The report, National e-Strategies for Development Global Status and Perspectives 2010, highlights the varying stages of development in the adoption of ICT across the Arab World.
The report is published within the framework of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the WSIS’s Tunis phase and the adoption of the Tunis Agenda for Information Society.
Focusing on progress towards the achievement of an inclusive digital society, the report points out that while some Arab countries have already taken measures to facilitate the transformation of their societies others are just taking the initial steps or are still facing basic challenges posed by insufficient ICT infrastructure.
Nevertheless, almost all Arab countries or territories are fulfilling the WSIS recommendations concerning the formulation of ICT strategies, having either developed such a strategy or being ready to adopt existing drafts.
According to ESCWA, almost half of the 13 countries in its region had elaborated their first ICT strategies between 1999 and 2003, and an additional four economies did so between the two phases of WSIS.
In fact, understanding the great impact that furthering ICT development could have for the region, many of the Arab economies have been very much engaged in the period of preparation for WSIS, as well as during the Summit’s two phases.
“Enabling environment”, the focus of WSIS action point C6, refers to the “rules of the game” governments set for the participation of different actors in the field of ICT. Under this action, Saudi Arabia seeks, for example, to “encourage domestic companies to build local ICT industries” by establishing Free Zones, which are expected to function as incubators for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the ICT sector.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia intends to set regulations on e-transactions for both the public and private sectors in order to enhance the use of ICT for business transactions and government services.
Examples of Arab countries developing ICT strategies include Abu Dhabi which has developed an ICT strategy whose aim is to “to develop a world-class customer experience for users of government services”. Its aim is to “drive government modernization through positioning the government as a customer focused service provider”.
Meanwhile, e-Algérie 2010, the ICT strategy of Algeria, also emphasises e-government. According to this strategy, the implementation of e-government has two aims: to modernise the administration through the use of ICT and to bring the administration closer to its citizens.
Jordan is a good example of a country supporting its educational reform though e-learning. In 2003, the government formulated the Jordan Education Initiative as a framework to improve teaching and learning through the adoption of ICT.
The initiative “was created as pioneer model for developing education, based on fostering ingenuity, utilizing the power of technology and coupling it with proven modern teaching tools to transform the school environment into a cradle of discovery and creativity, allowing Jordan students to imagine and realize the reality they can grow up into.”
Different activities have been undertaken within this initiative: Teachers and school administrators were trained in basic IT skills; schools were connected with broadband networks, and thousands of computers were distributed to schools.
A centrepiece of the initiative is the e-learning platform EduWave, which is composed of content on different subjects specifically created for the platform.
One factor that contributes to the success of this initiative is Jordan’s emphasis on using a multi-stakeholder approach. The Initiative was launched in close cooperation with the World Economic Forum and engaged “more than 17 global corporations, 17 Jordanian entities, and 11 governmental and non-governmental organizations”.
The digital divide is closing slowly. According to the ITU Information Telecommunication Index (ITI), ICT access and use has increased in the 159 countries for which relevant data is available and the costs of ICT services are decreasing, particularly those for fixed broadband connectivity.
The developing world has the most dynamic economies in terms of their improvement in ITI rankings between 2002 and 2008; yet, many populations around the world still lack access to ICT.
Most of these developments have been driven in part by national ICT plans, formulated or enhanced in response to the WSIS. Today, most countries have an ICT strategy in place.
Egypt created a network of IT clubs across the country, so that rural and underprivileged areas could have access to computers. Jordan’s strategy, meanwhile, considers the internal digital divide to be mainly an issue of tariffs, in particular, for broadband access.
In Bahrain, the liberalisation of the telecom sector remains a priority. Accordingly, the Second National Telecommunications Plan of Bahrain, adopted in 2008, aims at improving the institutional framework of telecommunication regulation in order to make telecommunications services “increasingly available and internationally more competitive in terms of the range of services offered as well as prices.”
For many years, regulation strategies were usually occupied with privatisation and market liberalisation. Nowadays, as a result of the increasing complexity of the ICT market and technologies, several countries are shifting the focus of their national e-strategies to customer protection for both consumers and businesses, as the example of Bahrain illustrates.
Bahrain’s national e-strategy states that consumers and businesses should reap the benefits of the development of telecommunications technologies, both in terms of the services they consume and the capabilities they need, to realise their personal and business potential.
Bahrain’s ICT strategy, for example, encourages competition in both infrastructure and access services. The strategy intends to promote competition by minimising market entry barriers and maximising economic efficiency in the use of scarce resources, in particular the electromagnetic spectrum and the access to land.
For instance, the Internet Payment Gateway in Oman will enable citizens to engage in E-commerce transactions with both government departments and other business communities through a range of electronic channels, primarily the Internet.
Several government organisations of Oman are enhancing their Internet presence, improving their web pages and integrating mechanisms for interaction with citizens.
