Update January 2000: Cyprus

The following document summarizes the developments which have taken place within the past three months (October - December 1999) in the areas of the existence and promotion of IS strategies and individual projects, as well as in the area of building up awareness.

1. IS National / Regional Strategies and Action Plans

The documents describing the developments in the "Information Systems Strategy" i.e., the government’s master plan for the computerization of all ministries, departments and independent offices of the government comprise the "information Systems Strategy Statement", the "Information Systems Business Plan", the "Detailed Management and Technical Policies Report", the "Project Catalogue Report", the "Implementation Program Report", the "Development Manual", and the "Government Data Model Report". All of them will be very shortly available, and their contents will be summarized in the relevant report of the following quarter.

2. Interesting Actions / Initiatives

Most of the promotional activities identified were either in the form of educational and informative seminars organized by one or more of the major players in Cyprus (CY.T.A., Research Promotion Foundation, University of Cyprus, Institute of Technology, etc.), or in the form of articles in the daily press.

In addition to the promotional activities identified between April and September and described in the 2 previous reports, some of the most interesting events identified between October and December 1999 are summarized below.

• A major three-day seminar called "Re-engineering Cyprus for the Digital Age : New Businesses and New Jobs" was held in Nicosia between December 17 and 20. It was organized by the Planning Bureau ; the Department of Information Technology Services (Ministry of Finance), the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority, the University of Cyprus ; the Cyprus Bureau of Shipping ; and the Cyprus Computer Society. The ESIS project was presented during the course of the seminar in the form of a leaflet which was distributed to the audience.
  
• The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority organized a seminar on the "Harmonization of the European Acquis" on November 1 1999.
  
• The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority hosted a CTO seminar on the "Development of National Information Regulations" on November 15 - 19 1999.
  
• The government of Cyprus through the Ministry of Communications and Works invited the submission of tenders from companies, firms and individuals to execute work appertaining to the harmonization of Cyprus to the acquis communautaire in the telecommunications and postal services sectors.
  
• The Greek Telecommunications Organization, the Cyprus Telecommunications organization, the University of Patres in Greece, and the hospitals of Ayia Sofia in Athens and Royal Brompton and Harefield of London participated in a presentation during which a heart surgery was performed and simultaneously transmitted through the ISDN network. The event was covered by the local press.
  
• CYTANET, the Internet service provider subsidiary company to CY.T.A, has announced that they have achieved a faster connection to the Internet through their connection with the American telecommunications organization Teleglobe. The service is now offered entirely through fiber optics and the total capacity of the company’s international leased circuits has been increased to 19 Mbps.
  
• Within the framework of a seminar called "The Promotion of Telecommunications in the Euro- Mediterranean region" which was carried out in Israel, the Cypriot Minister of Communications and Works Mr. Averof Neofytou stated that the Cyprus government is in the process of preparing new legislation aiming to terminate the monopoly and to harmonize the telecommunications sector to the European acquis.
  
• The University of Cyprus and the Research Promotion Foundation organized a one-day event entitled "The Role of Research in Cyprus in the 21^st Century : Strategy and Priorities".
  
• The Bank of Cyprus has recently developed the "Oikade" project (see Estimate report). The said project comprises a web site linking Greek youth around the world, and the establishment of a "twin relationship" between schools, with teleconferencing capabilities. The official launch of the "Oikade" project took place on October 26 in Athens Greece, and it was followed up by articles in the Cyprus daily press.
  
• Computer and Internet Show 1999. This was a three day show on computers and the Internet, in which most of the commercial IT suppliers participated.
  
• Seminar on the fifth program framework for Research and technological developments of the European Union. The duration of the seminar was 2 days. During the first day, the objectives of the program were presented and analyzed ; during the second day, the issues concerning a research program were addressed.
  
• The Research Promotion Foundation launched a scheme for financing research programs on an annual basis. It covers a wide range of topics, one of which is Information Technology. The topics are re-defined every year according to the needs of the economy.