eWORK 2000 - European Telework Week

New Ways to Work 2000European TeleworkAnnex 4: ON LINE EUROPEAN TELEWORK SITES1. European Telework Online (ETO)The European Telework Online web site at http://www.eto.org.uk is now well established as the world's premierweb-site devoted to telework and related topics. With a growing number of contributors from around the world, anextensive set of resources and links to related sites in many languages and countries, its popularity has increasedsignificantly during the last year. Monthly requests have doubled to over 190,000, equating to over 20,000 usersessions from over 85 countries. Significant enhancements to site content were made during 1998-9 with many pages,especially country specific pages, being added or updated and with the addition of new features including a querydriven resources database, an easy to use web-based discussion forum, and copies of presentations.Site OverviewEuropean Telework Online aims to provide employers, policy makers, teleworkers and other interested audiences withaccess to useful and timely information and help. An overview site schematic is shown in Figure A3.1. It has fourmain themes:Telework - working virtually over electronic networks, not just from home but in a wide range of locationindependent modesTeletrade - electronic commerce in its broadest senseTelecooperation - working cooperatively across organisational and geographic boundaries, either in formalarrangements or informal networks, virtually over electronic networksInformation Society - new methods of work (to reflect actions in the 5 th Framework Programme)These themes provide users with information through different types of page and access mechanisms:Introductory pages - basic information including definitions, opportunities and strategiesFrequently Asked Questions - on topics ranging from getting work to disabilitiesLinks - links to other web sitesResources database - details of resourcesEvents calendar - of telework and Information Society events around the worldOnline discussion forums - via a user-friendly web interface (WebBoard)European Telework Development (ETD) - information about the ETD projectSearch and navigation - search engine, contents page and details of recent changesFeedback - general feedback, posting information and registration of interest.As well as Web pages, the site also holds information in other formats - e.g. Word documents and Powerpointpresentations. The site thus provides an extensive resource as well as encouraging dialogue and sharing of knowledgeand experiences by the teleworking and online community.Key Developments in 1999-2000Several of the features introduced in 1997-8 have been enhanced and updated:Country Pages - many pages have significantly more local content, and there is also more local language content. Newcountries added include Norway, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine and Canada.Events Database - this remains a useful source of a wide range of events - both local and international.ETD News - published quarterly in conjunction with the ETHOS Newsletter, the online edition has meant access tomore readers, and often ahead of the hard-copy publication.Strong links have been maintained with European Telework Week, which now has its own web-sitehttp://www.eto.org- 190 -