Cyber Peace Initiative

The Second Annual Meeting of the Cyber Peace Initiative Following-up the recommendations of the Internet Safety Conference- March 2008

18 February 2009

1. Introduction:

In the frame of encouraging the Egyptian youth to deal with new technologies and applications such as producing programs and applications or electronic content such as spreading cyber peace culture and the millennium principles; in addition to believing in the importance of the information technology and its major role in spreading the communication principles among youth, the Suzanne Mubarak’s Women International Peace Movement launched the Cyber Peace Initiative through information technology. The launching of the initiative was during the international youth forum in Sharm El Sheikh in September 2007. The initiative is considered as a product of the partnership between the Suzanne Mubarak’s Women International Peace Movement in cooperation with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and a number of international partners working in the field of communication and information technology. The initiative aims for maximizing the use of communication and information technology in creating an atmosphere which supports the effort for international communication and understanding for peace among youth.
 
Furthermore a partnership agreement was signed to promote the initiative regionally and internationally. The signing parties were the Suzanne Mubarak Women International Peace Movement, and the International Telecommunication Union, UN Global Alliance for Information Technologies and Development of the United Nations, Cisco Systems, Microsoft Corporation in addition to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology in Egypt.

2. Background:

The second annual meeting is held to present the initiative achievements through the year 2008 jointly with both the local and international partners. On the 18th of February the meeting also presents the initiative’s plans for the year 2009 regarding the responsibility of different parties toward protecting children and youth from the dangers of the internet following the March 2008 conference recommendations about safe internet usage. The first meeting for the International Executive Board of the Cyber Peace Initiative was held in November 2007.

3. Meeting Goals:

The second meeting includes a number of parties related to the initiative through a gathering including the international partners, a group of benefiting parties participating in the activities of the initiative such as youth, parents and teachers, private sector companies, representatives from the government, executive authorities and civil society in addition to a number of international experts. This gathering aims to spread awareness in the fields the initiative works on and inviting every party - each in its sector- to participate in achieving its goals and reaching the end results with the targeted groups.

The meeting further aims to discuss the common responsibilities towards ensuring a safe electronic environment to enable our children and youth to use the computer, internet, tools of communication and information technologies and new cell phone services in a safe and responsible way.

The meeting goals concentrated on the following:

    1. Presenting the achievements of the initiative for the year 2008
    2. Presenting the work plan for the year 2009 and highlighting the most significant future events as well as participation of every partner in the different initiative axes.
    3. Continuing the conversation on both the local and regional regarding the best ways for providing a safer internet usage.
    4. Spreading awareness among the Egyptian Civil society about safe internet usage; as well as initiating a safe internet awareness campaign - on the local and regional level – and at the same time working on the benefiting of available tools of media and technology.
    5. Discussing the partnerships held between the different coordinating sites inside Egypt which take care of taking serious steps towards dealing with the issue of using safe internet, and working on activating the cooperation of industry employees in order to provide technical help for users.
    6. Emphasizing on the principal goals for the initiative and ways of achieving it between the society groups which is the ability, awareness, education, culturing and development of the suitable content in Arabic to save our culture and heritage on the internet so that the youth of today and leaders of the future to benefits from it.
    7. Identifying the important international directions in the field of enabling the youth and usage of safe internet from the people working in the field of coordination and cooperation

4. Society Program:

The second meeting of the initiative includes several sessions

A) First session:

Presenting the efforts of the parties benefiting from the initiative
The efforts of the parties benefiting through an interactive environment which enables the presence to closely identify the experiences of youth, teachers and parents in addition to the representatives of the IT clubs and schools and their active participation in the activities of the initiative.
This session also includes the achievements of the initiative through the past year in coordination with the private sector and different parties. Moreover it discusses the sustainability of the initiative’s activities in the future.

B) Second session:

The role of the related parties in maximizing the benefits of internet and at the same time protecting the society from internet dangers - an open interview
This part of the meeting is assigned to open the discussion with the locally related parties in order to present the role expected of each party participating in protecting the society from internet dangers in addition to working on adopting the pioneering initiatives in coordination with governmental and industrial representatives. This part also enables the participants to discuss and present among them the different viewpoints concerning the responsibilities and what could be done about the internet safety issues, following the recommendations of the March 2008 conference concerning internet safety usage.

C) Third session:

Enabling and protecting the youth in the information society
This session hosts a number of partners and international experts to discuss different methods also tested on the international level to enable the youth and protect them at the same time. The experts furthermore present what has been achieved in the year 2008 in cooperation with the initiative as well as explore new fields of work and coordination through the year 2009.

D) Closed meeting of the Cyber Peace Initiative Executive International Board:

The meeting aims at reviewing the recommendations from previous sessions and endorsing the initiative’s plans for the year 2009.

5. Meeting Coordinator:

The Cyber Peace Initiative, one of the programs of the Suzanne Mubarak’s Women International Peace Movement, is coordinating this second annual meeting.

6. Contacts:

For inquiries please visit the following sites:
 
Meeting coordinator:
 
Mohamed Fathy – Unit Manager of the Cyber Peace Initiative:
mfathy@womenfor peace international.org
 
For more information about Suzanne Mubarak Women International Peace Movement please visit:
www.womenforpeaceinternational.org
 
For more information about The Cyber Peace Initiative please visit:
www.cyberpeaceinitiative.org


Concept Note in Arabic