The idea of Information Society in Lebanon has emerged in a significant way during the year 1996 when the use of Internet started to attract the main actors within the Lebanese economy. Shortly defined, the Information Society is the society that is currently being put into place involving a general utilization of techniques of information and data storage and transmission at reasonable costs. Such generalization of information and data use has been accompanied, since 1996, by legal, organizational, commercial, and social transformations that have changed, sometimes profoundly, work habits and social behavior. Though one cannot say yet that the Lebanese society has reached a defined and stable model of Information Society, many experts believe that tremendous changes have occurred during the past few years and especially so during the years 1999 and 2000 which are the reference period for this report. The following presentation will stress two aspects: the public sector initiatives and the private sector initiatives.

Many ministries have initiated actions pertaining to the Information Society. The most active ministries in this respect were:

Not all ministries have played a comparable role. According to the events that were reported in our previous deliveries, we can single out the importance of the achievements of the Ministry of Economy and Trade and of the Ministry of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR). They are the principal actors that promoted the Information Society in the Public Sector through the gradual implementation of the initial step towards E-government with the help of International Bodies as the World Bank, the UNDP, and the EU.

The various actions undertaken can be classified as follows:

• System applications, relating to vertical applications for the benefit of the Ministry of Finance especially the NAJM customs system, the cadastre land registration system, the Port of Beirut DBMS, the National Archives indexing and optical storage system.
• Other vertical applications are under development relating to the National Social Security Fund system, the Commercial Registration system.
• Some horizontal cross agency applications have been developed e.g. Information office systems and Automated Budget systems. Other applications are underway as for example the Human Resources management database for the civil service.
  • National ICT policy. The experts from these two above-mentioned Ministries drafted a document concerning the ICT policy and strategy. This was announced shortly before the end of 1999 and was expected to translate into an action plan but no such announcement has been made yet. However, a national ICT committee has been set up composed of expects from Public institutions as the Central bank, the Ministry of Economy and Trade, the OSMAR and the MPT.
  • ICT laws and regulations. The law protecting the Intellectual Property Rights voted by Parliament in 1999 was an important step forward done by the government. This law permitted the entry into the Lebanese market of a number of International companies like Microsoft.
• Other draft laws have been prepared for the creation of Media and ICT free zone and for the introduction of modern and adequate Digital signature legislation. All these drafts have been approved by the Council of Ministers and by special committees in Parliament. Their final adoption by Parliament should occur early next year. Other drafts are being prepared concerning certificate authentication and privacy protection laws.

The actors in the private sector fall in different categories. A separate section is devoted to each of these categories.

2.1 The local press and TV stations.

All major newspapers published in Lebanon are now appearing on the worldwide web with free access.

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 by L’orient-Le Jour concerning the world of computing. Some local publications are dedicated to the ICT sector evolution. The monthly ‘Lebanon PC Guide’ and its free supplement the ‘IT News’ are completely dedicated to the ICT while Lebanon Opportunities is partially so. These publications are frequently reporting news related to the Information Society. Many foreign specialized reviews in English and French are regularly on the shelves and usually read by professionals and young university students.

A special service implemented by Annahar newspaper is a five-minute audio option allowing the visitor to listen the main headings of the daily issue.

2.2 Local portals

Naharnet Virtual Community combines all the essential information, contacts and tools that allow the Lebanese – in Lebanon and at large – to communicate, learn and create a new sense of community that is not available elsewhere. The different channels in Naharnet news desk cover up-to-the-minute local and international news, ranging from politics and technology to other subjects, handpicked by the Naharnet team of editors and presented in a concise way that saves the reader a lot of hassle.

Naharnet allows its members to organize their Mobile Office on the Net by having their own free mailbox@naharnet and their diary, appointments, to-do lists and links accessible from anywhere.

They can also enjoy the shopping experience in the virtual Shopping Mall featuring products at competitive prices and offering credit when needed.

They can also play the interactive multiplayer games. The Entertainment module offers a one-click guide to cultural events in Lebanon. The visitors can express his or her opinion freely on subjects of their choice in the Forums, Chat with people from all over the world, and join various Clubs and interest groups.

2.3 Promotion agencies and IT companies.

Many promotion and marketing companies are organizing with the main IT companies established in Lebanon various events on a yearly basis. Some of the IT companies are spending a lot of effort in organizing special short training programs targeting their staff and some of their customers to introduce the most up to date products.

Another yearly awareness raising event is the Termium exhibition. For the seventh year running, this event has gathered enough momentum and reputation especially in combating piracy, thus enhancing the public awareness concerning the importance of IPR law.

Termium is considered the second biggest exhibition of computer hardware and software in the Middle East. Organized in cooperation with the Professional Computer Association (PCA), it is attracting some 250 local and foreign exhibitors and more than 10000 visitors.

A special feature of this gathering is the recent participation of BSA. The Business Software Alliance, a watchdog organization dedicated to stomping out sales of illegal software, has had its representative patrolling the exhibition in search of infringements to the IPR law. This recent copyright law has brought to the Lebanese market some new international companies, the most prominent being Microsoft, which started operation in Beirut in June 1999, in direct response to the IPR law passage.

The Termium exhibition has always been the occasion when a number of business persons and public sector officials come to push the idea that Lebanon has a real potential in developing the IT sector. This is where a consortium of companies called the Byblos Multi-media Company announced plans to build a scientific high-tech free zone near Jbail in north Lebanon. That announcement was followed by the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon’s (IDAL) announcing plans to construct a Beirut Emerging Technology zone for high-tech industries. Recently in September 2000, the University of Saint-Joseph announced the creation of a technology park called BERYTECH.

The institutions of higher learning in Lebanon have all been moving toward the integration of advanced ICT courses in their curricula and the promotion of research. They are demonstrating a real and fundamental interest in adopting new technologies and steadily entering in the knowledge economy. The websites that are being developed are witnessing such an evolution:

As part of this drive towards a knowledge-based economy, many academic research groups have been founded to encourage the creation of innovative projects coupled with well-articulated business plans. These kinds of entrepreneurship clubs have been building key connections, in advanced economics, between the innovative educated young man and the world of business and finance.

Over the last couple of years, many websites have been launched as shopping places for various trade activities. The majority of these sites are business to customer focused, as B2B is not yet a major visible trend. The great beneficiaries of e-commerce in Lebanon are small and medium companies that can target new markets previously inaccessible. No market survey has yet assessed the volume of this business but experts are frequently reported in the press saying that the number of serious businesses is not exceeding 100 sites. The reason why this sector is not globally taking off has many reasons. The most important being the lack of confidence reflected in fear of non-delivery of goods and fraud of credit card numbers.

The banking and financial sector.