Conclusion - MCIT

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Home	>	Egypt's Information Society	>	Conclusion

Conclusion

‘The Information Society envisaged in the Declaration of Principles will be realised in cooperation and solidarity by governments and other stakeholders.’

WSIS Plan of Action, December 2003

The Millennium Declaration Goals feature heavily in the designs for development in Egypt, particularly within social, employment, and gender contexts. ICT initiatives have shown great success in addressing some of the development goals, such as empowering the poor through e-Access initiatives. The urgent need for employment creation has been addressed by nurturing the private sector environment and investing in human capital by instigating a sustainable policy in capacity building in the sector. Gender disparities in the workforce are being seriously addressed. Much improved graduation rates in women are being seen and schemes have been implemented to specifically to provide employment opportunities and education for women in the ICT industry.

The three pillars of development that form the core of ICT development will continue to address all aspects of the Declaration Goals and be used to implement objectives set within the WSIS Plan of Action. The first pillar of ICT research will continue to push the private sector as a world competitor and create new employment opportunities, and the second pillar of continuing deregulatory policy will allow free markets to flourish. The third pillar that concentrates on information access at all levels in society is allowing successful delivery of other services, such as the e-Government programme. Use of Public Private Partnerships to implement schemes will continue to be instrumental within the government’s strategy. International and regional organisations are also playing an important role in making available the necessary resources for building and evaluation. The United Nations Development Programme, The World Bank, EU, and USAID have assisted in the development and success of ICT projects.

Egypt’s e-strategies have been formulated as sustainable and versatile, with a mind to inviting both the private and public sectors to play a major role in any development. The private sector is being seen as a crucial stakeholder in the country’s progression towards the Information Society. The foundations for development, such as the establishment of an improved telecom infrastructure and use of wireless technology, have successfully utilised partnering in these sectors. Also a further deregulated environment that is now being fostered by the NTRA is providing more flexible circumstances to attract investment and encourage entrepreneurship. In short all aspects of Egypt’s e-strategy towards the Information Society are involving Public Private Partnerships.

Human resource capacity building is a major issue in mobilising Egypt’s available workforce to work within the Information Society. Illiteracy eradication efforts continue and an extensive range of ICT training programmes are being implemented, such the Professional Training Programme. Levels of qualified graduates with ICT fields are increasing, particularly the numbers of women.

Connectivity and access have become a major part of the government’s action in the last year to overcome various shortfalls in infrastructure. Particular attention is being paid to outlying rural areas, but efforts are being made to reach out to all educational, health, cultural, and governmental organisations with improved infrastructure. Community access points have been established in schools, and portals have been developed to allow better access and understanding of government services. Wireless technology is being actively used to reach out to outlying areas of Egypt. Continuing implementation of schemes such a PC for Community, Free Internet, and IT Clubs show great improvement in the amount of Internet penetration and ICT use in the last year. Media Convergence is now becoming more important in allowing e-Access initiatives to be received by a wider population via different types of media. It is hoped that G3 technology can be fully explored within new telecommunications opportunities in the private sector to create greater use of Internet and e-Content.