The following is being sent to all APL local groups:

                                         APL93 Russian Fund
                                         Box 384 Adelaide Street PO
                                         Toronto, Ontario M5C 2J5
                                         CANADA

                                         28 April 1993

     The APL93 Russian Fund grew to nearly US$3,000 by the end of
February, but there have been no contributions for two months.
Contributions to date can be represented geographically as follows:

     STATE/COUNTRY AMOUNT  CONTRIBUTORS

     California    US$325    4
     Connecticut   US$ 50    1
     Hawaii        US$100    1
     Illinois      US$100    1
     Kentucky      US$ 50    1
     Massachusetts US$100    1
     New Jersey    US$300    2
     New York      US$295    5
     Texas         US$ 60    1

     Australia     US$100    1
     Belgium       US$200    1
     Canada       Cdn$600    4
     England    Pounds 75    1
     France        US$100    1
     Japan         US$300    1
     Switzerland  Cdn$500    1

   The APL93 Program Chair has now accepted papers from four Russians
for the APL93 Proceedings, three of whom cannot attend APL93 without
financial support (the fourth is living and working in the United
States). The first priority of the APL93 Russian Fund is to bring these
three contributors, plus one of the APL92 organizers, to Toronto.
Another group of Russians have written an expert system in APL, which
they would like to demonstrate. It would also be nice to bring some of
the SovAPL founders as well as APLers from the other former Soviet
Republics. We would like to bring 8 to 10, if possible. But this would
mean more money -- perhaps US$20,000 -- and fairly soon, since the
getting of Visas can be time-consuming.

    The average Russian income is about US$25, but Russia is not just
another Third World country. It is a country of many highly educated
people and many very skilled scientists. In a country where chess is
the national sport and computers must be adapted to a different
alphabetic system, APL has a good chance to grow and flourish. By
helping Russian APLers to be a part of our community, they can acquire
the resources to promote the use of APL as part of their new, emerging
society.

     Some people question why there should be a fund for Russians,
specifically, rather than for Eastern Europeans, students, APLers from
other poor countries, or APLers under economic hardship. This fund was
an act of gratitude for the APL92 conference in Russia -- and for the
groundbreaking efforts that made that conference a reality. The fund is
a recognition that the new connections that have been made should not
be lost.

    The original objectives of the APL93 Russian Fund were modest.
In fact, there were moments in the Fall of 1992 when one of us (Ben
Best) had fears that he would have to top the fund with money from his
own pocket to pay for even one Russian to attend APL93 (after having
already spend hundreds of dollars on postage). If this fund is
successful, however, it can be the precedent for a "World APL Conference
Attendance Fund". It may be that we have colleagues in Eastern Europe,
India, China, South America, etc., who would submit papers and attend
conferences if they were not subject to such severe economic contraints.

    Donations from those in the United States should be tax deductable
through the ACM. People from other countries will have to live with
the reality that they have given from the heart and can expect only
gratitude in return. It *is* appreciated. If you can contribute to
this effort, please do so. Please send as much as you feel you can
afford to the address shown on the upper left hand corner of this
letter, as soon as possible. And please circulate this request to
others in your local APL group.

                Sincerely,

                           Robert Bernecky, ACM APLSIG Liaison
                           Benjamin Best, Treasurer APL93

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