Amman- Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Iraq Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Alliance during the Rebuild Iraq Conference and exhibition in Amman, Jordan. The launch was announced by Dawn Liberi, USAID’s Mission Director in Iraq.

The Iraq ICT Alliance is a public-private sector partnership working to promote information and communications technology development in Iraq. The Alliance brings together multinational companies, international donor agencies, and Iraqi government, business, and educational organizations to encourage greater collaboration and cooperation to implement information systems and improve technical skills in Iraq.

Representatives from BearingPoint, Cisco Systems, Computer Associates, Intel, HP, Microsoft, Motorola, and Oracle attended the meeting in Amman along with over twenty Iraqi government officials and businesspeople, as well as several experts from the U.S. Government and the United Nations. .

This Alliance encourages the formation of new, and expansion of existing development projects in the ICT sector with a particular focus on training programs targeting Iraqi women and youth. Some of the activities proposed at the launch include: improved curriculum in universities for computer programmers; low-cost Internet access for schools and community centers; software and training for a government procurement system; and an online employment database in Arabic.

“The projects being implemented by the Iraq ICT Alliance will help improve schools, create jobs, and enhance productivity, and we thank our corporate partners and other donors for working with USAID on this important initiative,” stated Liberi.

The Iraq ICT Alliance is the first Office of Global Development Alliance (GDA) activity to be implemented by the USAID Mission in Iraq. USAID's Global Development Alliance approach mobilizes the ideas, expertise, and resources of governments, businesses and civil society by forging public-private alliances. Since 2001, USAID has provided more than $1.1 billion for nearly 300 public-private alliances and leveraged over $3.7 billion in partner contributions. Through these alliances, USAID has not only gained additional financial resources for development activities, but also new technologies, intellectual capital, and technical and managerial expertise that enhance its ability to address an increasingly complex set of development challenges.