The Final Meeting related to the project entitled "Promotion of the Digital Arabic Content Industry Through Incubation" is scheduled to be held at the United Nations House in Beirut on 14 and 15 December 2009. The Information and Communication Technology Division (ICTD) of ESCWA is organizing this meeting as part of the activities it implemented for promoting the Digital Arabic Content (DAC) in the ESCWA region since 2003.

 

The project on “Promotion of the Digital Arabic Content Industry through Incubation” is ESCWA’s most recent activity in this field. Launched in 2007 and funded by ESCWA's Trust Fund, the project was composed of two tracks. The first track consisting on publishing of three studies: a) A Survey on Digital Arabic Content: Software, Applications and Needs Assessment, b) Models for Business Plan, marketing and Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for the Digital Arabic Content Industry, and c) Hardware and Software Incubation Requirements and Training Needs. In addition, a summarized package of the three studies is under preparation by the ICTD and will be discussed during the Final Meeting.

 

The second track of the aforementioned project has mainly focused on implementing a number of DAC related projects through the utilization of ICT incubators facilities in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. For the selection of these projects, ICTD organized and implemented national competitions including awareness campaigns in collaboration with selected incubators and Universities in the concerned countries. The award; a one-year incubation period, is due to end during the fourth quarter of 2009.

 

Currently, an evaluation report is being developed including the assessment of the achievements, outcomes and the impact of the Project. This report will be presented and discussed during the Final Meeting in addition to a marketing plan aiming at promoting the lessons learnt of the project as well as increasing the chances of success of the DAC projects developed by the incubatees.  

 

The Final Meeting comes after 2 years of the launching of the project and aims at reviewing and assessing the progress made towards the promotion of the DAC industry in the region. The meeting constitutes and provides a platform for sharing experiences and best practices, discussing the main challenges facing the implementation of DAC projects as well as the requirements for improving this sector in the region.

 

The Final Meeting will include ESCWA’s partners involved in the implementation of the Project; mainly the focal points in the ICT incubators from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen as well as representatives from the incubated DAC projects. Participants will also include experts in the DAC field.

 

Additional information is available in English and Arabic on the project web page: http://www.escwa.un.org/divisions/projects/dac/docs.asp

 

Submissions, inquiries and requests for additional information should be addressed to:
 

Dr. Nibal Idlebi (idlebi@un.org), Chief of Section, ICT Applications Section. ICT Division, UN-ESCWA, PO Box 11-8575, Beirut, Lebanon, T +961-1-978540, F +961-1-981510