PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION & ICTs PHASE II REPORT Egypt

Abstract

This research focuses on the public access to information and communication landscapes in 24
 countries, with specific focus on public libraries, to understand the information needs of underserved
 communities, public access to information and communication venues, and the role of ICT.
 Through field research in 24 countries conducted by local research partners, and cross-country
 comparative analyses based on common research design elements (see list of countries and research
 design overview in Appendix), the project aims to contribute to the knowledge in the field of
 information and ICT for development. Of particular interest and value are: the comparative look at
 key venues (libraries and other), and the mix of depth of in-country knowledge with breadth of global
 comparison to elicit success factors and scenarios to understand how diverse populations can and do
 access and use ICT to improve their lives. All outputs of this research will be broadly disseminated to
 interested stakeholders and placed in the public domain.

Egypt has a young and rapidly growing population, a limited amount of arable land, and a
 huge dependence on the Nile all which contribute to stressing society and resources in
 Egypt. Over the last 30 years, and more so in the last decade, the successive governments
 have reformed the highly centralized economy inherited from the Nasser's era. While
 deregulation has been in place to economic activities, the government remains to provide
 sizable subsidies for basic needs, which has contributed significantly to the budget deficit
 in Egypt. While the government boosts improved economic conditions and almost 7%
 growth, these improved economic conditions have yet to be seen by the broader population
 in Egypt, which still struggle to attain basic needs and have an estimate of 20% under the
 poverty line.
 As part of the reform process, the government has invested heavily in creating physical
 infrastructures across Egypt to encourage economic growth and FDI. Technology and
 information stand out as being areas where the government has heavily invested and
 achieved significant success. Through this support the government established the Ministry
 of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in 1999 under H.E. Ahmed Nazif,
 who has in 2004 become the prime minister of Egypt. MCIT has helped create an
 environment conductive for the development of the ICT sector. Among the major priorities
 set forth to the government is to establish Egypt as an information society. Over the past
 few years, Egypt has introduced legislations to facilitating this change and laws concerning
 intellectual property, e‐commerce, consumer protection, computer piracy, and e‐signature
 have been passed. In addition, the ICT infrastructure has received a huge boost, creating a
 modern ICT platform and along with deregulation has pushed prices down tremendously.
 The developments in the ICT sector have been considered as role models of deregulation
 and privatization as well as a catalyst for reform in other sectors.
 5
 Egypt has also introduced a number of projects that utilize ICT for development. The egovernment
 program has been established to modernize the citizen's experience of public
 service and introduce reform and efficiency to governmental operations. The Egyptian
 Education Initiative (EEI) was also launched to enhance the effective use of ICT at all levels
 of education for life‐long learning. ICT has also been deployed to upgrade scientific
 research, and health‐care. Several programs have been launched to increase e‐Access to
 citizens through the PC‐for‐every‐home, free‐internet and IT‐clubs program. The later has
 been the flagship of the Egyptian information society to provide public access. In addition,
 the government has launched national capacity building programs to improve the
 capabilities of the Egyptian workforce, with a focus on civil servants and young graduates.
 In addition, these programs have been established using a multi‐stakeholder partnership
 between the government, private sector and civil society. These programs intended to
 increase ownership and to enlarge the base of public benefit to use ICT in all sectors.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation