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The Summit of the Americas was held in Miami, Florida, from December 9-11, 1994. Thirty-four heads of State gathered in this city and signed a Plan of Action which specifically included a chapter for Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure. The Governments took on several key responsibilities including to encourage major universities, libraries, hospitals and government agencies to have access to these networks by taking advantage of the Hemisphere Wide Inter-University Scientific and Technological Network - RedHUCyT project. Also, during the Meeting of Ministers responsible for Science and Technology of the hemisphere, held in Cartagena, Colombia, on March 1996, a Plan of Action was signed through which the Ministers committed themselves to actively promote the involvement of each respective country in building, designing and standardizing the Global Information Infrastructure, and encourage their interconnection through global networks, such as the Internet, and strengthen the regional networks, such as RedHUCyT. This recommendation was ratified during the OAS General Assembly held in Panama in June 1996. In 1992, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved the RedHUCyT project and allocated financial resources as seed money to start the project. Additional funds were provided by the governments of the United States and other member countries. Important partnerships were established with other organizations, in particular the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). RedHUCyT's main objective is to connect the institutions of the member countries to Internet, integrating an electronic network for the exchange of scientific and technological information among professors, researchers, and specialists of different universities in the member states. RedHUCyT's approach to the development of Internet in the member states is to help local initiatives for either the inception or expansion of networks in their countries. The project provides high-tech equipment, technical support, specialized training, and sponsors technical workshops and seminars in the region to prepare technical projects, improve skills, share technical knowledge, and train network managers. |
