The INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR INFORMATION PROCESSING is a multinational federation of professional and technical organizations (or national groupings of such organizations) concerned with information processing. From any one country, only one such organization - 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 30 September 1993, 44 organizations were Full Members of the Federation, representing 65 countries. Information science and technology together with informatics are 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 truly international in its scope and offers a significant opportunity for developing countries. IFIP helps to bring together professionals at the leading edge of practice, research and education to share their knowledge and experience and acts as a catalyst to advance the state of the art. Organizational Structure The Federation is governed by a GENERAL ASSEMBLY, which meets once every year and consists of one representative from each Member organization. The General Assembly decides 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. IFIP Congresses and Conferences A major event in the IFIP programme of activities is the Congress, held every two years. An IFIP Congress is an international occasion which attracts informaticians, managers and administrators from all over the world to listen, to learn and to exchange ideas with their colleagues from other countries. The first Congress was held in Paris and subsequent events have been in Munich, New York, Edinburgh, Ljubljana, Stockholm, Toronto, Tokyo, Melbourne, Paris, Dublin, San Francisco and Madrid. Hamburg will be the 1994 venue from 29 August - 2 September. The venue of the Congress in 1996 will be Canberra, Australia. The 1998 Congress will be held in Vienna/Budapest. IFIP Congresses have attracted up to 5,000 participants from as many as 55 countries and have a good reputation both for scientific excellence and for relevance to the day-to-day application of computers. Every Congress includes a major exhibition of computer systems and services. In addition to these major Congresses, IFIP's Technical Committees organise many international conferences on their specialised subjects, ranging in size from small working conferences to major international events such as World Conference on Computers in Education (WCCE), Computer Applications in Production and Engineering (CAPE) and Information Security (SEC). IFIP and Developing Countries IFIP aims to assist developing countries in their application of information processing and co-operates with UNESCO to achieve this. Responsibility for planning and overseeing this work rests with the Developing Countries Support Committee (DCSC). The aim of DCSC is to promote the cooperation of IFIP with developing countries through the use of IFIP experience, technical information and knowledge, in helping developing countries/areas in their specific needs and requests. DCSC's programme includes the distribution of IFIP publications, regional activities and training courses and seminars. Facilities have also been offered for people from developing countries to participate in IFIP conferences. Technical Committees 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. TC 2 SOFTWARE:THEORY AND PRACTICE WG 2.1 Algorithmic Languages and Calculi WG 2.2 Formal Description of Programming Concepts WG 2.3 Programming Methodology WG 2.4 System Implementation Languages WG 2.5 Numerical Software WG 2.6 Database WG 2.7 User Interface Engineering WG 2.8 Functional Programming WG 2.9 Software Requirements Engineering TC 3 EDUCATION WG 3.1 Informatics Education at the Secondary Education Level WG 3.2 Informatics Education at the University Level WG 3.3 Research on Education Applications of Information Technologies WG 3.4 Vocational Education and Training WG 3.5 Informatics in Elementary Education WG 3.6 Distance Learning TC 5 COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN TECHNOLOGY WG 5.2 Computer-Aided Design WG 5.3 Computer-Aided Manufacturing WG 5.4 Industrial Software Quality and Certification WG 5.6 Maritime Industries WG 5.7 Computer-Aided Production Management WG 5.8 Product Specification and Product Documentation WG 5.9 Computers in Food Production and Agriculture WG 5.10 Computer Graphics WG 5.11 Computers and Environment TC 6 COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS WG 6.1 Architecture and Protocols for Computer Networks WG 6.4 Local and Metropolitan Communication Systems WG 6.5 Application Layer Communication Services WG 6.6 Network Management for Communication Networks TC 7 SYSTEM MODELLING AND OPTIMIZATION WG 7.1 Modelling and Simulation WG 7.2 Computational Techniques in Distributed Systems WG 7.3 Computer System Modelling WG 7.4 Discrete Optimization WG 7.5 Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems WG 7.6 Optimization-Based Computer-Aided Modelling and Design WG 7.7 Stochastic Optimization TC 8 INFORMATION SYSTEMS WG 8.1 Design and Evaluation of Information Systems WG 8.2 Interaction of Information Systems and the Organization WG 8.3 Decision Support Systems WG 8.4 Office Information Systems WG 8.5 Information Systems in Public Administration TC 9 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPUTERS AND SOCIETY WG 9.1 Computers and Work WG 9.2 Social Accountability