The power and influence of the Internet grows astronomically. So far, however, commercial interests have dominated its uses. To tap the power of the Internet for humanitarian purposes, WBSI is planning a number of projects in addition to the International Leadership Forum (ILF), its flagship program. By and large, these programs are related to and integrated with the ILF, but the opportunities for the creation of valuable communities of interest online are virtually limitless.

In WBSI's previous work with computer networking, we discovered that rather than being superficial, communication among the communities we developed was deep, thoughtful and at times highly personal. We could conduct group psychotherapy online, hold productive conferences dealing with emotionally loaded subject matter, offer educational programs at the most profound levels, mobilize busy people usually unavailable for intensive or prolonged communication, and of course develop communities without geographical limitations. The Internet is especially effective in creating unprecedented communities, reaching people who would otherwise not be able to belong to a community, such as older or disabled people confined to their homes, children who could be brought together with their peers in other countries, scholars who work in isolation, etc.

Initially we are engaged in planning the following programs, brief descriptions of which may be accessed by clicking on the hyperlinks above.

• Center for Distance Learning
• Fostering Independent Scholarship
• Metaprofessional Designs for Mental Health
• Democracy and the Market System
• Management of Ethnic Conflict

Each program will eventually be an open conference that can be accessed by and commented upon by the public.