ESCWA Meeting Calls for Efforts to Establish Arab Information Society - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
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17 Jun 2009

ESCWA Meeting Calls for Efforts to Establish Arab Information Society

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ESCWA opened yesterday its regional meeting on the Follow-up to the Outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society in Damascus, with keynote speakers stressing the importance of building and strengthening the information society in the Arab region, to further push the development process. "Establishing the information society in our region requires the combination of efforts by the governments and the private sector, including regional training and research organizations", ESCWA Executive Secretary Bader AlDafa said.

The three-day conference is organized by many ICT sector stakeholders, including ESCWA, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). AlDafa noted that ESCWA remains the voice of the region in the United Nations and the organization's regional arm in the region. "The Commission represents a centre of expertise that supports governments in building the information society through legislation. It also encourages the use of tools that technology provides in government sectors and educational institutions", he added.
 
ESCWA strengthens the initiative to increase digital Arabic content, which accounts for only 0.2 per cent of the present content on the internet. Syrian minister of Communications and Technology, Imad Sabouni said in the opening that the ESCWA meeting represents an opportunity to review regional efforts to achieve the information society in the Arab region. The meeting will review developments in the implementation of the regional plan of action (RPoA) in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), launched in Syria in 2004. The RPoA will also be updated for better implementation throughout the region. Debates of the meeting focused on ICT infrastructure and the use of ICT in development, with emphasis on the empowerment of marginalized groups such as youth and women.
 
In this area, regional efforts and programs to improve ICT access to these groups were highlighted. Such programs include project on ICT for development in the Arab Region (ICTIDAR), implemented through the UN Development Program (UNDP). The project strives to spread knowledge as an empowering agent within marginalized groups, and facilitates access to knowledge through a simplified language. By such, women and youth know their rights and obligations and are able to claim them.
 
The conference ends on Thursday 18, and is expected to conclude with an updated RPoA for the region. Other partners in the meeting include the League of Arab States (LAS), the Arab ICT Organization (AICTO), the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS), the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID), Cisco, the International Development Research Center (IDRC), Microsoft, the Syrian Computer Society (SCS), Syrian Telecom (STE), and Talal Abu Ghazale Organization (TAG-Org).
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