The Prime Minister Dr. Atef Obeid will open the second conference on IT and communications in the Arab world tomorrow, organized by the Egypt International Economic Forum and being held under the title ‘The Digital Gap in an Integrated World’.
Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Vice-Chair of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF) and Chairman of the ICC Commission on E-Business, Information Technologies and Telecoms, will be among the conference participants.
He believes that developing nations are facing a digital gap that seems particularly severe when these states are compared to advanced countries. This gap is the largest obstacle these developing states face, according to Abu-Ghazaleh.
He summarizes other obstacles in communications policy (privatization and liberalization) and the need for legislation that avails capability and issues relating to customs, security and consumer confidence. He stresses that information technologies and communications can help society in passing phases of growth or accelerating these phases, but they cannot transform society because internet and e-commerce are dependent on society’s progress.
Abu-Ghazaleh has previously pointed out that achieving a higher standard of living in the era of knowledge and e-commerce demands greater participation of society. To achieve this, the need is urgent to develop education, build capacities, and grow human resources necessary for a knowledge-based community.
Abu-Ghazaleh stated that he began an ambitious program to grant a Cambridge IT certificate in the Arabic language starting from June.
He added that he’s currently studying offers from some Arab governments to implement this program in their private institutions in the pedagogy and education sector, such that all teachers, administrators and employees will be qualified. The implementation would also be at all academic levels in order to eliminate computer and internet illiteracy for upcoming generations.