The Morino Institute announced today that it will join MCI in support of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project to cultivate net entrepreneurs in the greater Washington region. The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project is a non-profit organization created to help the greater Washington region seize the economic, educational and social opportunities of the communications revolution and become the global center of the knowledge industry.

The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, along with MCI and the Morino Institute is committed to devising a support system to help net entrepreneurs in the greater Washington region bring net-centric products and services to market faster. The centerpiece of this support system will be a new Web site to be developed, designed and hosted by MCI and the Morino Institute. The Institute will also define, acquire and manage the site's content.

"Fostering and promoting net entrepreneurship is an important building block to the long-term mission of the Morino Institute," said Mario Morino, chairman of the Morino Institute and founder and former vice chair of Legent Corporation. "The Institute was established to help communities and individuals manage the benefits and risks of the communications revolution and the resulting transformation in the way we live, work and learn. Reaching net entrepreneurs through the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project will provide the Morino Institute the opportunity to leverage the development of micro-enterprise and youth and social entrepreneurship as we strive to foster innovation and greater work opportunities at all socio-economic levels."

"The Morino Institute's support of the net entrepreneurs program is symbolic of its deep understanding of the systemic change that is occurring in our society today and the need to enable the entrepreneurs who are creating net-based products and services," said April Young, executive director of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project.

The Morino Institute will join MCI and the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project in finalizing the details of the net entrepreneurs program over the next few months. The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project plans to roll the new program out by the end of 1996.

Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, the Morino Institute is dedicated to opening the doors of opportunity—economic, civic, health and education—and empowering people to improve their lives and communities in the communications age. The Institute helps individuals and institutions harness the power of information and the potential of interactive communications as tools for overcoming the challenges that face them.

The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project has quickly emerged as a powerful and positive force in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. In addition to net entrepreneurship, the organization is focused on three other primary initiatives: increasing awareness of what the communications revolution means to individuals, businesses and institutions in the greater Washington region; promoting a net-savvy workforce; and advancing a regional information infrastructure that will improve connectedness throughout the region.