Embracing IT
Arab Information Technology ministers will be meeting in Cairo in June to figure out ways to integrate the Arab world into the knowledge economy. Niveen Wahish reports
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A pan-Arab regional conference, to be held in mid-June, aims to bring the benefits of the knowledge economy to the Arab world
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A major conference is taking place in Cairo next month in preparation for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The Pan-Arab Regional Conference is scheduled for 16-18 June. Held under the auspices of the League of Arab States, the conference will run parallel to a meeting of the Council of Arab Ministers of Communications and Information Technology.
Organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in coordination with the International Telecommunications Union, the conference aims to present a unified Arab stance to the WSIS.
The first phase of the WSIS will take place in Geneva in December 2003, while the second phase is due in Tunis in 2005. The summit aims to develop a concrete plan for achieving the goals of information societies, while reflecting the interests of a plurality of groups.
Participants will work on an action plan and specific projects addressing those issues identified as priorities for the Arab region. The importance of the conference stems not only from the fact that it will form the basic agenda of Arab countries ahead of the WSIS, but also because creating an information society has become an essential requirement for Arab countries.
According to Nadia Hegazy, a senior official at MCIT, an information society is essential because it is an engine for growth. "It is a way to generate economic development, reduce poverty and provide jobs," she said. "We want to promote the information society to create a knowledge economy," she added.
According to Hegazy, much of what Arabs need to do is inherent in the Arab Strategy on Information Technology. "What the action plan of the conference will attempt to do is activate the Arab Strategy," she said.
Among the key issues that will be raised by the action plan is the importance of developing a regional ICT infrastructure and the development of infrastructure especially geared to underprivileged areas and citizen groups.
The action plan will also look at the role of governments, the business sector and civil society in the promotion of ICT for development. Governments, according to Hegazy, should provide an enabling environment and create partnerships with NGOs and the private sector to initiate change.
Capacity building, human resource development, education and training are also on the action plan's agenda. According to Hegazy, developing nations must not only work on reducing illiteracy, but reducing ICT illiteracy as well. "We need an education system which develops ICT professionals," Hegazy said.
The low amounts of Arabic on the Internet pose another problem that Arab countries must find a solution for. She stressed the need to maintain Arab cultural diversity by promoting Arab heritage and history.
Arab countries also hope to obtain concessions from the developed world -- foremost among those being technology transfer. Hegazy pointed out that developed nations have a vested interest that ICT awareness in the Arab world be improved. "They need us to buy their products," she said. Arab countries and the developing world will also be calling upon the developed world to finance infrastructure projects as well as research and development to promote information societies in the Arab world.
Parallel to this conference, an African- Arab meeting will be held to create a unity of vision with respect to the WSIS action plan.
