What is the war in Afghanistan really about?

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CeBIT Ends With Success For Afghanistan

On Sunday 9 March at 12pm, Afghanistan’s first ever participation in the largest technology exhibition CeBIT came to an end after six days. Afghanistan achieved tremendous amount of encouragement and appreciation for its rapid advancement in the ICT sector from the world wide media. The exhibition however served more of a purpose than just media attention. Under the umbrella of the National ICT Association of Afghanistan (NICTAA), Afghan companies managed to negotiate major investment deals with multi-national companies. With NICTAA’s positive news being so well received it managed to build the confidence in Afghanistan and Afghans.

The success of NICTAA in CeBIT may have come as a surprise to the world, but it also created an atmosphere of unity amongst Afghans. The German based Afghan community participated in vast numbers. Which indicated that had there been more success stories, the attitude of the average Afghan would be much positive and therefore tolerance will increase.
CeBIT also highlighted the strong Afghan-German relations. A deal of co-operation and partnership between NICTAA and Art of Technology (AOT), an association of 7 German IT companies, has been reached for further improvement of relations and technology progress. Dirk Ortmann, president of AOT: “We hope that this deal will encourage the German ICT companies to make business in Afghanistan”.

The progress of the ICT sector is as much dependent on investment as education. This exhibition not only proved to promote the ICT sector but also discovered an alternative means of education which is accessible to all Afghans. The initiative of Afghan German Management College was indicated to NICTAA by the ‘Afghan German Online’. This it-self was a great achievement for the promotion and progress of education in Afghanistan as it is an online college which works as an open university accessible and affordable by the majority. Eventually there will be a co-operation and partnership between NICTAA and AGMC to promote education and empowerment of the general public of Afghanistan.

Omar Mansoor Ansari, NICTAA’s President says, “Our visit also provided motivation to other Afghans in other sectors as well as the ICT sector. Finalising the deals negotiated here is the next step for us. The CeBIT participation was a milestone in the rapid development of our country, and will boost the ICT sector in Afghanistan and in consequence improve the education, private sector and stability. We thank the donor USAID/ASMED and the many private supporters for this. I also want to thank my team for their hard work and congratulate them on their accomplishments.”

CeBIT has introduced a different prospective to Afghanistan. For once the news was about success stories and not Afghanistan’s failure. Afghanistan being able to compete in the world market in ICT in a short span of time exposed what Afghanistan is capable of, if given the platform to do so. The message gave the green light for foreign and domestic investment. Moreover, a strong message was sent to national and international investors that the IT infrastructure in Afghanistan is not only a profitable market but also investors can benefit from the support of an established IT sector. NICTAA hopes that the negotiations conducted at CeBIT for local contracts will eventually attract direct investment in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is Making History at CeBIT 2008

The war-torn country of Afghanistan is once again under focus but at this instance it is for the rapid growth of its information communication technology (ICT) sector instead of turbulence. Afghanistan made its first ever appearance this year in the largest technology exhibition CeBIT, held in Hanover, Germany, from March 4-9.

Heaving Afghanistan’s ICT profile will create many positive impacts such as contributing towards a sustainable economy, social rest, and educational progress.

The Afghan businesses participating in the event are receiving an awe-inspiring amount of encouragement from the global market with its interest. The National ICT Association of Afghanistan (NICTAA) was welcomed by investors in Germany and other countries, including Poland, Iran, India, Sri Lanka, UK, America, Greece and even Sudan. Companies such as Siemens, DBB, Docuware, AOT’s partner TST Biometrics, Microsoft Partner and IBM Business Partners have shown a keen interest in investing in the Afghan market. Afghan companies exhibiting at CeBIT 2008 under the umbrella of NICTAA are swept off their feet by the number of new deal negotiations and contracts they have to process each day since the beginning of the exhibition.

Afghanistan’s progress in the ICT sector in such a short time has stunned the world. Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghan Ambassador to the US said, “I remember a time when we couldn’t even connect a printer and today’s progress in such a short time proves how talented our people are. I was thrilled to hear the news and sent my congratulations and encouragement immediately to the team who made all this happen.”

It is as if CeBIT Germany was not enough, NICTAA has already started negotiations with Hanover Fairs International Turkey Office to become its official partner in Afghanistan for CeBIT Eurasia 2008. Omar Mansoor Ansari, President of NICTAA says, “The progress we made in these few days of our participation at the CeBIT 2008 is exciting. I am thrilled by my team’s performance and the hard work of our talented business leaders and entrepreneurs. Their speed of establishing business relationships with the overseas industry players is remarkable. This simply makes me proud!” Afghanistan’s participation in CeBIT 2008 was made possible by the National ICT Association of Afghanistan (NICTAA) and USAID’s Afghanistan Small and Medium Enterprise Development (ASMED) project for its sponsorship.

International Women's Day

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialised world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. ASAUK will also be holding an event to celebrate this great day.

When it comes to the topic of women in Afghanistan, the focus is always about the different interpretations of one thing – suppression. This in essence has always been miss-directing the efforts for modernisation to westernisation. The two words for many Westerners are synonymous, but there is a big difference and the effects of the two would hence be different too.

ASAUK’s event on International Women’s Day is organised to be different from the norm. There will be speakers from different backgrounds with different opinions. We want to deliver the full picture, including achievements, modernisation, struggles, opportunities and the role of women in the Afghan society.

Come along to the conference if you are in London on the 12th of March. It will surely be an enlightening and a fun evening with speakers, a documentary about Afghan women, classical Afghan music and much more. Other details are on http://www.asa4uk.com/InternationalWomensDay.aspx

Overwhelmed at CeBIT says NICTAA

Afghanistan was set to a great start on its first day at the CeBIT 2008 exhibition. Visitors queued outside the comparatively small Afghan cubical as soon as the exhibition doors were open. CeBIT, is regarded throughout the world as the largest and most influential marketplace for ICT, the exhibition attracts participants, buyers and sellers from 100 countries who gather in Hanover, Germany each spring to discover and promote the latest trends of the digital age.
Four leading software development and IT companies from Afghanistan are attending the trade fair from March 4-9: XALA Technologies, NETLINKS, Paiwastoon Networking Services and Trend Com. Their participation is organized by the National ICT Association of Afghanistan (NICTAA) and sponsored by USAID’s Afghanistan Small and Medium Enterprise Development (ASMED) project.

A visitor who traveled from South America to the exhibition said, “It is really interesting that Afghanistan is able to compete with the world market in software outsourcing so quickly, especially with what we hear and see on TV about Afghanistan, this comes as a complete surprise to me. I would be very interested to take the information back to my company directors to hear their opinion on outsourcing our software development to Afghanistan.”

The four companies managed to secure business contacts and established grounds for possible contracts with major players in the IT sector from across the world. One of such companies was DataBase-Bank (DBB) who offers the first Data backup appliance secured against all major risks such as fire, flood, theft, human errors, and breakdown of the information system. Asmat Ullah, CEO of XALA Technologies said, “This kind of data protection boxes are of great use in a place such as Afghanistan where disaster occurrences are almost regular and the security of data through such a secure system can be vital.” DBB is currently negotiating an exclusive deal with the Afghan companies at CeBIT to establish a base for the Central and South Asian market in Afghanistan.

Omar Mansoor Ansari, president of NICTAA said, “We are overwhelmed by the keen interest shown by visitors and the hard work put in by the exhibiting team. We still have five more days to go way to go and I hope they will be as fruitful as today if not more.”