: : : : ABOUT

The digital content industry provides many opportunities for investment in the Arab region given the increased use of the Internet in socioeconomic activities, the presence of more than three hundred million Arabic speakers, and the limited availability of online Arabic content. Hence, and in order to promote the digital Arabic content (DAC) industry, the Information and Communication Technology Division (ICTD) at UN-ESCWA launched in 2007 a project on “Promotion of the Digital Arabic Content Industry through Incubation”.

The objective of the Project is to contribute to the growth of the DAC industry in Western Asia by supporting and promoting the development of DAC applications at technology incubators. It comprises two main tracks of implementation. For the first track - Track 1 - ESCWA prepared several studies aimed at assessing the current status of the DAC industry; these included:

1. Survey of Digital Arabic Content: Software, Applications and Needs Assessment;

2. Models for Business Plan, Marketing and Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for the Digital Arabic Content Industry; and

3. Hardware and Software Incubation Requirements and Training Needs. All are available under the Documents section. For Track 2, ESCWA will incubate DAC applications in various incubators selected from the region.

These projects are competitively selected by national committees which include representatives from ESCWA and from ICT incubators in the region. They will address a variety of subjects that are relevant to the socioeconomic development of the Arab region including e-government and e-learning as well as culture, media, health and science. ESCWA has also partnered with a number of incubators in the region to implement the selected projects as well as to launch media and awareness campaigns. Following the end of the project’s activities, incubators will use the models and modalities developed during the implementation process for the implementation of future DAC projects.