eGA supports the creation of the Sfax e-Governance Academy

Last week the CEO of eGA, Mr. Arvo Ott, and the e-governance adviser, Mr. Steven Segaert, discussed the possibility of setting up an e-Governance Academy in Sfax, Tunisia. The Tunisian Academy is planned to become a knowledge center serving the Northern African region and French-speaking countries in Africa. eGA assists with strategic advice and concrete help in curricula-building.

The choice of the location is justified by the fact that Sfax is the home to a "technopole" business site, which offers infrastructure and services to companies active in the field of ICT and multimedia. Hence, the Sfax Technopole (http://www.sfax-itctechnopark.com.tn/) positions itself as the place to be when it comes to technical innovation, and the subject of ICT in government is of strategic importance in that respect.

Sfax e-gov Academy should initiate research, provide insight in e-governance issues to companies, and help government to create the necessary knowledge base and organisational infrastructure to advance know-how and, thereby, implementation of the current Tunisian e-government strategy.

The initiative is currently supported by the European Investment Bank (http://www.eib.org/), which also provided the necessary support to create the Sfax Technopole.