(Here is the page that was used in the original conference presentation.)
The Internet as Tool for Addressing Global Problems
The World can be seen as a complex network (Link 1) of globally interwoven systems. The first diagram is based on the UN program on Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change.
Computer Networks
Several different computer networks have been developed which are now in the process of becoming globally interlinked through the Internet(Link 2).
Growing Connectivity
The rapid growth of this network can be seen in the comparison between the two maps (Jan 1993 vs Feb 1994), and in the extrapolation to the year 2001(Link 3) when basically everybody could be connected through the Internet and a Global Brain could emerge.
Access Tools to the Internet
Many different ways exist to access and use the Internet as a Global Information System (Link 4) through the World Wide Web and especially with the Mosaic interface, we can get access to many Information servers (Link 5) around the world. We can zoom-in to any of these areas to obtain more details, and we can do that as an exercise after the demo.
Online Examples
For example we can get fast access to the DEMOGRAPHY &POPULATION; STUDIES SERVER(Link 6) of the AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY.
International Organizations
From there we have a link for example to the Gopher server of the United Nations and their POPULATION INFORMATION NETWORK (POPIN)(Link 7) Most major international organizations are on the Internet today like the World Health Organization(Link 8) (This server is in Switzerland).
Internet Starting Point
At this point it probably would be best to start the exploration of the Internet, one good starting point is here(Link 9).
Local HungerWeb Server
But you can also start from a local access point(Link 10) that is directly relevant to the topic of this conference. We can also talk about those issues by e-mail... or listen to the Birds of Zimbabwe...
