Overview July 1999: Cyprus

Over the past 18 months, Cyprus has been actively involved in the promotion and development of the Information Society both on a national and on a regional level.

The first major initiative that was undertaken towards this direction was the organization of the EURO-MED NET'98 conference which was held in Cyprus between 4-7 March 1998. This conference became a milestone towards the formation of a Mediterranean Information Society in that it attracted an unusually large number of participants from most countries in the region including official delegations. The announcement of the formation of a Mediterranean Information Society had a direct positive impact on the launching of the EUMEDIS program and the extension of ESIS to the Mediterranean countries. The success of the conference confirmed the special role that Cyprus is playing in the formation of an Information Society in the area, in that it is the only country in the Mediterranean region which has both joined the Fifth Framework as an Associate Member as well as has started official talks for joining the European Union.

At the same time, the government of Cyprus formed an ad-hoc Ministerial Committee that would prepare an Action Plan for the development of the Information Society in Cyprus. This committee comprised members from the Ministries of Interior, Exterior, Finance, Education and Culture, and Communications and Works (presiding), the Planning Bureau, the Cyprus Telecommunication Authority and the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cyprus. One of the actions taken by this committee was to form an Action Plan for making Cyprus a center of Information Technology for the region.

There are a number of semi-governmental and other types of organizations that are involved in the promotion and formation of the Information Society in Cyprus :

• The Planning Bureau is responsible for the overall coordination of related activities. Furthermore, it will act as the primary National Contact Point of Cyprus in the Fifth Framework.
• The Research Promotion Foundation funds local projects where the Information Society is one of the priority themes. Furthermore, it will preside over and coordinate the activities of the National Contact Point Representatives for various key actions and thematic programs.
• The Institute of Technology is responsible for the SMEs and furthermore it is the coordinator of two I.T. Nodes.
• The Department of Computer Science of the University of Cyprus is involved in all of the above activities with members of its academic staff joining the committees or working closely with representatives of the organizations involved in the formation of the Information Society. The Department coordinates three I.T. Nodes, and provides various forms of assistance to anyone interested in Information Society. Furthermore, the Head of the Department acts as the National Contact Point for IST in the National Contact Points committee coordinated by the Research Promotion Foundation.
• Finally, the Cyprus Telecommunication Authority is responsible for providing the necessary telecommunications infrastructure.