The Seventh Symposium (Sym7) is a major component of the Web and Education Track of the Tenth International World Wide Web Conference (WWW10), the premier event endorsed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) chaired by Tim Berners-Lee, who created the Web in 1989 at CERN, the High Energy Physics Laboratory in Geneva. I am inviting you to take part in both the Sym7 and the WWW10. Over a thousand international delegates are expected to gather in Hong Kong from 1-5 May in the Convention & Exhibition Centre for this premier conference when experts will present the latest in Web technologies, report on the emerging standards and critically review the most recent systems and software innovations.

For the first time, the International World Wide Web Conference Committee (IW3C) which awarded the WWW10 hosting right to seven Hong Kong organisations has agreed to the incorporation of a Web & Education Track, which will enable educators to report on their significant projects for on-line learning, on-line communities building from an end-user's perspective, and to debate on the emerging concepts of globalised education, life-long education, and their philosophical, cultural, social and political ramifications.

To encourage more people to take part in Sym 7 during the WWW10 via their membership of the HKWebSym, and also to help those who might find the normal registration fees of US$265 for a day pass of the WWW10 (see Registration Fee Information) a little out of their reach, the Hong Kong Web Symposium Consortium has negotiated with WWW10 organisers for a special discount for its registered members at US$130 for a day pass (which includes a free lunch and the Welcome/Poster Dinner) for the three-day main Conference if they register before 13 April 2001. The WWW10 on-line registration form may be found at: https://www.expoman.com/expo_orderform/www10/www10_form1.jhtml

For UGC-funded institutions, staff and students needing support for their participation can also apply for a rebate (maximum HK$1,000) courtesy of the University Grants Committee. An announcement* regarding the availability of the rebate to full-time staff and students participating in WWW10 is downloadable here. Attached to the announcement is a form which can be used by those who wish to apply for a rebate. Applications should be submitted between 5 and 31 May 2001.

The Consortium also has a special arrangement for local full-time schoolteachers, who are invited to indicate their interest in attending Sym 7 to their school principals as soon as possible so that they can be nominated for the limited number of free places available, thanks to a grant by the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee.For details, please read the Announcement* . The ED's Notice to Schools* (which includes the nomination form) is also downloadable from this site in either English or Chinese. Please note that the deadline for nominations is 18 April 2001.

[*these links in PDF format, downloadable files in MSWord format]