ESIS extension / Key Person Contacts and Organisations / Egypt / Update Memo 4

The ministry of Information and Telecommunications headed by Dr. Eng. Ahmed Nazif, has undertaken major steps towards the promotion and support for information society projects as well as information technology and telecommunications projects. The ministry have set-up four working groups to work on the relevant legislation, telecommunications infrastructure, the development and promotion of new telecommunications services, and the human resource development.

Many agreements have been studied and signed with major technology leaders e.g. Microsoft, Lucent, etc. in order to provide Egypt with the technical assistance and the know-how in the fields of telecommunication and especially in training and educating the people. The trend towards information technology in the country is mounting and opportunities are discovered each day.

A number of key organizations are involved in the promotion and realization of the information society of Egypt. The most important of these organizations being:

The Egyptian Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) : Headed by Eng. Raafat Radway, this is a state-owned organization established to develop information technology applications and tools and apply them in various industry sectors. IDSC is in fact currently involved in IS projects (see "Estimate" report).

The Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering enter (RITSEC) : RITSEC is headed by Dr. Hisham ElSherif. The organization provides technical, professional and developmental services to the agencies, institutions and governmental organizations in the Arab Region.

Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) : CAPMAS is headed by Mr. Ihab Elwi and has the responsibility for producing and disseminating statistical data at both national and regional levels for the process of planning and decision making .

State Information Service (SIS) : This is the public information tool of the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt. SIS was established in 1954 under the name of Information Department (ID) aimed at contributing to political socialization, and to build a world-wide image of the newly-founded Republic following the 1952 Revolution. The SIS contributes in the planning and implementation of public information campaigns to back-up the political and economic decision-making process. It also maintains contact with world mass media through its 42 Foreign Press and Information Offices and its Cairo-based Foreign Correspondence Department, better known as " Cairo International Press Center ". The latest landmark of SIS is the creation of a web-site for Egypt on the Internet, joining the Super Information Highway to back-up the fulfillment of its mandate with State-of-the-art language and technology. SIS is, thus a major public multi-media production house. Print, audio/video and cyber-material are available to anyone interested.

Please search the database for more information on key person contacts and organisations in Egypt.

Please note that this report has been prepared under the sole responsibility of the ESIS II contractors.
It does not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission, nor does the Commission accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of information contained herein.
The ESIS Team of contractors welcomes any additional information or corrections.