Embassy of Uruguay

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The Embassy of Uruguay in Canada has been using the Internet at their offices in Ottawa since they became Information Providers on the National Capital FreeNet in 1994. NCF was their introduction to the world of electronic communication and was an excellent place to 'get their feet wet'. Although the Embassy has been unable to update their information, due to staff and time limitations, they have Incorporated Internet communication into the day to functioning of the Embassy.

Impact at the Embassy

1. Expanded the Uruguayan citizens they can serve.
   • Now able to provided information not only to citizens in Canada but any citizen around the world has who has an e- mail address.

   • By joining a listserve for citizens of Uruguay living outside the country are able to directly respond to specific requests (citizenship, import/export requirements/passports/etc.) which would take more than 6 weeks to be handled via post mail to Uruguay.

2. Changed the information flow between Ottawa and Montevideo.
   • Hardly use fax/telex as communicate 3-4 times daily using e-mail.

   • Internet and the Web have been a tremendous tool for researching specific questions, policy issues, and up to date information sources making this process much more time and cost efficient

Moving to the Web

While the main use of the Internet has been on an operational level, the Embassy is also planning to provide an information service on the Web. The following are the main issues to be addressed:

• Already exists a plethora of information about Uruguay, don't want to reinvent the wheel.

• Deciding on relevant, up to date information.

• Training and maintenance costs and time required.

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