Great challenges face Arab countries in their efforts to implement e-government and transform the region into sustainable knowledge-based economies and civil societies. The establishment of Regional E-Government Institute (REGI) for the Arab Region would provide significant benefits to e-government development in the region. REGI will be the first institution of its kind with a specific focus on creating, sharing, and applying the cutting-edge knowledge, international standards, and best-practices necessary for successful implementation and evolution of both e-government & e-governance in the ARAB countries. As such, it will help shape rapidly growing national e-governance agendas and define critical development paths for e-government in the region.
ICTDAR was established in October 2003 and aimed at assisting Arab States in harnessing ICT to reduce poverty. Covering all Arab countries, ICTDAR main priorities and pillars for progress include: awareness raising, capacity development, policy formulation & strategy implementation, pro-poor growth and employment generation. ICTDAR played an instrumental role in assisting the Arab countries in their preparation to WSIS and implementation of their own action plan.
Several initiatives and programs have been implemented by ICTDAR in the countries of the Region addressing Youth empowerment, support to SMEs, Women empowerment, e-Governance, support to visually impaired and set up of Arab sharing and collaborative platform.
This project has been submited to the Golden Book database.
WSIS action lines related to this activity: Theme 4. Capacity building
Theme 7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life
Theme 11. International and regional cooperation
Theme 14. Follow-up and evaluation (PoA, Section E)
Related MDGs: MDG 8. Develop a global partnership for development
