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TEIN3 expands to help create inclusive information society across Asia; High-speed network showcased through innovative dance performance at ASEM event; ASEM Workshop on Building an Inclusive Information Society(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - A major growth of the TEIN3 high-speed research and education network means that it will now cover 60 per cent of the world's population. Through its extension to seven countries in South Asia it will now link over 45 million researchers, students and educationalists in 8,000 institutions, enabling closer collaboration to underpin critical projects, education and research across the region. This network expansion, which aims to contribute to bridging the digital divide and providing access to the latest technologies for developing countries across Asia was today announced at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Workshop on Building an Inclusive Information Society. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Cambodia all join the project, bringing the total number of countries involved to 18. The workshop, being held in Kuala Lumpur, brings together participants to share best practice and show how international co-operation, both within the region and with Europe can positively impact societal development, as well as setting out recommendations for further co-operation projects. The ASEM Workshop is co-organised by the European Commission and the Malaysian Government. A unique live intercontinental dance performance will celebrate and demonstrate the speed and scope of TEIN3 and its interconnection to the newly announced pan-European GeANT network. Traditional Malaysian dancers will perform live in Kuala Lumpur to music created from the sonification of network data, played at the simultaneous GeANT launch event in Stockholm, Sweden - over 6,000 miles away. Inaugurated in 2009, the TEIN3 network is at the heart of building an inclusive information society in the region. TEIN3 already connects researchers in China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia. *12 million funding from the European Union, continuing its backing of the TEIN project, is being matched by contributions from Asian partners. It is co-ordinated by DANTE, a not-for profit organisation which currently operates regional networking projects for research and education in Europe, Latin America and the southern Mediterranean rim. "It is an established fact that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are a powerful tool for boosting growth and employment. ICTs significantly contribute to a higher quality of everyday life. Yet many citizens in ASEM are not fully benefitting from this," said Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media. "Reducing the disparities in internet access between and within ASEM members and increasing the availability of broadband in under-served locations is a challenging task. The ASEM workshop on Building an Inclusive Information Society in Malaysia is a good platform for sharing best practices and knowledge to develop recommendations so that citizens in all ASEM countries can have an equal opportunity to be included in today's digital world. I am pleased that TEIN3's extension to South Asia will be celebrated at the workshop." The TEIN3 network will build on its predecessor, TEIN2, to enable collaboration on projects with high societal benefit. Many of these will be showcased at the ASEM event, including in areas such as telemedicine, earth observation, e-learning, disaster warning and crop research. "International research and education is of vital importance to the growth and development of Malaysia and its neighbours across the region," said Dato' Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim, Minister of Information, Communications and Culture in Malaysia. "We are extremely proud to host this prestigious ASEM Workshop which will help share best practice to benefit researchers and society as a whole." "The expansion of TEIN3 into the Indian sub-continent marks a significant milestone in the development of research networking across Asia-Pacific," said David West, TEIN3 project manager. "The addition of these new members means that TEIN3 now covers 45 million research users and provides the opportunity to directly benefit over 60 per cent of the world's population. This will not only help bridge the digital divide, but build an inclusive society with technology at its heart." About ASEM The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal process of dialogue and co-operation bringing together the 27 European Union Member States and the European Commission with 16 Asian countries and the ASEAN Secretariat. The ASEM dialogue addresses political, economic and cultural issues, with the objective of strengthening the relationship between our two regions, in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership. Current ASEM partners: Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, Vietnam, the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission. About TEIN TEIN (Trans-Eurasia Information Network) - creates the first large-scale research and education network for the Asia-Pacific region. It connects regional researchers with their counterparts in Europe via GeANT2, the world's most advanced international research and education network, providing the Asia-Pacific countries with a gateway for global research collaboration. TEIN3, the latest generation of the network is set to receive EUR12 million of funding from the EU and further funding from Asian partners. First conceived in 2000 and now due to run until 2011, the TEIN project is contributing to the further development of the Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN) initiative, which was an outcome of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) to improve research networking between Europe and Asia-Pacific. Through TEIN, the first Europe-Asia link dedicated for research and education was established bilaterally between RENATER in France and KISDI in South Korea, with the installation of a connection in December 2001. Working in collaboration with DANTE on TEIN2 and TEIN3 are RENATER, SURFnet and UKERNA, the National Research and Education Networks of France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, respectively. The Asian partners are currently China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam; Australia is also actively participating. The network has extended to further Asian countries during 2009 bringing to total number of involved countries to 18. For more information please visit www.tein3.net About DANTE: DANTE is a non-profit organisation whose primary mission is to plan, build and manage research and education networks. Established in 1993, DANTE has been fundamental to the success of pan-European research and education networking. DANTE has built and operates GeANT2 which provides the data communications infrastructure essential to the success of many research projects in Europe. DANTE is involved in worldwide initiatives to interconnect countries in other regions to one another and to GeANT2. DANTE currently manages projects focused on the Mediterranean, Latin American and Asia-Pacific regions through the EUMEDCONNECT, ALICE and TEIN3 projects respectively. For more information, please visit www.dante.net ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2009 M2 COMMUNICATIONS |