Two UNDP Projects from Egypt Reap Multiple Global Awards
The Egypt ICT Trust Fund, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and UNDP announced that the World Summit Award Grand Jury of 2009 selected two of their projects: ‘Information and Communication Technology for Illiteracy Eradication (ICT4IE)’ and ‘Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment (Biomap)’ as outstanding examples of creative and innovative e-Content in the world.
The ICT4IE project received its award in the e-Learning and Education category, while the Biomap project received its award in the e-health and environment categories for the creation of a comprehensive IT-based data base of existing Egyptian Biodiversity records. The projects managed to win the awards from among 545 entries worldwide in 2009.
The World Summit Award (WSA) is a global not-for-profit activity within the framework of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to select and promote best practices in the field of e-Content production and creativity in innovative business application. Every 2 years, WSA selects, evaluates and promotes best practices in a limited number of categories, namely: e-Government and Institutions, e-Health and Environment, e-Science and Technology, e-Learning and Education, e-Entertainment and Games, e-Culture and Heritage, e-Business and e-Commerce, e-Inclusion and Participation. For each of the aforementioned categories, an international jury of eminent experts selects five winners.
Furthermore, the ICT4IE and Biomap’s receipt of their respective WSA awards qualified both projects for the Arab e-Content Award. HE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology of the Kingdom of Bahrain presented the two projects with the awards during the opening session of the Bahrain International e-Government Forum on May 25th, 2009.
The ICT to foster Egypt Sustainable Human Development programme is an initiative resulting from the partnership between the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and UNDP. The ICT4IE project is part of a comprehensive programme that consists of five interrelated projects under the title of ICT to Foster Egypt’s Sustainable Human Development, primarily aiming to fight poverty through the usage of Information and Communication Technology. ICT4IE uses advanced ICT tools to transform learning content from illiteracy classes into simpler, more interactive computer-based tutorials. WATCH ICT4IE VIDEO HERE
The Biomap project, on the other hand, is a unique and innovative initiative that uses ICT as a tool for enhancing the environment in Egypt, specifically in the area of biodiversity. The project, which is a collaborative effort between the Nature Conservation Sector of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), the Italian Cooperation and UNDP, was launched in 2005 with the primary objective of developing and strengthening biodiversity research, monitoring and assessing across Egypt. The project created a unique comprehensive IT-database of Egyptian biodiversity records that is directly accessible to all users via the web at http://www.biomapegypt.org/. This national dynamic database that includes about 250,000 records enables accurate analysis of changes in the status of Egypt’s biodiversity through credible and accessible information on biodiversity for decision-making at all levels. The project also created a Clearing House Mechanism, a web-based information centre that contains large numbers of web-pages and PDF documents on all topics of relevance to biodiversity.