Mediterranean Countries Synthesis of Update Memos - April 2000

1. Introduction

The following document summarises the developments that took place during the past three months (January - March 2000) in the field of IS promotional activities, such as conferences, seminars, forums and IS national/ regional strategies.

The Internet is growing in all the Mediterranean countries, thus, spurring much interest from research bodies and Governments, especially in the education sector. The Internet has raised other questions, the issues of computer security, internet user privacy, education in distance for example.

Information Society awareness is increasing not only thanks to IS national/ local strategies (launched by Governmental bodies) and conferences and seminars, but also thanks to the increasing number of TV commercials on IT and internet services targeting the public at large.

Moreover, in a majority of countries (e.g. Turkey, Malta, Lebanon), the most important activities during this period took place in the regulatory framework area. A new law was enacted introducing major changes to current telecommunications legislation. The law aims to develop a liberal telecom market in a gradual fashion.

Examples of major IS promotional activities that occurred during the first quarter of the year 2000 are detailed below by category.

2. Organisational awareness

In Malta, one of the most important public events was the annual conference held by the Maltese Federation of Industry, with the theme "The Maltese Economy : Realities and Opportunities. Moreover, the first Internet portal based in Malta (www.di-ve.com) was launched, to stimulate Maltese content on the Internet.

In Morocco, a seminar "Information, a competitive factor for business" was organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

In Jordan, His Majesty King Abdullah has been very active in promoting the development of Jordan’s IT sector. King Abdullah was hosting Jordan’s First IT forum, during which he met some IT leaders (notably Michel Lacombe, President of Microsoft Europe, Africa and the Middle East). In addition to this IT forum, a seminar to promote awareness of intellectual property rights has been held.

In Syria, the Syrian Computer Society (SCS) is the main organiser of awareness actions which promot the Information Society. In line with the awareness programme Symposia (aiming to advance various experiences in applying information technology) SCS has organised 3 symposia in three different cities. The symposia tackled the topic of ICT and its applications in Management. The same association organises in collaboration with the Ministry of Information the a weekly live broadcast on Syrian TV. This awareness programme is oriented towards those persons who would like to learn about computers. The main topics covered over the past three were: Kids and IT, Medical Informatics, Investments in IT, IT and preservation of heritage, Search methods on the Internet, Educational software at the Ministry of Education, Ways and means of developing a software industry in Syria and many others.

In Turkey, several reports were published concerning Internet penetration, e-commerce. A report on IT related news coverage in the press was prepared by the Association of Informatics.

3. IS national / regional strategies

In Malta, the Employment and Training Corporation published a draft national plan for an Information Technology Literate Workforce. It proposes to set up evening community centers in state schools, offering free Internet access to citizens who still do not have the means.

In Egypt, the newly formed Ministry of Telecommunications and Information, in line with the objectives of the national plan (promoting the development of telecommunications and information), allowed access to the Internet for companies and individuals at reduced rates, without having to subscribe to an ISP. Interested users can now have access to the Internet simply by dialling a special telephone number.

In Algeria, at a regional level, and in the Euro-Mediterranean co-operation framework, the Information Technologies Nodes project and the IST programme are examples of regional actions.

In Turkey, two committees on IT were formed by the State Planning Organisation, in conjunction with the preparation of the new 5 year national development plan. One committee will focus on telecommunications infrastructure and services and the other one will look at IT and Internet services.

4. Educational Issues

Educational issues are a key focus for projects operating at a national level. From the most significant we can mention:

The Tunisian Government has launched an initiative which aims to expand the usage of the Internet, encompassing distance education.

The Israeli Ministry of Education has launched a new fund for the development of Virtual Learning Environments. The high levels of interest in the development of Internet Based Learning Modules in Israel is shown by the fact that 18 proposals / bids have been received by the Council of Higher Education in Israel in response to their call launched last year.

