Canadian Committee
1996 Internet World Exposition
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6
Tel: (613) 520-2600 ext 8341
Fax: (613) 520-4049

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - - February 15, 1996: Imagine visitors from all corners of the globe exploring the beauty, richness, traditions and diversity of the Canadian landscape. Imagine being able to visit Singapore and enjoying the festivities of the Chinese New Year, going on an expedition to Dharmasala to listen to the Dalai Lama, or learning about the Otavalo weaving tradition in the highlands of Ecuador. Imagine all this from your computer desktop. This is all happening at the 1996 Internet World Exposition (http://park.org/).

Canada is among 30 countries participating in this ongoing global construction project for the entire year as pavilions, exhibits, and events are added.

This global event is the first world's fair where anyone can open a pavilion, and anyone can participate. Though different from the industrial age expositions, this is still a real world's fair: over $100 million US in resources from industry and government has been contributed to make this a world's fair for the information age.

"The Internet 1996 World's Fair is an innovative opportunity for Canada to display its creativity on the world's stage," said Dave Sutherland, chair of the Canadian Organizing Committee and founder of Ottawa's National Capital Freenet. "Unlike a traditional fair which is confined to a building at a specific location, this World's Fair is open to everyone everywhere. Today, technology allows Canadians in all walks of life to participate in the development of exhibit materials throughout the year."

The Canadian Internet Park will host "Theatres of Learning", with pavilions showcasing Canada's peoples, places, and events.

The "Theatres of Learning" theme reflects the importance of information as our society moves from the industrial age to the information age. Canadians who participate in this project will leave an enduring legacy, building and shaping the global village.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the number of visits to the World Exposition will exceed 7 million. Since the fair opened on January 1, more than 10,000 visitors from some 50 countries have attended the fair each day. This is an outstanding opportunity to promote Canada, the richness of its economic, social, cultural and technological fabric, and, of course, the sponsors.

"Corel is proud to be part of building this innovative world exposition," said Dr. Michael Cowpland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Corel Corporation. "As mainstream society enters the information age, it's important to showcase our achievements using the interactive and far reaching medium of the Internet."

Minister of Industry John Manley emphasizes the significance of the Canadian Park in his support of this initiative. "Canadian firms have the ability to be world leaders in many areas surrounding the growing information highway, and the Internet 1996 World Exposition is an excellent opportunity to further enrich this expertise as well as proudly promote our firms, resources and culture to the world."

Carleton University journalism students are constructing the first Canadian Event, "The Sites and Sounds of Winterlude," which gives the world an opportunity to see a multimedia presentation of Ottawa's famous winter festival.

Among the exhibits, Canada's Park will feature the "Canoe Pavilion" - an interactive multimedia journey through Canada's waterways and rivers. Historically, the canoe was instrumental in Canada's development and was the first vehicle on Canada's first information highway.

Included in the Canoe Pavilion is the "Grand Challenge" - inviting everyone to populate maps of Canada's lakes, rivers, and waterways with pictures, video clips, audio clips, stories and anecdotes - a living and evolving document of canoeing in Canada.

Construction at the Canadian Park is only beginning. This effort to populate Theatres of Learning in cyberspace requires full Canadian participation. The Canadian Organizing Committee invites everyone, individuals, government, business and industry to help in building our pavilions, to bring our events to the world, and to create real places where people can visit the fair.

More information on participation, pavilions and sponsorship can be obtained from:

Roy Gibbons
Executive Director, Canadian Organizing Committee
Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies, Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6
(613) 520-2600 ext. 8341; fax: (613) 520-4049
email: wf@carleton.ca