To continue our important mission, HEC is asking you or
your company for a sponsorship!
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The primary purpose of the Hellenic Electronic Center (HEC) is to unify electronically the information of hellenic content available on the internet and to distribute the hellenic culture around the world. Some such information databases and services in electronic format already exist on the internet. What is required however is to: a) organize and make access easy to these services to everyone b) provide a physical storage place for which this information can be permanently stored and c) provide dedicated computers that will handle the requests for this information.
Currently, all of the computer related services available to people interested in Greece are scattered all over the world and difficult to track down, even for people experienced in navigating through the integrated network of computers, the internet. These services are expected only to grow in the future as the number of people with access to the internet grows. Furthermore, some of these services exist in university controlled computing facilities (usually in the personal accounts of people with access to those computers), making the future of these databases and services uncertain. Apart from the justified limitations imposed by the computing facilities of these universities (in terms of space available and resources dedicated) the existence of these resources can be terminated at a computer administrators will.
Hence we propose the creation of a Hellenic Electronic Center that will provide a physical storage place and interface to information and software of hellenic content.
HEC is a non-political non profit entity.
We envision a set of dedicated computers that will act as servers and run common utilities required for the transport of information and software of hellenic content to people that are interested in Greece and have access to the internet. This will not only function as an important resource for the hellenes of the diaspora but will inform and help people interested in various aspects of the hellenic culture.
HEC will store and provide information and links to information concerning Greece thus acting as a information server. Any person abroad or in Greece would have access to this and could find out about current status of foreign and domestic issues. The creation of the H.E.C would not only link together all of the resources available around the world, but house information and databases of relevance so that a home is guaranteed and well maintained. These databases are envisioned to be accessed by anyone at any time: a young child doing homework on Greek mythology; a university student doing a research project on current or ancient events in Greece; a businessman trying to find information about investment opportunities in Greece; a couple trying to plan their next vacation in Greece; a scientist looking for career opportunities or collaborations with others in Greece; a young first generation Greek trying to find out details about the military service. The list is truly endless.
Until fairly recently, this kind of computer related information was available only to technical people in research and academia. The profound and radical evolution however of communications and the internet has opened the opportunity to virtually anyone with a computer and a modem to access this information. This is thus the proper time to create such a organization. Many other organizations and companies have joined forces into promoting their cause by purchasing dedicated computers to act as their information servers. The growth of this process has so far been exponential and all indicators show that this will continue.
History will show. But we cannot simply wait and watch history pass us by. Given the enormous growth rates of the internet, the potential exposure of Greece through this electronic forum cannot be overstated. Such an organization will help the diffusion of the hellenic culture around the world since it would provide access to information and services that would otherwise be cumbersome and difficult for many people to obtain. Just as the advent of the print helped to disseminate the hellenic culture around the world during the renaissance, it is hoped that this new communication medium of the internet will create a gateway to the hellenic culture and civilization. HEC can become a focal point of these technologies and at the same time a lighthouse of information.
It is true that various information depositories are already being formed in Greece. However, there will be no duplication of effort involved in this project. Its goal is to organize all the information pertaining to Greece as a collection of links to other places that already have this information and to house projects that originate from Hellenes of the diaspora. The number of Hellenic projects has been steadily increasing and is one of the prime motivators of creating such an organization. Furthermore, slow links across the Atlantic can severely handicap the capability to rapidly transport this information. This is specially true for hypertext documents rich in images and other multi-media applications (sounds, movie clips), which would be a must for some applications (such as promoting tourism in Greece). It is therefore important that such a service be initially installed somewhere in North America which arguably has one of the largest collections of hellenes of the diaspora and the largest number of people with access to the internet.
HEC has already enterd a recruiting and planning phase. Once the minimum of resources are obtained, it will organize itself as an independent non-profit entity and it will offer some initial services. In the long run HEC will be a permanent presence with mirrors all over the world. As the Internet technology changes, HEC plans to be there, keeping up with the newest developments in communication.
HEC has been in a sense a spinoff of Poseidon. Therefore, a number of people from this project have tried to help setup the HEC. However, the scope of the HEC is greater then that of Poseidon and many people of hellenic descent involved with the internet have been thinking of initiating such a project before.
HEC is maintained by the administration (which are volunteers) and all of the other volunteers. All the members are planned to be involved in the decision making process as the project progresses.
The manpower of HEC consists of members from the Poseidon project plus other known internet users interested in the cause. HEC has no material assets to date (Nov.1995) since no startup money has been collected.
The idea about HEC came about natually as Poseidon's members saw the potential of these internet projects to promote the Hellenic civilization. Such ideas have been around for a while since more and more internet users realized that such a service is required to assure the continuity and consistnecy of the presence of hellenic information on the internet, especially for projects that originate away from Greece. Using Poseidon's infrastructure, the idea of the HEC was made public to attract support and volunteers.
HEC does not have a budget yet although we have estimates of the costs. It is evident though that if we want to offer the services we have in mind, dedicated computers, disk space and a permanent physical storage facility is necessary. Promotional material, office supplies, etc., all cost money. Various ideas wave been proposed. We will primarily look for donations and grants to keep the center running.
Bylaws similar to those of Poseidon are on the drawing board. Every member from Poseidon is a participant in the process of drafting the bylaws. The vision behind them is that HEC is a non-profit, non-political entity and this should guide our actions.
This is unknown. We hope that by the end of 1996, HEC will be able to start serving the Hellenic community. Of course, it all depends on finding resources soon enough.
This is difficult to answer. First, as the demand for service increases, HEC may not be able to accommodate everyone. Second, HEC can store only information that does not violate its bylaws. If however the above are satisfied members of the HEC will try to help in any way possible.
The Hellenic government has been aware of Poseidon and of HEC. The Ministry of Education, Hellenic Organization of Tourism, Ministry of Civilisation and Sciences are some offices that should be directly related to our project once it is completed. Since it usually takes time for offices to respond, for now the volunteers have to rely on themselves first to create a working Center. As the quote from the movie Field of Dreams goes: "If you build it, they will come".
You can help by volunteering to take on projects according to your skills and desires. There is a lot of work to be done with the technical and promotional aspects of HEC. The Hellenic Electronic Center is an opportunity far too great to miss. For more information look at the HEC web site (http://www.greece.org/) or contact one of our representatives in Greece (Anotnis Bouris, bouris@hyper.gr) or in the U.S.A (Thanos Voudouris, thanos@vlsi.gsfc.nasa.gov).
Last modified: Fri Dec 1 18:10:58 EST 1995