Under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Mohammed Hosni Mobarak, the Egyptian President, and the Participation of high rank officials and representatives of international IT firms, a two-day conference entitled “Government Leaders’ Forum Arabia 2004” was held in Cairo on 24 & 25 of January 2004. The event was organized by Mr. Bill Gates in his capacity as the Chairman of Microsoft.
Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Vice Chair, UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF) and Chair, Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecoms, International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, presided over the “The Role of Multilateral Organizations in Shaping the Arab Knowledge Society 2010” session.
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh called on all concerned parties in the Arab world to cooperate in bridging the digital divide between the Arab region and the world in order to realize:
- The adoption of the Arabic Characters as Internet Language and the focus on the Arabic content on the web.
- The adoption of plans & programs to fight IT illiteracy in the communities.
- Drawing practical strategies to promote Internet use in the Arab world through establishing the required infrastructure, reducing the cost of communications and enhancing Internet awareness in the educational system.
- Emphasizing on the official initiatives within the private sector and the Arab professional institutions to meet the requirements of an Arab digital society.
- The adoption of Arabic DN Dispute Resolution Center for Arabic Language similar to the existing system of UDRP accredited by the ICANN.
At the closing session of the conference, an open discussion was held in which Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh took part along with Mr. Bill Gates, Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr. Ahmed Nazif, Bahraini Minister of Commerce, Mr. Ali Bin Saleh Al-Saleh, and the Executive Director of Tejari / Dubai Company, Sheikha Lubna Al-Qasemi.
Please click here to find Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh’s Presentation
Please click here to find the event’s draft agenda