ESIS Extension IS Promotional Activities Syria

In general the Syrian Government policy has been fragmented, manifested through different ministerial activities. The government has developed neither a master plan nor a clear-cut policy. Each ministry tried to introduce computerisation into its agencies focusing mainly on Management Information Systems.

One important IS awareness action sponsored by the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Syrian Computer Society (SCS), is the National Programme for IT Dissemination (see section 5).

The Prime Minister's Office has established a Y2K National Commission to promote awareness of the Y2K problem at the national level in general and at ministerial levels in particular, and to follow up the national plan for solving the Y2K problem at various public institutions. A series of seminars, meetings, TV programmes, and the production of publications have been carried out by this commission during the first six months of 1999. Members of the commission have also participated, at the regional and international levels, in various conferences and expert group meetings to exchange ideas and experiences in devising different ways to solve the Y2K problem.

IT Nodes have been formed in the 5 domains promoted by the European Commission (E-Commerce, TBP, Software Quality, Multimedia, HPCN). Each domain has a committee composed of participants from interested sectors which is devising carrying out plans of actions. These actions are mainly geared towards awareness and dissemination of information. Responsibility for contact and co-ordination for each ITN is as follows: SCS (E-Commerce), University of Aleppo (TBP), HIAST (SQ, HPCN), University of Lattakia (Multimedia). Training on SQ and Multimedia was completed in May 1999.

The Syrian Telecommunications Establishment has launched two calls for proposals that are aimed at stimulating the creation of new IS projects. One is to build a fast digital infrastructure in the country (Frame Relay ATM X25 Network) and the second is to build the Internet Service infrastructure. Both will promote IS by permitting digital communications and Internet services to become widespread in Syria.

At higher education level, Informatics as a separate specialisation has been limited to a few institutes (e.g. the Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology - HIAST - and the Intermediate Computer Institute). As part of the government promotion of IS, Informatics departments were approved at all science faculties in Syrian universities in 1998. In 1999 a new IT engineering specialisation has been approved and has just been opened at all engineering faculties in Syria as an engineering discipline distinct from electronics. Both disciplines have been very popular and candidates exceeded by far the announced capacities.

The government's policy of promoting IS through encouraging and approving IT usage and training at all levels in ministries and public establishments began in the 1990s. It has gained more importance during 1998-99, following the introduction of the Internet in all ministries and public establishments, albeit at a very reduced scale.

Some public institutions such as the Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (HIAST), the Arab School for Science and Technology (ASST), the National Information Centre (NICE) and some universities, are directly involved in IS awareness actions through a series of workshops, seminars, conferences, periodicals and exhibitions. The most important actions during 1999 have been:

The Chambers of Commerce and Industry in major cities of Syria have taken several initiatives to prepare for IS including building databases for the local businesses and industries, starting work on websites and electronic catalogues.

The Syrian Computer Society (SCS) remains the main promoter of IS in Syria. It provides different levels of training programmes that are open to the public. It also provides training for professionals (e.g. medical doctors, lawyers, and engineers). It organises workshops, seminars and regional/international conferences in all regions in Syria.

Together with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Syria and other key ministries and public establishments, SCS is promoting Electronic Commerce within the framework of the IT Nodes programme of the EC. There are regular meetings of an e-commerce working group of representatives from key ministries, public establishments and NGOs. The group's actions during this phase include collecting information regarding IT in SMEs and other institutions, as well as a promotion campaign on e-commerce.

The Ministry of Education in its latest strategy for the introduction of Informatics in the school curriculum, has been reviewing its programmes for elementary and preparatory cycles in order to prepare future generations for the IS.

Following the Decree No. 152 of 1997 the subject of Computing/Informatics was introduced into all departments and levels in the four Syrian universities (Damascus University, Aleppo University, Tishreen University, Al-Baath University). Decision No. 537 of the Council of Ministers, dated 27/1/1998, formed a special implementation committee in charge of the task of supervising teaching of Computing/Informatics and the acquisition of computers necessary for the execution of the decree. New curricula have been developed for these subjects and textbooks have been reviewed and improved during the second year of its implementation.

The Ministry of Higher Education, together with UNESCO and UNDP, has launched a project for establishing an academic network called SHERN (Syrian Higher Education and Research Network). The nucleus of this project will be completed by the end of the year 2000. It involves the universities of Damascus, Aleppo, Tishreen and Al-Baath, and HIAST (Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology) under the leadership of the Ministry of Higher Education. The basic infrastructure for linking all these universities and building an academic intranet with a gateway to the Internet will be completed as well as training and technology transfer to permit the expansion of the network with local capabilities. The project should lead to the development of intranet-based academic applications such as Tele-teaching, course content sharing and development, Tele-working and research.

The National Programme for IT Dissemination is an initiative attracting popularity and interest. The main objectives of this programme are to promote IT in Syria by giving all citizens the possibility of participating in and accessing IT. The programme consists of opening the computing facilities of secondary schools in all cities to the public for a token fee and carrying out introductory courses in the use of personal computers. Subsidised by the Ministry of Education and the Syrian Computer Society, this programme has been able to reach all social classes and age groups. More than 97,625 trainees participated in this programme during 1997-99. There are currently 118 centres for basic training, 32 centres for self-training and 43 centres for advanced training distributed over the 14 departments in Syria.

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 Commision, 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.