Effat El-Shooky of Egypt’s RITSEC initiative spoke about Egypt’s focus on e-learning and ICT access. In 1985, Egypt established its first government agency on the role of ICTs in government and Egyptian society. In the past two decades, the agency has worked on a range of programs related to debt, unemployment and other challenges, and what role ICTs can play in solving them.
In 1999, President Mubarak launched the process for creating a national ICT strategy to encompass e-government, e-learning, e-health, e-business and e-culture. At the heart of the strategy was the Free Internet Initiative, which providers dial-up connectivity to every operational phone line in the country. The program is based on a revenue-sharing model with the national telecom company and the national government, and has proved to be very successful. The government has also implemented a subsidized computer purchasing program in which Egyptian families may pay a monthly fee as part of their utility bills to have a computer at home.
Currently, there are nearly 700 Internet clubs around the country, hosted by youth centers, public libraries, schools and NGOs. Over 100,000 Egyptian citizens use these clubs for their Internet access and training. The program places a particular emphasis on low-income and disenfranchised communities, especially the youth in these communities.
In terms of e-learning, the government has launched training programs including basic skills development , teacher training, high tech universities, and promoting lifelong learning. The programs are at various levels of deployment, she said, but it’s important that the government is implementing them as a comprehensive suite of e-learning opportunities targeting different age groups and communities.
Egypt sees e-culture as an important area of investment as well; given Egypt’s long and rich history, there is much to be gained to digitizing Egyptian cultural resources and using it building blocks for teaching Egyptian history.