Christine Broda-Bahm, Mayor's Office of Employment Development: 410.212.1469 cell, 410.396.9928 office

Bennett Gamble, U.S. Department of Labor: 202.693.4650

Baltimore-Mayor Martin O'Malley will be among the distinguished speakers at the opening plenary session of the fifth annual Joint Employment and Training Technology Conference (Jett-Con 2001). The opening plenary features federal, state and local perspectives on e-Government, demonstrating how information technology will provide enhanced communication and services for citizens.

Mayor O'Malley will overview his vision for Baltimore's Digital Harbor and highlight recent innovate uses of technology in governing the city including CitiStat and CitiTrack and discuss his initiatives in bridging the digital divide in Baltimore.

Also slated for the opening session are Ronald Peterson, president of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and chair of the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board and Elliot H. Schlanger, chief information officer for the City of Baltimore. Schlanger, creator of the City's nationally acclaimed CitiStat program and CitiTrack Customer Relations Management application for citizen call intake and citywide work order management, will address how these innovations are changing the face of government.

Jett*Con is being co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, and will draw more than 2500 workforce development experts from across the country to the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Md., July 16-18.

Held annually at sites nationwide, the focus of this year's conference will reflect two major developments in workforce development: (1) America's Workforce Network, inspired by the 1998 Workforce Investment Act, is a system of programs and partnerships that has redefined the delivery of workforce development programs at all levels of government; (2) e-Government, the promising transformation of government services and programs through the use of the Internet and other communication tools.

Youth and experienced youth service providers will demonstrate the latest technologies and strategies for engaging young people in employment and training at YouthZone, a special interactive Jett*Con exhibit featuring tools and techniques for developing and strengthening youth services in the community.

Jett*Con corporate sponsors include: CompUSA, Accenture, Sylvan Learning Systems, KPMG Consulting, IBM, InfoUSA, Learning Stream and Convansys. Full conference information is available through the Jett*Con web site at www.jettcon.org.