NII AWARDS SHOWCASE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY POTENTIAL; SIX

[David Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>]

Permission granted by PR Newswire to post to Internet.  (Though
technically all government material, of which this is one, is not
subject to copyright!! -- PR Newswire argued that simply putting it
in digital form gave them copyright -- I doubt it, Curt Priest, CITS)




  NII AWARDS SHOWCASE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY POTENTIAL; SIX WINNERS NAMED AS
  `CHAMPIONS OF CYBERSPACE'






   Source: PR Newswire


   WASHINGTON, July 12 /PRNewswire/ via NewsPage -- The National
   Information Infrastructure (NII) Awards today announced the winners
   in its first annual awards program recognizing the best of the
   information superhighway. Chosen from a field of more than 550
   entries, the six national winners were recognized for their projects
   in the categories of arts and entertainment, business, community,
   education, government and health.


   Sponsored by more than 70 influential industry, government and
   community leaders, the NII Awards were founded as part of a public
   education program to accelerate the development and use of the
   information infrastructure.


   "The winners of the NII Awards represent real-life benefits delivered
   through the NII and give us an encouraging look at what is possible in
   the future," said Vice President Al Gore. "These examples will help
   all Americans understand the promise and potential of the information
   superhighway. And, as others continue to create exciting innovations
   of their own, our lives will be enriched for generations to come."


   NII Award winners are: HotWired (arts and entertainment); The National
   Materials Exchange Network (business); The Alzheimer's Disease Support
   Center on the Cleveland Free-Net (community); The DO-IT (Disabilities,
   Opportunities, Internetworking, Technology) Program (education); Utah
   Library Network Initiative (government); and Information Network for
   Public Health Officials (health).


   "The NII Awards make an important contribution to raising awareness of
   the applications of the National Information Infrastructure not only
   in healthcare but in all sectors of society," said former surgeon
   general Dr. C. Everett Koop, an NII Awards judge and presenter. "As
   more members of the health community follow the examples of entrants
   in the Awards, there will be a profound effect on the well being of
   all Americans."


   The NII Award winners were honored at a Washington dinner event
   sponsored by AT&T and hosted by talk show personality Dick Cavett.
   Other speakers at the event included Secretary of Commerce Ronald
   Brown; AT&T chairman Robert Allen; Larry Irving, assistant secretary,
   U.S. Department of Commerce; Rich Frank, president of the Academy of
   Television Arts and Sciences; Regis McKenna, chairman, Regis McKenna,
   Inc.; and Becky Cain, president, League of Women Voters.


   The winning projects allow public health officials to track outbreaks
   of infectious diseases, rural library users to tap into national data
   bases, such as the Library of Congress, and give families of Alzheimer
   patients a link to 24-hour support and clinical experts. Through the
   Internet, disabled students are pursuing scientific careers; more than
   5,000 businesses recycle waste materials and over 200,000 readers
   access one of the vibrant, interactive magazines in cyberspace.


   The winners, along with all 550 entries, are showcased in a national
   data base available on the World Wide Web. The applications can be
   accessed on http://www.gii-awards.com and are part of the NII Awards
   public education campaign.


   "There is much to be learned from the early travelers and developers
   of the information highway. We encourage everyone to explore this
   database and learn from these champions of cyberspace," said James D.
   Hake, chairman of the NII Awards. "Their experiences are the building
   blocks for tomorrow's possibilities."


   The National Information Infrastructure (NII) is the combination of
   public and private networks, computers and electronics that connect
   people and information across time and space. The networks of
   businesses, carriers, schools, communities and government agencies and
   the Internet all form part of the NII.


   Corporate sponsors of the NII Awards are U S WEST, AT&T, Intel, IBM,
   Lotus Development, Price Waterhouse, BellSouth, Sun Microsystems,
   Alcatel, United States Postal Service, Fujitsu, General Instrument,
   Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments and UUNET Technologies.


   Among association and community sponsors are the American Medical
   Association, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the League of
   Women Voters, the National Education Association, the Morino Institute
   and the National League of Cities, Electronic Learning, Info World,
   Network World, Inter@ctive Week and Variety are among the NII Awards
   media sponsors.


   The NII Awards were created and organized by Access Media Inc. of
   Santa Monica, California.


   /CONTACT: Melinda Machado of Edelman Public Relations, 202-371-0200,
   or mmachado@edel-dc.edelman.com, for the NII Awards/


   [07-12-95 at 13:02 EDT, PR Newswire]
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