WG 9.3 Home Oriented Informatics and Telematics - HOIT WG 9.4 Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries WG 9.5 Social Implications of Artificial Intelligence Systems WG 9.6 Information Technology Mis-use and The Law WG 9.7 History of Computing TC 10 COMPUTER SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY WG 10.2 System Description and Design Tools WG 10.3 Concurrent Systems WG 10.4 Dependable Computing and Fault Tolerance WG 10.5 Very Large Scale Integration - VLSI WG 10.6 Neural Computer Systems TC 11 SECURITY AND PROTECTION IN INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS WG 11.1 Information Security Management WG 11.2 Small System Security WG 11.3 Database Security WG 11.4 Network Security WG 11.5 Systems Integrity and Control WG 11.7 Security Legislation WG 11.8 Information Security Education WG 11.9 IT Related Crime Investigation TC 12 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WG 12.1 Knowledge Representation WG 12.2 Machine Learning WG 12.3 Reasoning Techniques WG 12.4 Natural Language Processing WG 12.5 Knowledge-Oriented Development of Applications TC 13 HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION WG 13.1 Education in HCI and HCI Curricula WG 13.2 Methodology for User-Centred System Design WG 13.3 Human-Computer Interaction and People with Special Needs SPECIALIST GROUPS SG 14 FOUNDATIONS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE WG 14.1 Continuous Algorithms and Complexity WG 14.2 Description Complexity WG 14.3 Foundations of System Specifications SG 15 FRACTALS IFIP Publications The Proceedings of IFIP Congresses and many of its Conferences are published and distributed worldwide. These form a comprehensive library of development in information processing, as well as current state of the art. There are over 500 titles in this library. A complete list is available from the IFIP Secretariat. Two journals are affiliated with IFIP: - TC 5, - TC 11. IFIP also publishes an Information Bulletin and a quarterly Newsletter describing its work which are available free of charge. IFIP`s Mission IFIP`s mission is to be the leading, truly international, apolitical organization which encourages and assists in the development, exploitation and application of Information Technology for the benefit of all people. 1. To stimulate, encourage and participate in research, development and application of Information Technology (IT) and to foster international co-operation in these activities. 2. 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. 3. 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 organizations. 4. 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. 5. To promote professionalism, incorporating high standards of ethics and conduct, among all IT practitioners. 6. 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. 7. To foster and facilitate co-operation between academics, the IT industry and governmental bodies and to seek to represent the interest of users. 8. 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. 9. To contribute to the formulation of the education and training needed by IT practitioners, users and the public at large. Published by The IFIP Secretariat, 16 place Longemalle, CH-1204 Geneva, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 310 26 49, Fax: +41 22 781 23 22, E-mail: IFIP@UNI2a.unige.ch January 1994 edited by Dipak Khakhar How IFIP can be useful to you as an individual National organizations belong to IFIP, but individuals are the basis for all activities in an international forum for information sciences. For example: - Individuals attend IFIP congresses; - Individuals having similar interests and skills make up IFIP working groups; - Individuals attend the working conferences organised around specialised topics; - Individuals submit papers to working conferences; the papers are included in the Conference Proceedings published for IFIP. These activities for individual information professionals and scientists can have significant personal benefits for you: - An opportunity to meet with information professionals and scientists from around the world. You can expand your network of colleagues. You can learn from their viewpoints, problems and solutions. - An opportunity to share your insights, experiences and research with a worldwide audience - in working conferences and through published proceedings. FURTHER INFORMATION For further information about IFIP and its activities please complete the following form and mail it to the IFIP Secretariat, 16 place Longemalle, CH-1204 Geneva, Switzerland. E-mail: IFIP@UNI2a.unige.ch p _______ copy/copies of What is IFIP? p IFIP Newsletter p Forthcoming Congresses p List of Publications p Information regarding Technical Committee(s) on ________________________________________ Name:___________________________________________ Position:_________________________________________ Professional Address: _______________________________ ________________________________________________ Country:___________________Postcode:_______________ Telephone:_________________Fax:___________________ Date:_________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Dipak.Khakhar@ics.lu.se, Tel: +46 46 108028, Fax: +46 46 104528 Address:Department of Informatics, Lund University, Ole Romers vag 6, S-223 63 Lund, Sweden