ESIS Extension / Lebanon / IS Promotional Activities / Update Memo 6

Despite the low level of activity during the hot summer, a number of trends that emerged previously confirmed their presence.

1. The local written press continued its appropriation of the Internet as a new medium of communication. The daily French speaking newspaper, L’Orient – Le Jour <www.lorient-lejour.com.lb>, launched on the net a full version of its printed copy. This newspaper was already present on the net through a short version reporting the salient political and economic events. This upgrading is putting L’Orient-Le Jour at the same advanced level as the other main newspapers already fully on line.

Another trend that confirmed itself was also the appearance on the net of the main Lebanese TV broadcasting stations through the Yalla! portal <www.yalla.com.lb> built by Data Management <www.dm.net.lb>, a local ISP. As some radio stations are also beginning to broadcast through the net, one can expect a nearly full migration of the audiovisual media to the net in the near future.

2. The influential press group Annahar has launched a new portal <www.naharnet.com> under beta test.

On the Termium 2000 exhibition, Annahar group launched its portal in Beirut Hall on Tuesday, September 19 in the presence of Gebran Tueni, general manager of An-Nahar and Bassam Tueni, general manager of Naharnet. Highlighting the importance of the Internet as a new medium, Gebran Tueni stressed that credibility remained a key issue for the established media. Bassam Tueni presented the different features of the site and explained the various services Naharnet offers to its virtual community in Lebanon and abroad. He added that Naharnet is targeting for the time being Lebanese public in the country, but will soon expand to reach the Lebanese expatriates throughout the world and eventually foreigners.

3. Another new feature appearing within the Termium setup was the Ideas-Forum. This first and largest networking forum was held on the opening day of Termium Gitex 2000, Sept. 19, at Beirut Hall, organized by IT News and Netakeoff.

Dr. Wissam el Solh, founder and CEO of Netakeoff, a local business accelerator, stressed that ideas develop into business plans when investors, developers, entrepreneurs and analysts come together and discuss these ideas. Ideas-Forum is conceived as an informal way to meet people, exchange ideas and forge new business relationships. It has brought together over 150 attendees from government, business and IT sectors in Lebanon. The forum is said to recur on a regular basis.

4. The Government, in spite of adverse conditions resulting from the difficult economic situation and the severe setback in the legislative elections, has made the biggest move towards the Information Society recently. On the 29^th of September, a conference was held at the ESCWA (Economic and Social Commission for West Asia – A UN agency) headquarters in Beirut, relating to Electronic Government – Lebanon 2000. The economy Minister Dr Nasser SAIDI highlighted the steps taken by the government towards an electronically run government and the necessary strategies to implement this project and move into the new century.

In terms of the infrastructure, Minister Saidi stated that a network system is in place and that the personnel are being trained. He further pointed out that a number of new laws have been passed, including the Intellectual Property law that was approved in April 1999. One related to electronic signature (e-signature) was passed more recently, Saidi added, as well as the regulatory aspect prepared by Central Bank governing e-commerce and electronic transactions. The Minister pointed out that in the series of recent approvals passed by the government is the lowering of import tariffs on computer hardware and software, from an average of 24% to 6% on software. This tariff is subject to being removed completely. Finally, Minister Saidi spoke of more to be done in this direction, outlining important strategies that include administration, organization and development. He stressed that the target of e-government would be citizen- rather than government-oriented, issuing the slogan: "Getting citizens online instead of in line."

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.