Additionally, “the Multi-Party Smart Cards are the latest technology in chip-based cards being used in various applications in Oman. Currently they hold driving license information. E-visa and passport details and e-purse capabilities are being considered to be included with the same chip-based, biometrically secure, smart card.”
The WSIS process emphasised the importance of following a multi-stakeholder approach in the formulation and implementation of ICT strategies. For example, Egypt intends to leverage public-private partnerships (PPP) as an implementation mechanism wherever possible.
In the last decade, Egypt has experienced enormous development in its ICT sector and society: Its telecommunication infrastructure has increased dramatically; the ICT sector has become an important source of employment and one of the fastest growing sectors, with continued double-digit growth; the digital divide within society keeps closing down and the use of ICT in companies is quickly increasing, prompted by “continuing research and development in the application of ICT in industries to allow Egypt to become and remain a world-class competitor”.
The government of Egypt established its Cabinet Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) in 1985. The aim of this centre was to build up Egypt’s IT Industry and to provide the government with additional ICT know-how.
The Cabinet has not only provided advice but also implemented many projects “in legislation reform, public sector reform, human resources development and job creation, cultural heritage preservation, urban planning, and sectoral development projects at the ministerial and governorates level (…)”. In 1999, President Mubarak founded a new Ministry of ICT matters, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).
In 2003, Egypt’s government described its vision of building an Information Society and bridging the digital divide. The Building Digital Bridges document provided the base line for further decisions, describing the situation in the country regarding ICT access and use, and introducing seven areas of activity or “bridges”, which would be part of the Egyptian Information Society Initiative.
These bridges addressed the areas of e-readiness, e-learning, e-government, e-business, e-health, e-culture and an ICT export initiative.
The government of Egypt has held on to its vision while developing its two following ICT strategies.
Nevertheless, there have been strategic changes between the two ICT strategies to take into consideration changes that occurred after 2005.
In general, the 2005 strategy is holistic, dealing with all aspects of the Information Society and focusing on bridging many gaps. The strategy includes many projects dedicated to advancing progress in the ICT industry and building capacity within the country through the promotion of ICT literacy, e-learning and access to information. Yet, it also gives priority to other social aspects, such as employment creation and gender equality.
To strengthen the competitiveness of its ICT industry on the global market, the government of Egypt gave precedence to the promotion of economic development and growth in its current ICT strategy.
Accordingly, the priorities set up in the 2007-2010 ICT strategy are more industry oriented, even when referring to capacity building objectives:
- “To continue development of state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure that provides an enabling environment for government and businesses throughout Egypt and links it globally.
- To create a vibrant and export-oriented ICT industry.
- To leverage public-private partnerships as an implementation mechanism wheneverpossible.
- To enable society to absorb and benefit from expanding sources of information.
- To create a learning community whose members have access to all the resources and information they require regardless of gender and location, thus allowing all to achieve their full potential and play a part in the country’s socioeconomic development.
- To support the development of the skills required by the ICT industry.
- To support research and innovation in the field of ICT.”
So far, Egypt has followed a very comprehensive and future-oriented ICT approach, enabling the development of a global competitive ICT industry that would benefit society and stimulate national development towards the Information Society.
In conclusion, the report shows that by 2010 at least 84 percent of economies worldwide already had an ICT strategy in place. Many other countries are currently in the process of formulating or adopting such a strategy.
Accordingly, the majority of countries have met the target set out in the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.
Some of the approaches and trends identified in the analysis of ICT strategies were foreseeable. Infrastructure continues being a key concern, even among countries with high ICT penetration.
Broadband and mobility are the two major technological trends addressed by governments. In most strategies, the private sector plays a crucial role in deploying ICT infrastructure. Therefore, almost all countries continue their path towards liberalisation in order to stimulate the market through competition.
Increased competition is expected also to result in reduced rates.
Capacity building is another area of interest shared by most national e-strategies. Governments are aiming at increasing ICT use in education and developing ICT skills at all educational levels, from primary school to academic research, in response to their local circumstances. The goal is to produce and retain larger numbers of IT graduates and skilled IT professionals.
The development of national ICT strategies is being driven in part by growing international competition in the ICT sector.
Many governments are working towards expanding their ICT exports, attracting outsourcing activities to their countries or protecting their current positions. Not surprisingly, issues of intellectual property rights, international standards and economic regional integration are increasingly included in national e-strategies.
Similarly, confidence and security are two topics frequently mentioned in national e-strategies. As the number of e-government and e-business transactions rises worldwide, governments and other stakeholders alike are realising the need to take measures for improving the level of trust in those ICT applications.
Both e-sectors are characterised by the conduction of sensitive transactions, and an uptake in the level of usage by citizens and customers depends largely on their trust in these technologies.
Many national e-strategies include concrete measures aimed at promoting economic development through the improvement of national competitiveness in the regional or global ICT market.
Consequently, many countries have integrated ICT into their national development plans and poverty reduction strategies.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): David Morgan
Quelle/Source: Global Arab Network, 05.06.2010
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