OAS ADDRESSES Y2K ISSUE ON THE INTERNET

January 11, 1999

The OAS is currently organizing a series of teleconferences about Y2K compliance with the support of the United States Information Agency and the U.S. State Department.

On Thursday, January 14, 12-1p.m., Washington, D.C. time (1700-1800 UTC) the Organization of American States and WORLDNET Dialogue presents the TV debate "Y2K: The Contingency Planning Process." This live, interactive program will feature contingency planning experts from the United States and Latin America. They will discuss how businesses and governments are developing backup plans to keep their organizations running in case some of their critical computer systems are not Y2K - compliant by January 1, 2000.

In Washington, studio guests are Bob Cohen, Senior Vice President of the Information Technology Association of America (http://www.itaa.org), and Donald Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Y2K Project Office of Montgomery County, Maryland (http://www.co.mo.md.us/Year2000) Moderator is Mario Martinez y Palacios, from the OAS. The program will also feature Y2K contingency planning experts from La Paz, Bolivia, and Lima, Peru. The program will be broadcast in Spanish and English to Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada.

These teleconferences will be broadcast on the Internet, and all countries in the hemisphere will be able to follow the proceedings through the OAS home page (http://www.oas.org). The producers are accepting questions in advance to be answered during the show. You can send your question by e-mail ([email protected]).

The program will also be transmitted via satellite. For specific satellite information please contact the WORLDNET TV web site (http://www.voa.gov/worldnet/).