministry of Culture and Education in 1991, examining the situation and perspective of distance education in Hungarian higher education institutions. Based on the experience of the survey the Ministry decided to establish regional centres in the frame of a tender. As a result regional centres for distance have been set up within the following institutions:

• University of Agricultural Sciences, Gödöllo
• Lajos Kossuth University, Debrecen
• Jannus Pannonius University, Pécs
• College of Commerce and Economics, Szolnok
• István Széchenyi College for Transport and Telecommunication, Gyor
• University of Veszprém

1.3.2 Schoolnet-Irisz Program

The Schoolnet program was introduced as ’Highschool Internet Program’ by the Minister of Education in 1^st September 1996 at an opening ceremony of the school year in Pannonhalma. The Minister’s purpose of choosing the well-known place was to draw a parallel between the importance of the project and the historical role of the place. Those Benedictines monks who settled down there in 996 established the country’s first school in 1055 and wrote thw first Hungarian texts. Since the establishment of the order the Benedictines played an important role in spreding the culture in Central Europe.

The purpose of the Ministry of Education (since 1998 the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage) is to support the centralized public education with the network of the Internet, and therefore increase the equality and independence of the regions. In the frame of the program all Hungarian grammar schools and colleges became connected to the Internet, and hopefully by the year 2002 all primary schools will also be connected. As a result of this, from IT point of view, Hungary will be in the forefront worlwide. As a global aim decision was made to modernise public educational,cultural institutions and public collections under the competence of the Ministry as well as to create Internet availability, support its methology, develop the Internet connections of Hungarians outside the borders to the Hungarian culture and create an integral public educational databasa available to everybody. The program subsidized by the Budget has also been launched. It makes it possible to have the national cultural heritage and various fields of scientific studies available on digital data carriers. In the planning of the Budget of 1997, the Parlaiment accepted the proposal to allocate 1% of the annual budget of education for this purpose..

The program contains five basic parts:

• Create the basics of physical infrastructure: by ISDN or digital Internet service on rented line
• Create new Internet laboratories in educational institutions
• Contents service
• Further training of teachers
• A two-way information flow: the IT system of public education

The international connections of the program:

As one of the best initials of the field, the Schoolnet program was invited to a conference in Brussels by ISPO Office of the European Committee in March 1998. The event called for the coordinators of the best educational and other initials in the theme of IT Society to exchange views during the introduction of the programs, then after being valuated , draw down conclusions for theprinciples of the future. It can be said that the Hungarian Schoolnet Program established its reputation among the similar initials all around the world and the succes is not related to the conference only.

Soon after Budapest gave home to the leading Schoolnet-countries’ round table conference in which the representatives of the following countries met: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom. At the end of the conference a declaration was given out, in which the experiences of the event were summarized, further activities and principles of future developments were collected and valuated. While Hungary is preparing its way to the EU with maximum efforts, a program exists that is already EU suitable by all means. Both the the technological background and related other programs ( teacher training, contents review) are of very high standards, extended to all grammar school ( this cannot be said of all European Schoolnet programs). Notwithstanding there are particular areas where possibilities of improvements are noticable- in harmony with the efforts of the EU. The Schoolnet program’s future plans and problems are also faced in the present EU, therefore joint work and thinking is needed as well as proper, continuous exchange of views. It is especially needed now as the frame program of research development is launched that is connected at many points of IT societies existing problems.

1.3.3 HUNINET

HUNINET (Hungarian University Network) Alliance was founded in 1990 by the initials of National Conference Committee of Rektors (for the establishment and running of national higher educational computer network) and its aim is the development of higher educational IT and Telecommunication networks and extended applications of computers.

The alliance’s goals are set by the realization of the social importance of collecting, processing and spreding information, which became the basic component of competitiveness. In Hungary the higher educational sphere is the.only that is able to introduce technology and culture rapidly by the help of multiplying effects of education. Similarly, higher education has a responsible role in the social and economical modernization. But can only satisfy the needs if the utilization of mental potential and infrastructure is helped by effective, modern technics i.e. in data processing. In the case of utilization of up-to-date IT and communcation systems higher education would also be able to influence regional development in a positive way. The realization of the development plans of higher education merely depends on the state of development of IT and telecommunication systems as well as the standard of applications.Therefore i.e. the cooperation of institutions situated far from each other, application of credit system, acreditation activities, new educational methods (i.e. introduction of distance education), effective educational and institutional management requires huge information flow and improved standard of communication. In many institutions the development state of infrastructure exceeds the need of reception and the possible level of utilization, so we must put more emphasys of the latter.If the needed IT culture and infrastructure exist the best expansion can be obtained by extending the services of the system, introducing the advantages in which the Alliance can take an important role.

