Pagelets concept was born from the idea making 'Internet presence' possible and useful across the digital divide, worldwide. While gradually refined and deepened over many moons, the basic aims and ideas have remained remarkably stable: full user control over creation and content of pagelets, with easy searchability based on automatically indexed structural and textual information.
The founders of Pagelets share the vision of providing easy and meaningful access of information systems to all. Prof. Lambert Meertens has been involved with human-computer issues for a great many years and has been perplexed with the level of difficulty related to using computers. One of the long-term goals in his academic life is to improve the ease of use and access to information systems. Dr. T. B. Dinesh is motivated by offering resources that assist people to work where they live and reduce the impacts felt in communities when educated individuals are forced to leave their homes in order to work in their area of specialization. Dr. Susan Uskudarli is motivated by helping communities help themselves. Her first hand experience during the 1999 earthquake in Turkey and subsequent volunteering work has had a very strong impact on her belief in the power of information for the people who are determined to help. The role of the Internet after natural disasters has been very important, yet coordination and especially tracking activities and status remain difficult issues.
All the founders share the objective of contributing to solutions that have sustainable impact. For example, a community reacting to a natural disaster needs tools and efforts that are long-term, such as the education of orphaned or displaced children.
