International Y2K Cooperation Center records

The year 2000 date conversion (Y2K) was a result of how dates were entered into computers. In the early years of computer programming, disk space was very expensive. To save space, dates were shortened to the last two digits of the year, e.g. 1968 would be entered as 68. It was assumed that the century would fall within the 1900s. At the turn of the new century, this flaw could cause computers to read dates as 1900, instead of 2000, resulting in a variety of computer malfunctions.

The International Y2K Cooperation Center (IY2KCC) was established at the behest of national Y2K coordinators from over 120 countries when they met at the First Global Meeting of National Y2K Coordinators at the United Nations in December 1988. IY2KCC established an office in Washington, D.C. in March 1999. Funding was provided by the World Bank and Bruce W. McConnell was appointed as director.

IY2KCC's mission was to "promote increased strategic cooperation and action among governments, peoples, and the private sector to minimize adverse Y2K effects on the global society and economy." Activities of IY2KCC were conducted in six areas:

IY2KCC closed down in March 2000.

Historical note taken from "Statement of Bruce W. McConnell, Director, International Y2K Cooperation Center, Before the Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, United States Senate, July 29, 1999."