4 -10 April 2002
Issue No.580
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 4 -10 April 2002 Issue No.580 |
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Connecting the crowds
The government is constantly under the public's critical gaze, slammed for never quite managing to make commendable changes. One government plan is finally getting it right
Cairo's city centre catches many tourists by surprise. A bustling area, suffocated by buildings, billboards and an endless stream of traffic, it appears to be the portrait of any cosmopolitan mid-town hub. For the most part it is, writes Yasmine El- Rashidi.
Downtown Cairo's Al-Galaa Street reflects just one aspect of this billboard-plastered collage. Within the context of the nation's evolving IT era, it seems a likely place for an Internet cafe or cyber hub. For years, though, it has been no such place. Catering mainly to the residents of the older, poorer neighbourhood of Boulac, an Internet centre seems a badly- calculated business choice. Early last year, however, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) came into the area and left its own high-tech mark.
Part of the government's commitment to bridging the technology divide between East and West, rural and urban, MCIT's Internet Technology Clubs project (ITCs) is literally changing people's lives. Introducing Internet access and training for just LE1 (USD 0.25) per hour -- ten times less than average city rates -- the ministry has opened a digital gateway for poorer neighbourhood residents in hundreds of locales across the country.
The campaign to raise IT awareness and create an information culture that breaches social divides was moved into high gear three years ago, when President Hosni Mubarak established MCIT in 1999, made IT a national priority, and emphasised the importance of forging alliances and partnerships with the private sector. ITCs represent just a sliver of the projects being created and maintained under this agenda. An ongoing process without apparent limits, the establishment of ITCs has changed perspectives, plans, and ambitions of Egyptians. Training offered by the centres ranges from basic keyboarding skills tuition to web design and software instruction in applications such as Photoshop, Front Page and Excel. Users can also study independently by taking advantage of each club's English and Arabic software library.
"It has changed the area," says Beheiri Kassem Mohamed, the Al- Galaa Street centre's manager. "It's a very good thing for the community. Besides creating opportunities, it gives young people a chance to learn something new and advance themselves."
It is opening up their lives to the world, Mohamed says. And the change is felt.
On a typical Monday morning, the center is buzzing; with chatter, enthusiasm, and the steady background drone of 15 computers.
"This is great," one young boy gasps, pointing enthusiastically at arabia.com's Arabic domain name registration option.
Ahmed Iskandar is 15. He started coming to the center several months ago and now wants to start his own online business.
"Well, I still don't know exactly what kind of business it will be" he says, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Probably something to do with Arabic music," he continues, "or football."
He is still unsure as to the precise nature of his future business, but he does know, however, that it will be an online venture. The Internet, he says -- his deep brown eyes reflecting teenage gravity -- has changed his life.
Ahmed is not the only one who now looks at the world in a different light. Nor is he the only one who is acquiring knowledge, skills and ideas.
Al-Galaa Street's Red Crescent Society Centre is one of 220 functioning, and 300 planned, ITCs representing partnerships between MCIT and the private sector.
ITCs are hosted on the premises of already existing clubs and centres, many of which perform educational roles in themselves. MCIT requirements stipulate that premises must be at least 50 square metres and have toilet facilities, air conditioning, lighting and a safe, modern, electrical infrastructure which MCIT inspects. The ministry provides the necessary hardware, software, leased Internet lines, a network (LAN) and a server, drawing on local businesses and ISPs for their goods and services.
Youngsters like Ahmed, and his friend, Shahir -- who works with his father at their car-repair workshop in Boulac -- are being offered the option of dreaming.
"We always wanted to learn how to use computers and the Internet" Iskandar says, Shahir eagerly nodding beside him. "There are so many things on the Internet that we want to be trainers here one day"
Being a trainer is separate, of course, from Ahmed's e-business plans. Ahmed, in short, plans to be busy and successful. A dramatic change in attitude, he hesitates.
"I really like it here," he says. "It's much more interesting than working in the shop."
He means his father's fresh juice store, he elaborates.
"I still go there but I'm going to make enough money to ensure that he won't have to work any more. Then, I will travel around the world," he adds.
To many, his words represent a teenager's youthful dreams; the type that one looks back upon 10 or 15 years down the line and smiles nostalgically at the era's hope and naïvete. In the case of these youngsters, however, it is very different. For them, it is the reflection of their first tangible taste of opportunity. It is, literally, the realisation of a dream that they never thought could be theirs.
To become a partner or make a donation, please contact:
Dr Ekram Fathi, ITC Project Manager,
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology,
26 Ramses Street, Cairo, Egypt.
Tel: [int. code] + (2 + 02) 576-2220 /574-5439
Fax: [int. code] + (2 + 02) 577- 7705
Email: ekram@mcit.gov.eg
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