The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat held a meeting, today, with the Governor of Alexandria Mohamed Elsherief at the governorate’s general bureau. They discussed various projects implemented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in the governorate of Alexandria, including digital institutional development projects, information infrastructure development, and digital skills development programs for youth from the governorate and employees of the general bureau.
 
The meeting was attended by several officials from MCIT and the governorate of Alexandria.
 
The ICT Minister is expected to open and inspect various projects that reflect MCIT strategy and its tireless efforts to build Digital Egypt. MCIT strives to introduce the value of the ICT industry in society in terms of creating job opportunities for youth. For creating 1,000 job opportunities, the new office of Vodafone Intelligent Solutions (VOIS) will be opened.
 
The ICT Minister added that the visit program also reflects MCIT efforts in fostering digital capabilities for government employees and youth from the governorate. This is in addition to helping persons with disabilities (PwDs) to integrate into society more independently, as well as providing health care to citizens in remote areas through telemedicine units.
 
Talaat is also expected to inspect the efforts made to develop the information infrastructure in Alexandria. Three post offices will be opened after their development and renewal. He added that around 104 post offices are established in the governorate; 58 post offices were developed, and 20 others are being developed. The third phase includes the development of the other post offices in the governorate.
 
The ICT Minister explained that he will follow up on the work of installing fiber-optic cables to boost the Internet. He noted that he discussed with the governor of Alexandria a plan to build cell towers in the governorate to support mobile voice services.
 
For his part, Elsherief commended the technological and digital development that Egypt is witnessing to transform into Digital Egypt. He indicated the significance of ICT in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of Egypt’s Vision 2030.
 
Elsherief pointed out that the program of the ICT Minister’s visit to Alexandria includes several openings that reflect Alexandria’s development in ICT.
 
The Deputy ICT Minister for Institutional Development Ghada Labib reviewed the most prominent achievements and future plans in cooperation projects between MCIT and the Governorate in digital institutional development and digital transformation in Alexandria.
 
The digital institutional development plan aims to assimilate and sustain digital transformation and automation projects. This is in addition to developing and building digital capabilities in the governorate by creating information systems and digital transformation units and implementing the specialized training programs necessary to keep pace with the new work environment for 159 employees in those technological units and centers.
 
Around 1,278 certificates for developing and building digital capacity programs were handed over to 982 employees in the governorate, directorates, districts, and surrounding villages. Numerous initiatives for developing and building digital capabilities, raising awareness of, educating, and digitally qualifying citizens were also implemented to 2,888 citizens of all societal groups. These initiatives included 5,145 tracks which were implemented according to international standards and in partnership with international institutions and companies specializing in that field.
 
The Chairwoman of the Information Technology Institute (ITI) Heba Saleh reviewed the achievements of ITI in Alexandria during the last training year. The number of trainees reached nearly 2,000 graduates of direct training programs, which include professional training, intensive training for graduates, and summer training camps for university students in disciplines including Artificial Intelligence (AI), information security, the Internet of Things (IoT), data analysis, multimedia, and other disciplines of constant demand.
 
The meeting focused on MCIT grant achievements in AI in cooperation with the École Pour l'Informatique et les Techniques Avancées (EPITA) for youth from the governorate of Alexandria. The ICT Minister listened to various successful stories of young graduates who reviewed their experiences from joining the grant and obtaining graduation certificates, to joining the workforce in local and international companies. In addition, freelance opportunities were provided to some graduates.
 
Talaat praised the success stories he listened to. These stories included models of young people who succeeded in exporting digital services from inside to outside Egypt. These youth were hired by international companies, and others competed in the global labor market.
 
Talaat called for highlighting such models in the media as they reflect the state’s strategy for human development, which is a top priority of Egypt. He pointed out that a CREATIVA Innovation Hub will be opened in Alexandria within few months. Through the Hub, startups will be hosted, and technical training will be provided.
 
Following the meeting, the ICT Minister and the governor of Alexandria handed over certificates of general and specialized digital capacity-building and development programs to heads and employees of the information systems and digital transformation units in the governorate.
 
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Egyptian National Post Organization Sherif Farouk, the CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) Amr Mahfouz, the Director of the National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) Iman Ashour, the Head of the Central Department of Digital Community Development at MCIT Hoda Dahroug, and the Chairman of the National Academy of Information Technology for Persons with Disabilities (NAID) AbdEl-Monem El-Sharkawy.
 
It is worth mentioning that the ICT Minister is visiting Alexandria to open and inspect various ICT and Post projects. He is due to open VOIS new office and three post offices after their development, and inspect the telemedicine system in the children’s hospital in Smouha.