Print Version

SIS-Forum Concept

The SIS-Forum (Science and Information Society Forum) is a moment and a place where scientists meet and present their projects and activities.

The SIS-Forum is a novel concept: it is neither totally an exhibition nor totally a conference. 

• It capitalizes on  the conference concept, by selecting projects to form a programme, combining invitation and selection from submissions to a conventional call (called Call for Content, CfC).

• It uses the principle of exhibitions, where presenters are available during timeslots to respond to visitor questions, demonstrate on demand what their project is, establish contacts for further collaboration, ...

The exhibition on the ICT4D platform, called SIS-Forum@ICT4D  is the first instantiation of the SIS-Forum concept. Other events where the SIS-Forum may be implemented are being considered. It is  a complementary event to the RSIS conference organized at CERN the 8th and 9th December 2003.

The key messages of the SIS-Forum

The SIS-Forum exhibits dramatise features of science that foster ICT innovation:

• Science is collaborative and transcends borders

• Scientific communities can be the vector for IS deployment is developing regions

The SIS-Forum also highlights the key role played by scientists in the advent of the Information Society:

• Scientists deployed the Internet Infrastructure

• Scientists invented the World Wide Web

• Scientists are developing the computing Grid

e-content for an e-event

The SIS-Forum is an electronic-based event. It consists of digital demonstrations and presentations of projects and activities, all focusing on science's leading role in driving the development of the information society.

Presentations and demonstrations are in electronic form only. Presenters have been encouraged to use highly visual applications (e.g. imaging applications). Presentation material may be of two types (or any mix of the two): presentation / demonstration requiring a presented;  trully interactive material (for individual exploration by visitors).

A standard computing and display  environment is provided to scientific presenters, so that they do not need to install any specific equipment. Their presentation material is uploaded and tested on the computers of the standard environment prior to the presentation.

Space and Time organization

The scientific programme of the SIS-Forum  in organized around Five Central  Themes.

Each theme is associated to a physical Thematic Pillar on the stand.  This is called "Space Division Multiplexing". Each project part of a  theme is allocated a series on non-consecutive timeslots on the physical Thematic Pillar. This is called "Time Division Multiplexing".