Opening speech by GOVIS convenor

Welcome to the GOVIS 2001 conference.

When the title of the conference "GOVIS 2001 - An E-government odyssey", was first proposed, I had my reservations, but when I consulted dictionary.com, I was convinced we had made the right decision. Let me read the definition to you…

In many of the government agencies I have contact with, I can see signs that they are making good progress on their individual E-government odysseys.

Over the next three days we will explore E -Government and its relationship to the Citizen, to Business, and to Government Agencies. In recognition of the feedback we received from last year's conference, the streams will include topics related to the Web, Security, and to Information and Knowledge Management.

There is so much happening this year that we have had to organise more on more days, to provide sufficient opportunity for a complete update.

This year we're experimenting with the conference programme in a number of ways:

a) We ran three workshops yesterday, using invited international speakers, to raise awareness of some of the issues facing us - namely security, accessible website design and knowledge management.

b) We have invited reality check speakers from outside of the Public Service, to talk about their perceptions of E-government

c) We have extended a wider invitation for attendees from outside of Government, to hear about some of the good work going on, and to provide an opportunity to network.

d) We have organised "The Buzzies" awards dinner on the final night to celebrate success. I know already that many of you will be there - it will be a great night.

This year we're also celebrating our own success, with 2001 being the 10th anniversary of GOVIS. That's right, GOVIS was founded in 1992, as a need originating from GOSIP - an appropriate acronym, because we have always said that one of our goals is to share knowledge.

The names of the founding committee, such as Judy Owen, Jim Higgins, Jillian Armstrong, Adrienne O'Sullivan, and Mark Baddeley are still familiar to many of us in this room.

In 2001, GOVIS is evolving again, to make room for the new E-government environment. The ability of GOVIS to evolve is the underlying strength of GOVIS. That is the differentiator. GOVIS looks forward to supporting its members in moving into this exciting new environment.

In closing, I would like to thank the GOVIS conference committee for their efforts. They have pulled together an exceptional programme. I'd also like to thank the businesses that have contributed their support and sponsorship to this conference. If I was to use e-government jargon, one of the opportunities of GOVIS 2001, is to network and make contacts, not only with G-to-G, but also G-to-B. Make the most of this opportunity.

Thank you
Mike Pearson, GOVIS convenor