Background The Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Center (RITSEC), was established in January 1992, as a joint project between the  United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD); and is hosted by the Government of  Egypt-the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC). Located  in Cairo, and created as a regional, non-profit organization, RITSEC provides technical, professional and developmental services to the agencies, institutions and governmental organizations in the Arab Region.   Mission Statement "To support and help development of the Information Technology and Software Industry in the Arab Region in order to become a World-Class industry capable of competing at international levels; and to serve as a catalyst for accelerating socio-economic development, within the Region." Strategic Objectives To contribute and empower the development and utilization of knowledge through the provision of education and professional development using traditional and distance learning approaches To help build software engineering capacities, use and development of  IT tools, products and services To lead regional and global cultural heritage preservation using information technology tools and techniques.  To contribute to the development of new initiatives in high priority areas such as e-commerce, distance education and Intellectual Property Rights through awareness, professional development and pilot projects. Copyright © 1999 RITSEC, All rights reserved. info@ritsec.org.eg This site was last modified on  September 26th, 1999