On June 8, two Youth With A Mission (YWAM) bases engaged in the first Internet Protocol Link. The linking was part of an effort by bases involved in GENESIS, the name of the technology used by YWAM to make its University of the Nations (UofN) classes available to people from all continents in a global classroom with access to real time interactive learning sessions.
The YWAM base in Lausanne, Switzerland connected to the YWAM base in Denver, Co., USA for over 5 hours with a stable, very high video and sound quality, reports the GENESIS Web site.
Since the inception of GENESIS (Global, Electronic, Network, Educating, Serving) in 1996, developers had been connecting international YWAM bases and UofN campuses using ISDN phone lines.
The connection between Switzerland and the United States was the fruit of about a year-long investigation on how high speed broadband connections such as DSL, Broadband Cable, and Satellite could be used to increase the efficiency of GENESIS. Although organizers of GENESIS had attempted to connect several locations in the past few months, there was little success.
After the GENESIS team achieved unprecedented quality during its latest attempt, they began looking "forward to a future where GENESIS can link people and nations at a lower cost and higher benefit to students," reports GENESIS.
"This is truly a historic day for the GENESIS family around the world as it opens the door much wider to the future of IP (Internet Protocol) technology," read a report from GENESIS. "Now we know it is possible in some areas of the world."
"The exciting part of IP convergence for GENESIS is two-fold. The first is that Video Conferencing over Internet Protocol (VCoIP) uses a connection to the Internet for a flat monthly rate which means no more per minute charges. The second advantage is the use of higher bandwidth (speed) which allows for much greater quality of video and audio since the screen can update much faster," explained GENESIS.
Although GENESIS is still in the Research and Development phase of an internet-based connection, the International GENESIS Centre invites YWAM bases with a broadband internet connection with upstream/downstream minimum of 512 kbs to be a part of the testing phase. Those interested are to contact: info@go-genesis.com.
The GENESIS technology has also been used to join YWAM bases in international worship events called, "One Voice." The fourth "One Voice" global worship gathering is scheduled for Saturday August 14, 2004 at (Switzerland time) 3 p.m.
GENESIS hopes to connect all of its 300 UofN campuses present in over 50 nations. Its ultimate goal is to see 1000 Training Centres serving 100,000 students every year.
