Egypt’s Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI) team representing several groups held its first meeting today at the Smart Village. The team members discussed future plans and frameworks for the different rules of each entity and the expected output.
The team is composed of representatives from Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement (SMWIPM), Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ministry of Information, State Information Service (SIS), Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior Affairs.
The team also involves members from National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), Ministry of State for Family and Population Affairs, National Youth Council (NYC), National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), representatives of internet service providers – ISPs and the Egyptian Internet Safety Focus Group - Net-Aman.
Such a team aims to open communication channels among the different concerned sectors so as to coordinate national efforts, exchange information and experience in the field and motivate the entities affiliated with each sector to adopt the concept of the safe use of the internet.
Moreover, the team helps communicate with similar regional and international bodies concerned with the safe use of the internet launches and leads awareness raising campaigns on cyber security, supports the foundation of a secure environment for internet usage among children and youth based on the spectrum of work of each sector.
In addition, the team works on raising the users’ awareness of the right principles to avoid being exposed to any harm on the cyberspace.
Other purposes of forming this teamwork involve evaluating the current situation of the safe usage of the internet, recommending the suitable measures to reinforce security, putting and adopting a national policy for spreading awareness of the safe use of the internet at home, educational institutions, business institutions, civil organizations and places of youth gatherings.
The shared responsibility of the team members lies within the framework of the team activities. These activities include but not limited to: being informed of the efforts exerted by each entity in the area of spreading the culture of the safe internet usage, introducing future steps for going on as well as reviewing the information, tools or trends of each entity that are likely to maintain the implementation of spreading the concept of cyber security among the Egyptian youth. It also identifies the risks facing Egypt’s internet users and decides the bodies to combat them.
Other aspects encompass setting instructional rules of how to overcome cyber risks, following up all conferences and seminars on this domain held locally and internationally and objectively and effectively contributing to such events.
The CPI team plans include: training 100,000 persons in the coming phase, organizing a teachers’ group for the safe use of the internet, Arabizing and developing suitable e-content, building an Arab families’ portal for the safe use of the internet, putting into force the track of protecting youth and children on the Arab and African arenas and efficiently contributing to the international dialogue over this cause.
The second annual meeting of the CPI had recommended forming a team to work on the issue of cyber security, opening communication channels among the concerned parties and experts and coordinating policies and activities in this respect.
About Cyber Peace Initiative
First of its kind in the region, the Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI) was launched in 2007 at the International Youth Forum in Sharm el Sheik under the auspices of Egypt’s First Lady Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak. The initiative utilizes ICTs and internet-based tools with the chief aim of spreading a culture of peace, tolerance and dialogue among youth through facilitating intercultural communication and understanding, empathy creation, skill development and internet safety awareness and knowledge among young people and other stakeholders.
