Digital Reach

[

] 72

IWA

ONE OF

five oases in the Western Desert of Egypt,

stands out with its own language and tribes. An oasis of

surprises in a spectacular desert landscape, Siwa is located

320 kilometres from the closest urban area and eight hours’

drive from Cairo. The modern town of Siwa is set among thick

palm groves, walled gardens and olive orchards, with numer-

ous freshwater springs and salt lakes. Siwa also clusters beneath

the impressive remains of the ancient fortress town of Shali. As

beautiful as the oasis of Siwa might be, it presents a challeng-

ing environment for the development of its inhabitants. The

oasis has long been remote geographically, culturally and polit-

ically.

The women of Siwa still wear traditional costumes and silver

jewellery, and have their own culture and tradition that makes

them unique among Egyptian communities. Although the

culture of Siwa is characterized by great respect for women, the

society is very conservative even by regional standards. Gender

roles are strictly defined, and gender segregation strictly

enforced. Girls still find it difficult to receive education and are

usually married off at a young age. Married women are not

allowed to leave their homes and, when they do, adhere to a

strict dress code. This special nature of the Siwa community

underlines the importance of helping women to participate in

the oasis’ social development, within the context of their tradi-

tional patterns.

It is not easy to find ways and means by which ICT can

address these problems. Several initiatives in remote areas have

not realized this fact, and assumed that a ‘push to technology’

is sufficient. Such approaches have neglected to realize the

importance of contextual, educational, institutional and finan-

cial sustainability. This is especially true with educational

infrastructure, where pedagogical issues need to be considered.

This has lead to the consensus that access alone will not

provide solutions that are both genuine and effective. In addi-

tion, an important element that needs attention is the human

factor, which includes individual users and communities at

large.

NGO management for smart schools

The story of deploying ICT for development in Siwa started

with the implementation of the Smart Schools Network (SSN)

pilot project. The SSN, one of the projects of Egypt’s ICT Trust

Fund, linked the school and the education objectives with

community needs. The project was facilitated through Siwa

Community Development and Environmental Conservation

(SCDEC), a local non-governmental organization (NGO), which

assumed the management of the project. SCDEC is well rooted

in the community and well positioned to play the role of a cata-

lyst to introduce ICT tools in education. In addition, the

organization possesses a wider vision to use the schools as

possible tools, not only to enhance the educational and teach-

ing methods within the school itself, but also to improve the

quality of life of its surrounding community. NGO management

proved to be a viable model to manage smart schools in remote

and deprived areas.

The model was built around active community participation

from the early stages. Local contractors took the responsibility

of facility preparation and the renovation of school labs using

local resources. This increased the sense of community owner-

ICT fuelling development through the eyes of

the women of Siwa Oasis in Egypt

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Egypt

Siwa women can access ICT in the context of their traditions