Pan-Arab Conference

textright Report on the WSIS Arab Regional Conference

Doaa Hassan, Virtual Activism's representative in Cairo, attended the WSIS Arab Regional Conference in Cairo, June 15-16, 03, which is part of a series of regional conferences in preparation for the WSIS in December 03. The following is her report on the conference:

The idea for the regional conference began through the initiative of the private sector in Egypt, based on the belief in the necessity for information and communications in economic development throughout the region. The conference was headed by Adel Dansh (Egypt) and Mohammed Imran (United Arab Emirates). The Executive Committee consisted of several countries: Kuwait, UAE, Egypt and Palestine. More countries are expected to join especially Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, and Jordan. The primary objective of the conference was to formulate a unified Arab ICT strategy.

The conference took place at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, June 16-18, with the participation of several international and regional organizations including the Arab International Regional Union, UNDP, UNESCO, ESCWA, and the Arab Forum for Information Technologies. The conference took place concurrently with the Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting session on ICT.

At the end of the conference there were several recommendations, among them:

1- Continue the building and strengthening of an appropriate infrastructure.
2- Necessity for organizational and legislative reforms that aim at securing national and foreign investments, and the provision of communication services to different sectors in society at an appropriate cost.
3- Take into consideration the cultural, social and economic dimensions that have to do with morality, while encouraging the Information and Communication community.
4- Usage of technology in information and communication in private networks to ensure that services provided are useful on the social and economic levels.
5- Using new criteria to assess ICTs, taking into consideration the differences between the different countries in the region.
6- Development of content and increasing Arab electronic portals for the use of Arabic language speakers to ensure cultural diversity while protecting the Arab identity.
7- Encouraging international cooperation to raise the skill levels of the least developed nations to participate in the information society.
8- True partnership between the private sector and civil society in the development of an information and communication society.