Our aim is to help for our enthusiastic colleagues to succeed in this field, project their results to the whole institutional system, represent the interests of this field, therefore support the development of the sphere of higher education. For attaining these goals a newsletter is published, the ELKöB project has been launched which helps the colleges and highschools to connect to the network. The Alliance cooperates with the organizations of the field such as the National Information Infrastructure Development Program and the HUNGARNET.

1.3.4 UNIWORLD

The virtual university is a 21^st century version of distance education, eliminating, however, rather than bridging, distance. Though personal encounters between faculty and students should and could not be completely eliminated, the vehicle of instruction through UNIWORLD is networked communication. UNIWORLD preserves, or even recreates, the personal community of scholar and student, the living atmosphere of lectures and seminars. In this sense it continues the legacy of the traditional university. It is different, though, from both the traditional university and distance education, so far as it makes most of the world of multimedia. It radically surpasses the realm of the linear text, the culture of the book. The curriculum transcends disciplinary boundaries, making extensive use of the rich variety of audiovisual tools and interactive teaching methods. This elevates the building of virtual university into a task of philosophical dimensions by an effort to go beyond the text-centered thinking of modern European culture.

The UNIWORLD project is, first and foremost, a research program is social theory and the theory of knowledge; an avantgarde practice, out of the experiences of which a new theory of the new modes of organization of ideas and people – of the symbolic and the social-physical world – can be constructed. UNIWORLD encompasses the whole vertical integration of education, from the basic skills of writing and reading to postgraduate training, our hypothesis being that the borders between elementary, secondary, and tertiary education are becoming fluid. UNIWORLD is interested both in liberal education and professional training; our hypothesis being that the walls between abstract and concrete knowledge, between theoretical knowledge and practical skills, are crumbling away.

The project aims at a general improvement of the efficiency of Hungarian tertiary education, with special awareness, however, of the needs of rural Hungary. The chances to enroll at a university are today for young Hungarians living is small villages ten to twenty times worse than for those living in bigger towns. For small nations, ethnic groups, and isolated language areas all over the world, UNIWORLD could become a model for specific uses of electronic communication in higher education. UNIWORLD is envisaged to work in close partnership with community networking movements both in and outside Hungary.

1.4. Hungarian Electronic Library (MEK)

The Hungarian Electronic Library is both a project and a movement. It’s goal is to make these electronic documents available by collecting, organizing and transforming them to a uniform format using „human labor". The documents collected in MEK could be described as follows: „Hungarian or Hungary/Central Europe-related full-texts, that may be freely published preserving the rights of author(s) and are freely available to be used for scientific, educational or culture-related activities (i.e. public domain texts)". In addition to already existing e-documents, MEK is also encouraging electronic publishing especially for publications which priority is to distribute information and knowledge rather than financial success. We would like to help the development of Hungarian freeware or shareware literature. MEK is a non-profit movement: the service shall remain free and open to the general public forever; everybody is welcome in this impovement and advance. Any computer can be used to set up partial cillections; MEK documents may be freely copied and distributed if a few simple rules are obeyed. (See the copyright section in the front of the MEK documents.) The general idea of a Hungarian electronic library dates back to the spring of 1994. By the fall of the same year the MEK RFC (a document describing the working rules of the library) was finished and two test collections have been deposited on the gopher servers of the BKE (Budapest University of Economics) and ME (University of Miskolc). At the same time the National Information Infrastructure Development Program has been providing the technical support for the project. The central MEK gopher and FTP services were opened for the public in spring of 1995 at the helka.iif.hu host (first as a test and then as a „pilot project" in the fall). The World-Wide Web interface is under construction since July 1996. Since September 1999 the Hungarian National Library provides the professional and financial support for the MEK project.

The National Information Infrastructure Development Program (NIIFP) launched a project in 1996 with the objective of devising a tool for distributed search in the various integrated library systems of Hungary. The software developed in the first phase of the project codenamed KözelKat (Common Electronic Catalog - ComElCat) provided for a parallel search and retrieve (S/R) capability in the catalogs of Kossuth University Debrecen (KLTE) and József Attila University Szeged (JATE). The interface of the Common Electronic Catalog is an advanced version of the original, the outgrowth of a cooperative effort of some major Hungarian academic libraries financed by a TEMPUS-PHARE proposal.The ComElCat Project is open to other library systems and its staff members do hope that by involving the entire range of Hungary's automated library systems ComElCat will markedly facilitate the online work of users and librarians in quest of any library document both in Hungary and abroad.

