International Federation for Information Processing
International Federation for Information Processing
The INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR INFORMATION PROCESSING is a
multinational federation of professional and technical organisations (or
national groupings of such organisations) concerned with information
processing. From any one country, only one such organisation - which
must be representative of the national activities in the field of
information processing - can be admitted as a Full Member. In addition,
a regional group of developing countries can be admitted as a Full
Member. On 1 October 1993, 46 organisations were Full Members
of the Federation, representing 66 countries. Technical work, which is
the heart of IFIP's activity, is managed by a series of Technical
Committees. See also the Books from IFIP's publisher.
Summary
You can get further information
IFIP organizes a World Computer Congress every two years:
- IFIP Congress
'94 was held in Hamburg, Germany from 28 August to 2 September 1994,
- IFIP Congress '96
will be held in Canberra, Australia from 2 to 6 September 1996,
- IFIP Congress '98 will be held in Vienna, Austria and Budapest,
Hungary from 23 to 29 August 1998.
There are also many other events (conferences, workshops, etc.)
organized by the Technical
Committees and Working Groups of IFIP. Information about them can be
found at the WWW pages of the corresponding TC or WG, or by
writing to the IFIP secretariat. In particular,
let us mention here:
IFIP's mission is to be the leading, truly international, apolitical
organisation which encourages and assists in the development, exploitation and
application of Information Technology for the benefit of all people.
Principal Elements
- To stimulate, encourage and participate in research, development and
application of Information Technology (IT) and to foster international
co-operation in these activities.
- To provide a meeting place where national IT Societies can discuss and
plan courses of action on issues in our field which are of international
significance and thereby to forge increasingly strong links between them and
with IFIP.
- To promote international co-operation directly and through national IT
Societies in a free environment between individuals, national and
international governmental bodies and kindred scientific and professional
organisations.
- To pay special attention to the needs of developing countries and to
assist them in appropriate ways to secure the optimum benefit from the
application of IT.
- To promote professionalism, incorporating high standards of ethics and
conduct, among all IT practitioners.
- To provide a forum for assessing the social consequences of IT
applications; to campaign for the safe and beneficial development and use of
IT and the protection of people from abuse through its improper application.
- To foster and facilitate co-operation between academics, the IT industry
and governmental bodies and to seek to represent the interest of users.
- To provide a vehicle for work on the international aspects of IT
development and application including the necessary preparatory work for the
generation of international standards.
- To contribute to the formulation of the education and training needed by
IT practitioners, users and the public at large.
The aims of IFIP are to promote information science and technology by:
- fostering international co-operation in the field of information
processing;
- stimulating researdch, development and the application of information
processing in science and human activity;
- furthering the dissemination and exchange of information about the
subject;
- encouraging education in information processing.
IFIP is dedicated to improving worldwide communication and increased
understanding among practitioners of all nations about the role information
processing can play in all walks of life.
Information technology is a potent instrument in today's world, affecting
people in everything from their education and work to their leisure and in
their homes. It is a powerful tool in science and engineering, in commerce and
industry, in education and administration. It is a powerful tool in science
and engineering, in commerce and industry, in education and administration. It
is truly international in its scope and offers a significant opportunity for
developing countries. IFIP helps to bring together workers at the leading edge
of the technology to share their knowledge and experience, and acts as a
catalyst to advance the state of the art.
IFIP came into official existence in January, 1960. It was established to meet
a need indentified at the first International Conference on Information
Processing which was held in Paris in June, 1959, under the sponsorship of
UNESCO.
The Federation is governed by a General Assembly, which meets once
every year and consists of one representative from each Member organisation,
The General Assembly decedes on all important matters, such as general policy,
the programme of activities, admissions, elections and budget.
The day-to-day work of IFIP is directed by its Officers: the President,
Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer, who are elected by the General
Assembly and together constitute the Executive Board.
The Council, consisting of the Officers and up to eight Trustees
elected from the General Assembly, meets twice a year and takes decisions
which become necessary between General Assembly meetings.
The headquarters of the Federation are in Geneva, Switzerland where the IFIP
Secretariat administers its affairs.
Technical work, which is the heart of IFIP's activity, is managed by a
series of Technical Committees
(TC). Each TC supervises a number of Working Groups (WG) which deal
with specialised aspects of the field of interest of their parent TC.
Each Technical Committee is composed of representatives of IFIP Member
organizations. Working Groups consist of specialists who are
individually appointed by their peers independent of nationality or
affiliation.
IFIP was founded under the auspices of UNESCO. Its official relationship with
that organisation is classified as category B («able to advise in a particular
field»). IFIP established official relations with the World Health
Organisation in February, 1972 and maintains informal relationships with
other members of the UN family.
IFIP has the status of a Scientific Affiliate of the International Council of
Scientific Unions (ICSU). ICSU, on its own behalf maintains relations with
UNESCO in Category A (proven competence in an important field of UNESCO's
work).
In 1970, IFIP together with four sister Federations, IFAC, IFORS, IMACS and
IMEKO, established a «Five International Associations Co-ordinating Committee»
(FIACC) which provides a basis for the cordial and successful co-ordination of
a variety of activities of mutual interest.
IFIP also participates in an advisory capacity in the work of CCITT, the
International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee.
Executive Board
- A. Rolstadås, President
- K. Bauknecht, President-Elect
- H.L. Funk, Vice-President
- A.W. Goldsworthy, Vice-President
- W.
Brauer, Vice-President
- G.J. Morris, Secretary
- A. Melbye, Treasurer
Trustees
- D. Dolan
- G.R. Fairall
- W. Grafendorfer
- P. Glenn
- M. Gottlieb
- M. Ozeki
- D. Khakhar
- M. Tienari
Updated by Carlos Delgado Kloos
Wed Mar 1 15:49:43 MET 1995