The GARR_06 Conference aims to highlight the leading role of network infrastructures, particularly GARR and the Research and Education Networks, in bridging the digital divide both nationally and internationally.

High-level speakers will discuss GARR’s role in the broader context of the Digital Divide at the national level, as a creator of infrastructures in Southern Italy, and internationally, through its contributions to development projects in China, the Mediterranean, and South America.

The conference will showcase “value-added” services currently in use, including advanced scientific applications, while exploring new models of network usage with resources that are accessible anywhere, anytime, and for a variety of purposes. Emphasis will also be placed on the role of academic networks as drivers of innovation and development beyond the strictly scientific field, as well as the benefits brought by the network in education, such as in the “Schools on GARR” project.

Finally, the conference will offer an “overview” of GARR’s current status, both politically and technically, more than three years after the establishment of the GARR Consortium.