[DL] Call for Semantic Web Challenge 2004

[Akiko Inaba]

        * APOLOGIES IF YOU RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE MORE THAN ONCE *

                                              Semantic Web Challenge 2004
                                            http://challenge.semanticweb.org

                              at The International Semantic Web Conference
                                   Hiroshima, Japan, November 7-11, 2004

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                                 SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 31st, 2004
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Please visit also IEEE IS (http://www.computer.org/intelligent/)
for the May/June issue about the Semantic Web Challenge 2003
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CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
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What is the Semantic Web Challenge?
-----------------------------------
How would you explain to your grandparents what the Semantic Web
is? What possibilities do the current techniques give us? We
already have quite some infrastructure, languages, reasoning
engines, etc. that enable us to develop integrated, useful, and
attractive applications.

The "Semantic Web Challenge" has been initiated in 2003 to support this
development and to serve several purposes:

- Help us illustrate to society what the Semantic Web can provide
- Give researchers the possibility to compare results

What is the goal?
-----------------
The overall objective of the challenge is to apply "Semantic Web
techniques" in order to build an online application that
integrates, combines, and deduces information needed to assist
users in performing tasks. The challenge will be updated annually,
according to the development of the Semantic Web.

The challenge intentionally does not define specific data sets
because the potential applicability of the Semantic Web is very
broad.

Therefore, a number of minimal criteria have been defined which
allow people to submit any type of ideas in the form of an
application. In addition to the criteria, a number of specific
desires have been formulated. The more desires are met by the
application, the higher the score will be. Please visit the
above-mentioned web site to find more details about the minimal
requirements and the desires.

Semantic Web Challenge 2004
---------------------------
People from academia and from industry are invited to submit
applications that illustrate the possibilities of the Semantic
Web. The applications should integrate, combine, and deduce
information from various sources to assist users in performing
specific tasks.

The submissions should at least satisfy the minimal requirements
for a Semantic Web Application and preferably exhibit some of the
additional desires.

Although we expect that most applications will use RDF, RDF
Schema, and OWL, this is not an official requirement.

The specific goal for the Semantic Web Challenge 2004 is to show
the benefits of the inference capabilities of the SW-languages
used within the application.

Prizes
------
The prizes for the winners are available as travel support and
book vouchers:

1. Prize: 1.000 ? travel support plus 250 ? books
2. Prize: 500 ? travel support plus 250? books
3. Prize: 250 ? travel support plus 250 ? books

The winners will also be asked to give a live demonstration
of their application at the ISWC 2004 conference.

How to participate
------------------
Visit http://challenge.semanticweb.org in order to participate and
register for the Semantic Web Challenge by submitting the required
information on the online registration form. The registration form
will be open soon until August 15, 2004, 12 p.m. CET. The
application itself has to be submitted online at before August 31,
2004, 12 p.m. CET. The requirements of this entry are:

1.) Description: The description of the application will contain
the details of the system including why the system is innovative,
which features or functions the system provides, and why it is
relevant to the challenge. Examples of its use must be provided
and if the application includes the additional desires these
should be mentioned.

2.) Accessibility via WWW: during the evaluation period, the
application has to be accessible via Internet by the members of
the jury.

3.) Documentation: The documentation must explain how to run the
application for the use of evaluation.

Contact
-------
Michel Klein
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Faculty of Sciences -
dep. of Computer Science
De Boelelaan 1081a
1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Email: Michel.Klein at cs.vu.nl

Ubbo Visser
Universität Bremen
TZI - Center for Computing Technologies
Universitätsallee 21-23
D-28359 Bremen, Germany
Email: visser at tzi.de