Last modification: 2006-03-03

The Silk Project

The ancient Silk Road was not only a trade route but also an all-important road for the transfer of information and knowledge between major regions of the world. The project that is presented in this web site brings highly cost effective, global Internet connectivity to the Caucasus and Central Asia through state-of-the-art satellite technology, thus creating a virtual Silk information highway. Consequently, the project has been called the 'Virtual Silk Highway', in short: the 'SILK Project'. The aim of the SILK Project is to increase significantly the exchange of information with, and between, academic and educational institutions in these regions.

The project originated as a NATO funded network infrastructure project. The Silk project plan was approved in November 2001. The project has since then evolved into a broad initiative aiming at sustainable National Research and Education Network organisations in three Southern Caucasus and five Central Asian countries. Next to the NATO Science Division and the scholarly communities in each of the eight countries, partners such as CISCO, DESY, GEANT, the SOROS Foundation, UNDP, the State Department of the USA, Worldbank, University College London and the University of Groningen are coordinating efforts to accomplish this goal.

The Silk project is being managed by the Silk ExCo: a co-ordinating body that consists of representatives of the various parties that are involved in the implementation of the project. In due time the Silk ExCo will be replaced by the Silk Board that will be responsible for the longer term sustainability of the infrastructure that is being installed.

This web site is a meeting place of the various initiatives that are involved in what is commonly known as the Silk project.