Her Excellency Suzanne Mubarak, the First Lady of Egypt witnessed Memorandum of Understanding between the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement, and The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) on 18th November 2009, at the 4th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Sharm El Sheikh.

The MoU agreement commits the Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement (SMWIPM), The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) to a two year program of joint initiatives and knowledge exchange in the field on family online safety.

Over 1,500 participants from around the world gathered at the IGF, reflecting the tremendous progress Egypt has made in the promotion of information and communication technologies (ICT). With more than 50% of its 80 million citizens under 25 years of age, online safety is a key component of its strategy.

The agreement will commit both parties to work together to promote digital citizenship in Egypt, the Arab World and wider international community. An important further development to the existing activities of the Cyber Peace Initiative.

It will include cooperation in a number of online safety initiatives and the convening of a workshop in Egypt to explore current protection tools and identify trends in family online safety. This will enable Egypt and the region to take into account best practices and inform future strategy.

As part of the agreement, David Miles, FOSI’s Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa, will represent FOSI on the Cyber Peace Initiatives International Executive Board. FOSI also demonstrates its continued commitment to the Middle East region with its involvement in a number of high profile events in the region.

It is worth mentioning that IGF is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance which was held from November 15 to 18, 2009 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The establishment of the IGF was formally announced by the UN secretary-general in July 2006 as one of the outputs of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).


About IGF
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. The establishment of the IGF was formally announced by the UN secretary-general in July 2006 as one of the outputs of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The first IGF meeting was held in Athens, Greece, in 2006, the second in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2007 and the third in Heidar Abad, India end of 2007.


About Cyber Peace Initiative
First of its kind in the region, the Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI) was launched in 2007 at the International Youth Forum in Sharm el Sheik under the auspices of Egypt’s First Lady Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak. The initiative utilizes ICTs and internet-based tools with the chief aim of spreading a culture of peace, tolerance and dialogue among youth through facilitating intercultural communication and understanding, empathy creation, skill development and internet safety awareness and knowledge among young people and other stakeholders.


About the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement
The Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement (SMWIPM) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental international association founded by H.E. Mrs. Mubarak in 2003. It focuses on the positive and holistic aspects of peace, helping to forge alternative communication networks, developing capacities, creating avenues for cooperative action. The movement’s principal objective is to enhance the conditions conducive to sustainable peace and human security and to empower women and youth to participate as key influencers, change agents and active partners in peace processes.