# Shirley Foundation supports "first online disability conference"

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/10/19/shirley-foundation-supports-quotfirst-online-disability-conferencequot/
- Published: 1999-10-19T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The National Autistic Foundation will launch Autism99 on 2 November, the “first-
ever worldwide disability conference to happen only on the Internet.”
Funding for
the conference and Web site was granted by The Shirley Foundation. This is a newly-
formed charity dedicated to autism set up by business woman Steve Shirley, who founded
the FI group.

National Autistic Society branches will also be able to participate in the conference
as a result of a fundraising partnership between British Telecom and the Society.
NAS was one of five charities to which customers were asked to donate their Friends
and Family savings from July to September.

The Web-based conference is the work of RMR Design Associates Ltd. (They subsequently
reported that their fee for the conference was £150,000, according to Internet World,
August 2000, p.60).

Bob Rankin featured the site on [Tourbus](http://www.tourbus.com) on 6 November 
1999 and commented: “I have to say this is a VERY impressive site – flashy but it
still downloads quickly.”

You can take part in the conference by registering at [Autism99](http://www.autism99.org).

 * **[Online fundraising competition](https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/10/21/online-fundraising-competition/)**(
   21 October 1999)
 * **[FIACC now available for free](https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/10/24/fiacc-now-available-free/)**(
   24 October 1999)
 * **[National Gallery to sell tickets online](https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/10/25/national-gallery-sell-tickets-online/)**(
   25 October 1999)

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