Overview of the WACSI ProjectAccess to the Internet is a valuable resource for organizations working on societal improvement, increased economic development, women’s empowerment, improved educational institutions, religious tolerance, as well as for multiple other uses.  In the Middle East, governments have recognized the need to increase access to the Internet for their populations which remains much lower (as a fraction of their populations) than in other regions of the world. Increased Internet access will allow organizations within one country to interact more easily with other like-minded organizations within their own country, regionally, and globally. There is therefore a need to provide better Internet access and training to organizations in the Middle East region working on a variety of societal improvement issues. In response to this need in the Middle East, the Web Access for Civil Society Initiatives (WACSI) project has been initiated by the Southwest Institute for Religion and Civil Society (SIRCS) at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). Funding for the WACSI project comes primarily from the Office of the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the US Department of State.

The goal of the WACSI project is to develop Internet-based systems for sharing information among organizations that are working on societal reform initiatives in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria. A project website will be developed to provide links to data sources, present partner information, and share information generated by partners. The project’s participants will identify selected issues that help initiate and sustain reform and that could most benefit from regional cooperation and information sharing. SIRCS/UNM and the CMC/SNL have significant technical expertise that can be applied to developing Internet-based knowledge and information sharing systems, including data management and decision support tools. SIRCS/UNM and the CMC/SNL will also help their Middle East partners develop the infrastructure to access the Internet and maintain web sites. Working together with our Middle East colleagues, we believe this project will contribute to increased Internet access within participating countries and to increased cooperation among organizations across national boundaries. Dr. Richard L. Wood and Mozafar Banahashemi of SIRCS/UNM, and Dr. Amir Mohagheghi and Dr. Gaurav Rajen of CMC/SNL lead the efforts of this project.

From left: Randa El-Bih, Soumia Dhar, Leann Lewis, Anwar Ouassini, Mozafar Banihashemi, Richard Wood (not pictured: Waleed Farea Mahdi).