Open Arabic Content Workshop
Free access to information is a currently growing trend fueled by the latest popular developments of the internet world, such as social utility tools, networks and preferences, not to mention user generated content, blogs, wiki sites and others. The unprecedented success of the open content experience, which soon spread to all types of internet content, has also helped enhance free access to information. Examples include Creative Commons Licenses and the Open Content Alliance. The Arab World, however, suffers from a significant digital gap, and a serious shortage of Arabic Language Content, let alone Open Content. In this context, the King Abdullah Initiative for the Arabic Digital Content was launched to enhance Arabic Digital content, promote society’s role in this process and support the Arabic Digital Content industry by every possible means. That includes Open Content and enhancing free access to information. The Computer and Electronics Research Institute at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) was assigned the task of implementing this initiative, in collaboration with related stakeholders. Experts and specialists in the Open Content Industry were thus invited to participate in the “Open Arabic Content” workshop. The workshop is intended to explore the potential opportunities and challenges related to the Open Arabic Content project, a project to be implemented under the supervision of KACST’s Computer and Electronics Research Institute, along with suggested stakeholders. The workshop will be followed by panel discussions which are expected to produce a roadmap for the project.
The workshop is scheduled to be held at the KACST headquarters in Riyadh over a two-day period, Saturday 1/20 through Sunday 1/21 1430H (1/17-1-18 2009G).