News

Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Development Gateway

Alexandria, — Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) and the Development Gateway Foundation signed an agreement earlier this week in order to create an Arabic homepage of the Development Gateway Portal and an Arabic-Language Community to be called "Arab Reform". The Portal will address the existing shortage of development information for the Arab World. The agreement was signed by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Mr. Mark Fleeton, Interim CEO, Development Gateway Foundation, in the presence of the designated project managers – Dr. Mohsen Youssef and Dr. Noha Adly from BA and Mrs. Charlotte Moser from Development Gateway Foundation.

BA and the Development Gateway Foundation had previously unveiled plans for the Arabic web portal and presented a preview at the World Summit on the Information Society.

BA will create the Arabic portal within the Development Gateway’s global portal on development, by translating and augmenting the Development Gateway’s collection of information resources relevant to the region. The Library will also launch an online community of practice that will exchange information and connect with peers to address social, economic, political and cultural reform in the Arab World. This broad array of targeted information resources and services will be accessible through an Arabic language home page and translated navigational tools.

The Community “Arab Reform” will be a pan-Arabic portal containing key resources relevant to a broad spectrum of social and economic reforms currently under way in the Arabic world. In particular, resources related to the governance sector will include human rights, freedom of expression and rule of law; in economic reform to youth employment, poverty, trade and regional and international integration with the world economy; in social reforms to family education, health and the removal of all forms of discrimination against women; and in cultural reforms to religious discourse as much as to public, media discourse and the promotion of research and scientific thinking. The Library is responsible for keeping the Community “Arab Reform” current and reflecting the dynamic nature of the Portal.

BA is leading the new initiative as part of its mandate to produce and disseminate knowledge and advance understanding between cultures and peoples. The Development Gateway is coordinating and hosting the new initiative on its global website, where an extensive network of dgCommunities partners and members currently exchanges information and collaborates on some 30 development issues.



About the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), the new Library of Alexandria, was inaugurated in 2002 to recapture the spirit of the ancient Library of Alexandria, a center of world learning from 300 BC to 400 AD. The new Library and its affiliated research centers are devoted to using the newest technology to preserve the past and to promote access to the products of the human intellect. It is committed to work with partners all over the world, and is a center for intercultural dialogue, learning and understanding. For more information visit http://www.bibalex.org.

About the Development Gateway Foundation

The Development Gateway Foundation puts the Internet to work for developing countries, helping improve lives by enabling more effective development worldwide. Bringing hundreds of partners together with information-sharing tools, services and related grants, the foundation acts as a catalyst, enhancing aid effectiveness, improving government efficiency and building local enterprise. The Development Gateway is a public foundation based in Washington, DC, with activities in 60 countries. For more information visit www.developmentgateway.org.