Web advances have international consequences

All countries face the same e-government issues as Web technology becomes more influential worldwide. Finding a way to deal with such issues will be the topic of an upcoming symposium.Next month, the World Wide Web Consortium, an international group working to develop standards, will host a European Symposium in Spain for e-government leaders to discuss issues such as privacy, security and better government/citizen interaction that apply universally. Organizers hope the symposium leads to improvements for e-government initiatives.The consortium ultimately wants to understand how Web standards can allow governments and citizens to interact more efficiently and securely, with accountability on both sides, according to a press release.Symposium organizers plan for discussions on those challenges and on making e-government services accessible and attuned to advancing mobile Web technologies. Privacy and security will also be topics of discussion, the group said.“We hope that participants at the symposium provide us with critical information to help us develop new technologies that meet citizens’ needs and goals,” said Ralph Swick, acting technology and society domain leader at the consortium.Governments have found e-government useful and efficient in interacting with citizens. The consortium advocates for interoperable, open Web standards to help ensure that information is accessible to people with diverse means of connecting to the Internet.The symposium’s speakers include European Commission officials working with representatives from the e-government, academic and research communities.