Arab countries meet in Dubai to discuss digital divide
Dubai will host on November 19th the second round of the Government Technology (GT) Summit and Exhibition.
Commenting on the event, Khaled Eid, Managing Director of the World Development Forum, the Organizing Corporation for the Summit, said the agenda of the meeting will focus on challenging issues in technology facing the governments in the Arab world amid rapid international developments in the field of technology.He pointed out that devising a strategy on developing government services using technology must take into consideration recent scientific statistics and research. Quoting a report released lately by Internet World Stats, he said internet users in the Middle East increased at the rate of 479.3 per cent over the past six years whereas by the end of 2006 there were 19 million internet users representing 1.8 per cent of the total users worldwide, which preceded a billion during the same period.
Findings of the report showed that the Middle East ranked sixth among countries of the world that use internet technology, he said. Mr Eid lamented the fact that use of communication and information technology in the Arab region still lags behind, whereby landlines, cell phones and the internet are in use at the rate of 10,24 and 8 percent respectively.
He stressed that these statistics must be carefully considered while discussing issues pertaining to the use of technology in Government and Public services in the Arab world. According to the DAI or (Digital Access Index), decline in the use of information technology in the Arab countries, especially in the Gulf region could be attributed to lack of technology awareness rather than deficiency of technological infrastructure.
Supervised by the ITU, DAI is based on four fundamental vectors that impact a country's ability to access ICTs: infrastructure, affordability, knowledge and quality and actual usage of ICT. Based on these indicators countries of the world are ranked to provide a transparent and globally measurable way of tracking progress towards improving access to ICT.
"The UAE bagged the 9th position among countries with the highest access to communication and information technology, followed by Qatar which ranked 23rd and Kuwait in the 35th position", said Mr Eid. Among countries of decline access Syria came third, Yemen was placed in the 16th position followed by Mauritania 34th and SUDAN 38th while Iraq and Somalia were not included in the list, he added.
However, he said, UAE registered the highest number of internet users in 2006 where access percentage was 36.1 per cent of the total population, clinching thus the first position in the Middle East. The number of internet users in the UAE is estimated at 1.400million persons, constituting 7.3 per cent of internet users in the Middle East.
"Rapid evolution witnessed worldwide requires scientific as well as practical and precise follow up for global changes", commended Mr Eid.
He stressed on the vitality of developing a joint Arab action to implement recommendations issued at the previous round of the GT Summit.
He mentioned that chalking out a regional strategy on utilising technology in further developing government services, as well as implementing comprehensive programmes on boosting communication and information technology in the Arab society, were recommended during the summit.
"Conferees at the last summit unanimously emphasised that adopting and implementing communication and IT projects in the Arab world, is a joint responsibility of Elaborating on the annual event, Mr Eid stated that the GT Summit seeks to set a platform for exchange of knowledge and expertise in a bid to bridge the digital divide, improve management performance in the government sector and secure a level of competence in the private sector.
The summit paves the way for renowned communication and IT companies, and concerned prominent government officials in the Arab world to meet and shed light on obstacles impeding efficient use of technology.
11 Arab countries, including All GCC states, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Yemen will take part in the summit, he confirmed.
The GT Summit is an invitation-only event aimed at IT decision-makers in government officials in communications, commerce, education, finance, health, infrastructure and public works. In addition to public services such as chambers of commerce, municipalities, the judiciary, civil defense, utilities and tourism.
The 1st round of the GT Summit was held in association with 'ICTIDAR' initiative of (UNDP) and the Arab League, under the patronage of Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoun, President of Dubai Free Zone Authority for Communication and Media. The Summit tabled several important topics like E-government, IT governance, risk and compliance management, business process management and resources capacity.
In addition to actual IT dynamics such as smart IT infrastructures, enterprise architecture, integrated service delivery channels, Digital Cities and information security, access, collaboration and integration. Source
Commenting on the event, Khaled Eid, Managing Director of the World Development Forum, the Organizing Corporation for the Summit, said the agenda of the meeting will focus on challenging issues in technology facing the governments in the Arab world amid rapid international developments in the field of technology.He pointed out that devising a strategy on developing government services using technology must take into consideration recent scientific statistics and research. Quoting a report released lately by Internet World Stats, he said internet users in the Middle East increased at the rate of 479.3 per cent over the past six years whereas by the end of 2006 there were 19 million internet users representing 1.8 per cent of the total users worldwide, which preceded a billion during the same period.
Findings of the report showed that the Middle East ranked sixth among countries of the world that use internet technology, he said. Mr Eid lamented the fact that use of communication and information technology in the Arab region still lags behind, whereby landlines, cell phones and the internet are in use at the rate of 10,24 and 8 percent respectively.
He stressed that these statistics must be carefully considered while discussing issues pertaining to the use of technology in Government and Public services in the Arab world. According to the DAI or (Digital Access Index), decline in the use of information technology in the Arab countries, especially in the Gulf region could be attributed to lack of technology awareness rather than deficiency of technological infrastructure.
Supervised by the ITU, DAI is based on four fundamental vectors that impact a country's ability to access ICTs: infrastructure, affordability, knowledge and quality and actual usage of ICT. Based on these indicators countries of the world are ranked to provide a transparent and globally measurable way of tracking progress towards improving access to ICT.
"The UAE bagged the 9th position among countries with the highest access to communication and information technology, followed by Qatar which ranked 23rd and Kuwait in the 35th position", said Mr Eid. Among countries of decline access Syria came third, Yemen was placed in the 16th position followed by Mauritania 34th and SUDAN 38th while Iraq and Somalia were not included in the list, he added.
However, he said, UAE registered the highest number of internet users in 2006 where access percentage was 36.1 per cent of the total population, clinching thus the first position in the Middle East. The number of internet users in the UAE is estimated at 1.400million persons, constituting 7.3 per cent of internet users in the Middle East.
"Rapid evolution witnessed worldwide requires scientific as well as practical and precise follow up for global changes", commended Mr Eid.
He stressed on the vitality of developing a joint Arab action to implement recommendations issued at the previous round of the GT Summit.
He mentioned that chalking out a regional strategy on utilising technology in further developing government services, as well as implementing comprehensive programmes on boosting communication and information technology in the Arab society, were recommended during the summit.
"Conferees at the last summit unanimously emphasised that adopting and implementing communication and IT projects in the Arab world, is a joint responsibility of Elaborating on the annual event, Mr Eid stated that the GT Summit seeks to set a platform for exchange of knowledge and expertise in a bid to bridge the digital divide, improve management performance in the government sector and secure a level of competence in the private sector.
The summit paves the way for renowned communication and IT companies, and concerned prominent government officials in the Arab world to meet and shed light on obstacles impeding efficient use of technology.
11 Arab countries, including All GCC states, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Yemen will take part in the summit, he confirmed.
The GT Summit is an invitation-only event aimed at IT decision-makers in government officials in communications, commerce, education, finance, health, infrastructure and public works. In addition to public services such as chambers of commerce, municipalities, the judiciary, civil defense, utilities and tourism.
The 1st round of the GT Summit was held in association with 'ICTIDAR' initiative of (UNDP) and the Arab League, under the patronage of Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoun, President of Dubai Free Zone Authority for Communication and Media. The Summit tabled several important topics like E-government, IT governance, risk and compliance management, business process management and resources capacity.
In addition to actual IT dynamics such as smart IT infrastructures, enterprise architecture, integrated service delivery channels, Digital Cities and information security, access, collaboration and integration. Source
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