Childnet International Announces Internet Shortlist for 2001 Childnet Awards in Washington D.C. Short list selected from record number of entries and 47 countries 16 March 2001

Vienna, VA - March 20, 2001 - Recognizing outstanding Internet projects that give children the opportunity to create, connect and discover, Childnet International today announced ten finalists for the 2001 Childnet Awards to be held in Washington, D.C., at the National Geographic theater,
April 19. This year, finalists from around the globe won a week's stay in Washington, where they will learn which global teams take top honors. This marks the first year that the Childnet Awards will be held in the United States.

The Childnet Awards, sponsored by Cable & Wireless, are an international effort to promote creative and beneficial ways children can use the World Wide Web. Many of the projects challenge children and adults about their attitude regarding important social issues, while others encourage children to interact with each other and share ideas and feelings. Ten finalists were selected for four award categories: individual, non-profit, school, and government.

"While many adults use the Internet just to make purchases, be entertained and communicate, this year's Childnet Award winners are being much more innovative and discovering the true worth of the Net to change our world for the better," said Childnet Director Nigel Williams.

For 2001, the Awards attracted a record number of entries - more than 200 from 47 countries. The finalist projects came from Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Children, adults, schools, non-profits and governments alike participated in developing the winning sites.

"At a time when there is less 'public space' that children can use to express their feelings, we are seeing in the Childnet Awards how children are using the Internet to share their lives, and inspire others," said Childnet Award judge Trond Waage, the Norwegian Ombudsman for Children. "Children are forming a new online community which is not restricted to national boundaries."

Some examples of finalist sites include:

www.myhero.com: an interactive educational website from California that allows children from around the world the opportunity to build a webpage about their real life hero. As well as including positive role models such as Rosa Parks, Mark Twain and Martin Luther King, the expanding database includes moving tributes of unsung heroes and encourages children to appreciate that each individual can make a difference.

http://www.tesan.vuurwerk.nl/diaries/: produced by the students in the Cannelton Elementary school from Indiana working with children from the DeWadden school in The Netherlands, the site includes children's animal stories, poems, and drawings as well as Chatsessions with children's authors.

http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca/index.htm, from Canada. Flat Stanley enables children to donate books and food to children in Brazil with leprosy. The site encourages children at various schools in more than 15 countries to exchange experiences, including photographs of a paper character called Stanley who comes alive through the Internet.

The Awards have been sponsored by Cable and Wireless plc since 1997. Stephen Pettit, Executive Director of Corporate Development and one of the Awards judges says, "Cable & Wireless is delighted to be involved with Childnet, which is working so hard to improve the lives and promote the interests of children around the world. As one of the Awards judges I never fail to be surprised at both the variety and quality of the entries which are a tribute to the young people involved."

Further sponsorship for the 2001 Awards comes from Alcatel, which sponsored the Government category award.

The full list of categories and finalist sites can be seen at:
http://www.childnet-int.org/awards/press/index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Stephen Carrick-Davies at Childnet (in the UK - EST+5)
Tel: +44 20 7639 6967 Mobile +44 771 245 1859 e-mail stephen@childnet-int.org
Barbara McLeod at Cable & Wireless
Tel: 703-734-7667 e-mail barbara.mcleod@cw.com

Nikki Laughlin at Cable & Wireless
Tel: 703-760-1574 e-mail nikki.laughlin@cw.com
Kate Hawken at Brodeur Worldwide
Tel: 202-715-0506 e-mail khawken@brodeur.comkhawken@brodeur.com