1.5 Press and media

Supplements on information technology are issued regularly in several weeklies and most dailies of nationwide circulation. Starting from 30^th July 1999 the daily Magyar Nemzet – in cooperation with John von Neumann Computer Society – has dedicated a whole page to the topic of information society every fortnight. There are approximately 65 online publications in Hungary, most of them are not available in print, only online. Two of them specialize in the topic of information society:

1.5.1 INFINIT

INFINIT is the free, online, analysis-centred, weekly newsletter of Information Society and Trend Research Institute. 28 issues have been published this far. Material for the newsletter comes from an extremely wide range of sources, but it goes through a careful selection process. Rather than introducing new technology, the editors focus on present trends, cardinal problems that society, culture, politics and business face in the digital future, and their new organization methodologies following the evolution of technology. INFINIT is a knowledgeable source not only for the bare facts, but attached analyses and commentaries, as well.

1.5.2 INCO

The quarterly INCO was launched in July 1999. A new issue is posted on the net in the third week of each quarter, and new articles are continuously added to it throughout the quarter. INCO is the organ created for the collection and publication of international documents and studies discussing all kinds of topics concerning information society.

Prím Online, which was set up in autumn 1998, is the most important portal site with computing profile; it serves as a source for computing news for an increasing number of online publications and portal sites.

1.6 Others

1.6.1 ECDL in Hungary

Hungary was the 13^th country to join the ECDL Foundation in June 1997. The Hungarian member of CEPIS, John von Neumann Computer Society, has gained the rights to set up and control the testing system, and issue the certificates. The decision of the Presidency and the ensuring careful preparations gave way to the accreditation process of the testing centres, where work started at the end of 1997.

In December 1997 the first 19 centres were set into motion - by now 108 accredited ECDL-centres have opened their gates for examinees. Most centres are located in educational institutions, with high schools (29.5%) and colleges (17.5%) taking the lead. The first tests were organized around February 1998, but it was not long before Channel 1 of the public service television (MTV 1) broadcast a 16-part serial, „Computer Licence", made in order to introduce and propagate ECDL.

The program was shown between 19^th April and 2^nd August 1998, and some time later broadcast again by Channel 2 (MTV 2). Wide-ranging information was given about the possible applications of European Computer Driving Licence, and the way it could be acquired through testing. Centres were introduced, model testing and quizes abounded in the program, which had such a success that starting from 9^th August three more live broadcasts had to be shown at the usual time on public demand. These were wonderful occasions for the viewers to phone in and ask the experts invited for the program; or they could answer the quiz-questions directly. By September 1998 the number of testcards given to the centres exceeded 5,000, only to rise above 10,000 by the end of March 1999. 9,268 of these also meant course application, and 4,121 students passed the test.

By August 1999 the Hungarian ECDL had 10,682 registered students, 5,769 of whom received the certificate. There were 10 testing centres where the number of students rose above 100. Building up the ECDL organization received full support from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Government Committee of Info-communication. A further plan is the introduction of the certificate as a requirement for those who work the public administration sector; while high-school students, understandably, should be able to pass the test for European Computer Driving Licence by the age of 18. It will considerably ease their pains in finding a job either in Hungary or in any other country in Europe.

The growing central recognition of the Licence is demonstrated by the fact that the government has passed a decision to support ECDL-courses for civil servants, and the Ministry of Education has also granted full credit to these courses by turning them into an integral part of the teacher-training system. Consequently, courses have started in several institutions, with a vast number of participants. Among these institutions there are the Ministry of Health and Public Welfare (approx. 50 participants, with a pass-test rate over 90%), the National Prison Administration (approx. 80 participants, pass-test rate over 80%), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (approx. 40 participants, pass-test rate over 90%), the Ministry of Education (approx. 110 participants), the State Privatization Agency (approx. 120 participants), the Ministry of Youth and Sports (60 participants), the Prime Minister’s Office (approx. 300 participants).

1.6.2 The problem raised by the year 2000

Since 1998 it has been a recurring topic in Hungarian press and media how to solve the problem raised by the turning of the year 2000. As our consciousness opens to the problem, public attention is being drawn to the fact that information society gets an increasingly decisive role in our everyday life in all spheres of existence. It effects the lives of even those who have been unaware of this process. Anyone interested in the topic can refer to http://y2k.info.hu, http://y2k.gov.hu or the web-page of Prím Online, http://www.prim.hu, for useful information.

1.6.3 Cybercafés

There are altogether 12 cafés in Hungary (in the cities of Budapest, Debrecen, Gyor, Nyíregyháza, Salgótarján, Szentes and Veszprém) that apart from the usual café menus offer their guests net accessibility as well. The 12 might count as few, but a considerable increase in number is to be expected in the near future.

2. Conferences

2.1 55^th Youth World Congress of Esperanto

The 55^th Youth World Congress of Esperanto was organized in Zánka between 9^th and 16^th August 1999 by the Hungarian Youth Association of Esperanto under the headline: Communication in Information Society. Compared to the earlier occasions, this year’s congress turned to new methods: it initiated the participants into the most up-to-date communication technologies and web correspondence.