In Syria, the University IT Dissemination Programme has been carried out by all four state-owned universities. The idea of this dissemination programme is to use university computer laboratories after teaching hours in order to promote the use of computers amongst the university population.

In Lebanon, during the first quarter of the year 2000, an Internet festival was organised by the francophone association AUPELF, to raise awareness of students at schools and at universities.

5. Actions promoting e-commerce

The Syrian Information Technology Node on e-commerce has designed a brochure in Arabic, with the aim of promoting e-commerce in Syria. The brochure was distributed through various chambers of commerce and industry, business centers and some ministries to decision-makers, people from business, industry managers, and key persons at universities. At the same time, the Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology in Syria has held a one-day workshop on e-commerce and EDI in tourism.

In Lebanon the Government has recently adopted a law with the aim of extending the authority of the Central Bank to regulate activities concerning e-banking. At the same time, an important event focusing on e-banking was organised by the Association of Banks in Lebanon and the International Chamber of Commerce in Beirut. The aim of the programme was to raise awareness among the decision-makers as to what e-banking is.

In Israel, the supervisor of the Banks has licensed two banks to provide full money transactions through Internet as a first step towards full e-banking.

The Cyprus, NetU Consultants has helped organise the International Conference "Global Internet Business", where they presented a range of technologies and tools related to e-business.

6. Seminars, Conferences and Workshops

In Algeria, the following conferences took place during the first quarter of the year 2000: (for more details, please consult country memo and the ESIS Knowledge Base)

• The Arab Conference on the use of Computer Science for Tele-Education
• Computing and Internet workshops (dedicated to the use of computers and the Internet by pupils)
• The Algerian Exposition, the First Internet virtual show
• A Professional Audio-visual Show
• A Seminar on the "Contribution of New Information and Communication technologies.

In Lebanon, under the patronage of the Ministry of Post and Telecoms, a seminar, ARABCOM was organised. This seminar has been recognised, for the third consecutive year, as one of the region’s best telecom forums, focusing on emerging new technology services, solutions and products

The Tunisian Secretary of State for Informatics organised a National Forum on "Computer Security". The main issues discussed by this forum, with more than 400 participants from private and public companies, were the improvement of computer security within the National Information Systems, the utilisation of new IT and Communication technologies and the quality of the computer service system.

Jordan’s first IT Forum has been held due to the initiative of His Majesty King Abdullah, who invited representatives of the world’s biggest software firms to boost Jordan’s software development and information technology industry.

Major promotional seminars organised during the first quarter of the year 2000 in Morocco, were: (please consult country memo and the ESIS Knowledge Base for more details)

• "Information, a competitive factor for business"
• "Information technology in Moroccan industry"
• "Electronic Business Forum"

In the first quarter of 2000 in Egypt the following promotional activities, focusing on the promotion of the Internet, telecommunications and information technology industries took place (please consult country report and the ESIS Knowledge Base for more details):

• CAINET 2000 (a conference tackling the Internet’s impact on commerce, education, technology and communities)
• Conference "Creating Knowledge Based Industries"
• Conference "Cairo Telecomp 2000"
• Round of meetings on Internet Co-operation for Assigned Names and Numbers
• "Artificial Intelligence Conference"

The main activities promoting Information Society in Palestine, were oriented to the acquisition of Palestine's own domain name "dot ps"

7. Other actions promoting the internet

The Jordan Engineers Association has set up a database linked to its Internet home page to help members find jobs at home and abroad. The aim is to provide job opportunities for engineers all over the Kingdom.

The Maltese National Authority for bar-coding, had made an Internet database of bar coded products produced and/ or packaged in Malta. This database will be merged into the EAN International Global Database containing similar information around the world.

Morocco has seen the inauguration of two companies specialised in the development of local portal web sites. The first one has been held for Planetarabia, the subsidiary of an American company. The second was held for Wanadoo, the "commercial offer" of France Telecom Interactive.