Infoxchange Australia is recognised for the fourth consecutive
year for its world leading initiatives.
Infoxchange Australia's Service Seeker (ISS)
has qualified as one of the finalists for the Stockholm Challenge,
the prestigious global awards programme that attracts IT-entrepreneurs
from all over the world and rewards best practice of information technology.
Nearly 900 projects from 107 countries entered in this years challenge.
This is the record fourth year in a row that an initiative
of Infoxchange Australia has been a finalist in the Stockholm Challenge.
In 2000 it was a joint winner in the Public Service and Democracy
Category. The jury declared that Infoxchange Australia showed a first
class example of how Information Technology might be used in a new
and innovative way.
The ISS is part of Infoxchange Australia's mission to use "Technology
for Social Justice". It is the most extensive, up to date
electronic directory of health, welfare and community support services
provided by government, community agencies and individuals.
Effective health service delivery and planning requires
access to extensive and up-to-date information about health, welfare
and community services. In the past much of this information was paper
based and quickly outdated or 'carried in staff members' heads as
part of their expert knowledge.
Concerns about the breadth, quality and currency of
information are ever present. In collaboration with leading professionals
from a range of disciplines Infoxchange Australia developed the ISS,
a unique community support services directory.
The ISS directory contains entries for over 100,000
community and government agencies and support services. Detailed and
constantly updated information is provided about education, ethnic,
health, disability, housing, legal, home & community care and
recreational services for children, adolescents, families and the
elderly.
The ISS is available free of charge over the Internet
and is linked to a range of e-applications making the service delivery
system efficient and effective.
The Stockholm Challenge is an annual awards programme
for pioneering IT projects in areas where IT has a great impact on
people's lives. The participating projects show in practice how IT
can be applied to social welfare and health care programs, or as a
tool in favour of democracy. The Challenge seeks to abbreviate the
gap between the information-rich and information-poor and seeks to
spread the use of IT to larger groups in society.
As one of the finalists in 2004, Infoxchange Australia
has been invited by the City of Stockholm to participate in the final
events that will take place in May.
Infoxchange
Service Seeker, Stockholm Challenge: Media Release
For more information, please contact:
Andrew Mahar
Director
Infoxchange Australia
andrew@infoxchange.net.au
03 9418 7400
For a closer look at the ISS: www.serviceseeker.com.au
For more information on the Stockholm Challenge Award:
www.challenge.stockholm.se