2.2 Computing in Higher Education 1999

Due to the success of the two "Computing in Higher Education" conferences of 1993 and 1996, the experience gained there, the changes that have occurred since 1996, and the growing demand in higher education circles to share information, Debrecen took up the task to call forth a thorough discussion on the subject for the third time. Held between 27^th and 29^th August 1999, the conference aimed at providing a survey of the present situation and inspiring a debate on the challenges inevitably faced by all teachers, scientists and institutions. Another aspiration of the organizers was to help the formulation of different higher education and institutional strategies by giving a sense of direction.

2.3 HUSITA 5

The 5^th International Conference of Human Service and Technology Application (HUSITA) took place at Semmelweis University of Medicine, Budapest, between 29^th August and 1^st September 1999. Besides the University of Medicine, the Federation of Technical and Scientific Societies and the John von Neumann Computer Society also took a share in organization. The title of the conference was Social Services in the Information Society – Closing the Gap.

2.4 WindowsIS 1999

The program organized by IDG Hungary and Studio PR 1 between 10^th and 12^th September 1999 in Lágymányos Infopark, Budapest, was meant to create a tradition. It was not only an exhibition, but a conference and a festival, as well, made up of all kinds of programs, some addressing the experts, others the public. The organizers’ purpose was to demonstrate all the potentials of Windows technology, the latest developments in the operating system and related applications to computing experts, office or home users working with Windows. Conventional conferences, entertaining programs, exhibitions and happenings created for the occasion provided the stage for the exchange of information. WindowsIS 1999 was no usual fair, but it was possible to buy the products of the exhibitors, thus putting the acquired information into immediate practice.

2.5 Megashow 1999 International Conference for Computing

14^th September 1999 was the fifth time that Megatrend Inc. organized Megashow 1999 with the traditionally double purpose: it showed all the inventions that might get a crucial role in the preparatory phase of new computing investments or in the modernization of usable but insufficiently functioning systems, and highlighted the problem sources that might turn potentially dangerous for the companies’ computing systems in the next few years. Alternatives for a solution were also presented in the form of certain products and conclusions drawn from the practical experience of some of the biggest Hungarian companies. Managers having to make strategic decisions were given useful information on how to work out a proper computing strategy.

2.6 Debate Session of the Telecommunication Club

Under the sponsorship of the Telecommunication Department of the Scientific Association of Info-communication a debate session was organized by the Telecommunication Club in the Museum of the History of Postal Service in Budapest on 23^rd September 1999. To keep in line with the September issue – "Information Society" – of the magazine Magyar Távközlés (Hungarian Telecommunication), the topic of discussion was the same: "Information Society".

2.7 1999 International Conference on Infocommunication Trends

The Communication Authority is organizing its annual international conference on different fields of info-communication between 30^th September and 1^st October 1999. The conference bears the title „Towards the Third Millennium", and lists the following topics:

• postal service and convergence
• new trends in mobile and satellite info-communication
• new trends in broadcasting
• challenges in frequency management
• UN regulations of the new trends

The list of participants features several illustrious personalities: high-ranking officials of the DG I and DG XIII of the European Commission, representatives of ITU, GSM Association, UMTS Forum and other international organizations, as well as experts of international recognition both from Hungary and abroad.

2.8 Computing, Education and Internet

A three-day conference is being held in Pécs between 30^th September and 2^nd October 1999, with a focus on how to use the potentials of computer technology for educational purposes. As a starting step, teachers must be introduced into the technology, convinced about its usefulness, informed and sufficiently prepared for the application of the tools and methods of digital education. In order to meet this demand, the organizers have invited scientists, experts and well-known specialists in computer science and education. The conference aims at

• introducing the teachers to the most recent developments of the field
• sharing the experience and the methods of successfully operating computer labs in educational institutions with the venturesome but underinformed teachers to help them have an easy start
• demonstrating new educational materials and teaching tools that have been or are being developed (multimedia and educational CD-ROM’s, course-books and other tools)
• informing the teachers on the creative, multi-purpose use of riding the web, and its specific applications in the courses

As the topics may suggest, the major target of the conference is the population of experts from other fields than computing. Sadly enough, up till now conferences of such scope and scale have been greatly neglected in Hungary. The present conference also welcomes computing experts to participate, since they are the key figures in spreading computing culture in today’s world – in a world where there are still lots of conflicting concepts concerning computer science. Agreement, however, must be reached, and programs like this provide excellent opportunities for „closing the gap". The papers read at the conference are going to be published online. As the meeting of the „Computing in Education" Sub-committee of the Hungarian Academy of Science has been inserted as part of the conference, and some of the sub-committee members read their papers here, an exclusively high standard of expertise is to be expected.