Dear Participant,

          We would like to welcome you to the XVIII ISTEC General Assembly, hosted by the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in the southernmost state capital of Brazil, Porto Alegre. With an unrivaled quality of life index among Brazilian state capitals, Porto Alegre provides a unique and hospitable setting for social, cultural and academic endeavors. These elements are reflected in the qualities presented by PUCRS, a leader in the areas of teaching, research and innovation among Brazilian higher education institutions. Taken together, we believe that Porto Alegre and PUCRS can provide the XVIII ISTEC General Assembly with the ideal circumstances as hosts of this special event.

          The central theme of the XVIII ISTEC General Assembly is "Innovation in International Collaboration: Energy, Digital Information and Global Sustainability". Four events, each corresponding to cutting edge initiatives related to the central theme, will run concurrently with the General Assembly.

          The Advanced Continuing Education (ACE) initiative is concerned with applying the latest technology to aspects in the realm of high level human resource development and education. The Research and Development (R&D) initiative fosters innovation, creativity and collaboration between academia and industry through cooperative projects, with the objective of transferring technology for regional social and economic problem-solving. The Los Libertadores Centers of Excellence initiative brings together businesses and institutions with common interests to facilitate distributed problem-solving, creating the critical mass needed for the development of regional projects in a variety of relevant areas. The Digital Library Linkages initiative includes the VI International Symposium on Digital Libraries, a forum for presentations and debates on the latest innovations and trends in digital information.

          We would like to emphasize the highly anticipated meeting of the Leadership Council, a visionary task force composed of leaders in science, business and academia. The objective of this Council is to contribute experience and ideas that can have a positive impact on the construction of future scenarios in these areas and the means for their potential realization.

          Our acknowledgements to the distinguished professors representing renowned universities and all participants who contribute to the success of this Assembly.

          Sincerely,