The second Jordanian Information and Communication Technology (ict) Forum was kicked-off today. With optimism and high expectations taking center stage, the event titled “Jordan Emerges”, seeks to usher the Kingdom into a new Information Technology (IT) era.
Earlier in the day, the forum was inaugurated by King Abdullah II, who welcomed the participants--over 1,200 local and foreign experts, advisors and investors. The two-day forum will discuss the results of stage three of the national IT strategy (REACH), aiming to develop the sector. It was launched in 1999, under the directives of the King.
The five-year strategy is set for completion in 2004. The national plan is assessed and re-defined annually in a manner that allows recommendations to be implemented by the private sector, governmental agencies and leading entrepreneurs in the IT field.
The Jordanian Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Fawaz Al Zu’ubi, said in his address to the forum that Jordan is on track to “revise and modernise its laws related to the IT sector…creating awareness in ICT and integrating it into society and the human resource pool”.
He also went on to assure the audience that by the next ICT forum (to be held next year), “[Jordan] will be leaps and bounds ahead of many countries in terms of broadband educational connectivity”. In lieu of this, Zu’ubi took the opportunity to announce a number of plans and initiatives that are aimed at increasing the penetration rate of the internet.
One such plan, dubbed “Connecting Jordanians”, aims to connect all schools, universities, colleges and tele-centers through a fiber-based broadband network by 2005.
The development of Jordan’s educational infrastructure will also be assisted by e-learning initiatives designed to integrate technology and education. “Teachers of the Future” is an essential component of the program being implemented in Jordan, in collaboration with the US-based Intel corporation.
Intel CEO, Craig Barrrett, announced to the forum, in his keynote address, that 5,000 Jordanian teachers will undergo training on the integration of technology in the classroom. The program, spearheaded by Intel, has already trained 700,000 teachers worldwide.
As far as Jordan’s E-Readiness is concerend, Roslyn Docktor, Vice president at McConell International, an IT Cosultancy firm, announced the results of a recent study her firm carried out about Jordan’s progress.
According to the study, Jordan displayed above average results in key areas such as Human Capital, Government Leadership and Connectivity, while displaying average to below average results in areas such as Information Security and E-Business Climate respectively. -- (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
