Sacramento, California – April
17, 2002 – Governor Gray Davis
today announced the 12 winners of the 2002 Governor’s
Technology & Innovation Awards, which honor
non-profit organizations, public-private partnerships,
educational institutions, individuals, and philanthropic
programs that help foster California’s tech-based
economy in exemplary and innovative ways.
“This year’s Technology & Innovation
Award winners are as diverse as California’s
regions,” Governor Davis said. “These
organizations and programs illustrate why California
remains the dominant global force in technology
and serve as examples for replication throughout
the State.”
“The awards are given for contributions
that help foster the fundamentals needed to grow
and maintain a tech-based economy,” said
Lon S. Hatamiya, Secretary of California’s
Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency. “All
12 recipients work to ensure a better quality
of life for California’s communities and
promote partnerships for opportunity and prosperity.”
Awards were given for innovative, high-tech applications
in education and workforce development, commercialization,
quality of life, investment, innovation, entrepreneurship
and community access to technology.
Award winners include a business incubator, a
high school principal, a workforce training program,
community tech-access programs, a public-private
science education collaborative, a trade organization,
and a science learning center.
The winners will be featured in a “Governor’s
Technology & Innovation Compendium of Best
Practices” and distributed to non-profits,
legislators, and other interested stakeholders.
The California Technology, Trade and Commerce
Agency serves as the State’s principal catalyst
for innovation, investment and economic opportunity,
enhancing the quality of life for all Californians.
The Governor’s Technology & Innovation
Awards are administered by the Agency’s
Division of Science, Technology and Innovation,
a partnership ensuring a technology driven economy
for all Californians.
Among the recipient’s of this year’s
award is San Diego-based Pangea Foundation. Pangea
Foundation’s Abilities Networks is a comprehensive
program to research, design, and implement information
technologies that ensure people with disabilities
can fully participate in the digital economy.
The project creates a series of online information
management tools and assistive technology applications
that enhance Internet capabilities for people
with disabilities. Abilities Networks provides
a framework for community organizations, government
agencies, businesses, educational institutions,
and other public and private entities to meet
important goals of developing universally designed
Internet applications and services.
