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February 2001
Lebanon
Summary Report (1999 - 2000)

The main actors in the Information Society are traditionally either from the public sector or from the private sector. However, one specific organization, the Professional Computer Association (PCA), is a mix of companies from the private sector represented by their decision makers and individuals having responsibilities in the public sector, especially from public bodies where the ICT play an important role. If we compare the situation at the end of the year 2000 to what it was two years ago, we find that only one public body has been created to deal with the IS evolution, whereas many organizations have emerged in the private sector. The overall presentation of this evolution is presented below.

1. The public sector

In principle, all ministries have to deal with some aspects of the IS but five of them have played an important role during the past couple of years:

Beside these public organizations that have always been present in the daily evolution of the economy, a new body has been instated in August 2000. The National ICT Committee, chaired by the Minister of Economy and Trade, is composed of high-ranking officials from different public bodies:

According to the text creating the National ICT Committee, many other technical committees could be formed (with the contribution of the private sector) in order to help the National Committee in his mission. No such committee has been designated yet. The press conference where the creation of this committee has been announced asserted that a dedicated server will be devoted to its activities.
2. Professional associations, IT companies, NGOs…

The Professional Computer Association (PCA) has always played a dynamic role in the ICT field. It took the initiative of proposing and obtaining from the Government a reduction of the customs tariffs imposed on imported software and hardware. The average rate applicable to such material has dropped from around 20% to about 8%in 19999. Early December the government recently formed by Mr. HARIRI has totally exempted software and hardware items from customs duties as a step forward to boost the ICT sector. 

The PCA launched its seventh annual edition of TERMIUM (a regional IT exhibition) during September 2000 as did HITEK Magazine with its annual exhibition and seminar in March. In cooperation with specialized marketing companies as Xpertgroup SAL, Promofair SAL <www.promofair.com.lb> and the DUBAI Trade Center, these events were successful despite the gloomy economic situation. 

Many international organizations were present at these exhibitions, offering high tech telecom solutions like shared and dedicated leased lines, IP over frame-relay technology via Permanent Virtual Circuits PVC allowing high speed end to end connections from 32 kbps to 2048 kbps. Many of these international companies (PSINET, CISCO, MICROSOFT…) were presenting e-banking solutions to serve customers on a 24x7 basis, consisting of:

Local representatives of international companies presented e-commerce solutions relating to:

The 1999-2000 period saw also the emergence of web sites associated with active NGOs in the social and political fields:

3. Regional and International Organizations

Lebanon and the European Union ratified in September 2000 the Agreement concerning the establishment of a focal point for Euro-Mediterranean initiatives. The focal point will contribute to the development of the new economy in Lebanon through actions of dissemination and awareness. The focal point will also constitute a convergence point for all possible Euro Med projects within the EUMEDIS initiative. As part of the Euro Med project, EUMEDIS is a regional plan aiming at linking the Mediterranean countries to the European Union through projects relating to information and communication technologies, e-commerce, health, tourism and cultural heritage. However, no particular event was launched by the focal point since its foundation.

The Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA), a UN Agency organized a series of events relating to the IS and having regional extension. Many seminars were held during the 1999-2000 period. Special mention has to be made of three of them:

The ESCWA is a place where important meetings relating to social, economic and political issues are frequently held.
4. Universities

The big seven universities in Lebanon have all entered the information age. They all have now modern equipment and are connected to the Internet. Specific curricula have been introduced to complement traditional courses relating to ICT and computer science. Some specific research centers have been set up.

At the American University of Beirut < www.aub.edu.lb > an ‘Entrepreneurship Club’ has been launched to help young entrepreneurs leverage their talents by encouraging them to come up with well-articulated ideas for new companies. This Center organizes an annual Inter-university Business Plan Competition (IBPC) inspired by the 50K Competition of the MIT. The IBPC awards seed money in the form of prizes to the most innovative and promising ideas for new companies. The E-Center also promotes entrepreneurship through activities such as special seminars for education and knowledge transfer, receptions for idea exchange between campuses and the business community, and advocacy that sharpens the potential of young people in skills central to a knowledge-based economy.

At the University of Saint-Joseph < www.usj.edu.lb > a technology park has been set up with the technical assistance of the technology park of Sofia-Antipolis in France. Contacts are being systematically conducted with the academic and business community to incubate projects relating to various sectors as ICT, Multimedia, Agro-business, Health research , Biotechnologies, Water and environment etc.

5. The printed and audio-visual press

Most influential newspapers in Lebanon are already on the web. The following sites are the most representative.

Many of these publications are devoting a weekly page, or a weekly issue to the ICT. Special mention is to be made of the Annahar supplement of Wednesday and of the special page edited every Wednesday also by L’orient-Le Jour concerning the world of computing.

A recent feature that is firmly taking shape in the country is also the publication of websites for the radio and TV stations. The transfer rate of the local network does not seem big enough to make the connection to these sites interesting on a regular basis beside the fact that the IS related content is still an exception.


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.
 

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