Is there a knowledge Society in Jordan?

When the Information Technology hype started in Jordan in 2000 it has been perceived by many observers that this "revolution" will lead to an "information society" or "knowledge society in Jordan". Within the enthusiasm generated by the REACH initiative it has not been noted that REACH did not contain any elements on "knowledge society" or "information society". It was mainly based on developing an "information technology" industry in Jordan based on developing policies and legal frameworks, human capacity, government leadership, infrastructure and financial mechanisms.

By the end of 2005 REACH has managed to deliver a percentage of its promises. Exports had risen to 80 million JDs from just JD 7 million in 1999 but still fall short of the JD 550 million targeted by REACH. The IT sector currently employs 8,500 which is less than the target of 30,000.

However, the IT infrastructure development has been impressive, and the number of PCs and networks installed in public, private and academic institutions has been rising. The question remains whether this wave of installing PCs and cables can really lead to a knowledge society?

The Arab Human Development Report published by the UNDP defines "knowledge society" as a "society where knowledge diffusion, production and applications become the organizing principles in all aspects of human activity: culture, society, the economy, politics and private life". In this aspect Jordan has not progressed to a positive achievement. Let us take two main examples.

The e- Education Initiative has managed to install PCs and networks in almost every school in the country. The main beneficiaries until now seem to be the IT firms that have won the tenders for the hardware and software. The applications in most of the rural and poor-urban schools are to a minimum due to the lack of content, lack of incentives and initiatives by teachers and bad maintenance.

The "knowledge stations" established by the National Information Center in all Jordanian governorates, which have reached 120 stations in the end of 2005 had massive investments in terms of infrastructure but again the applications are very poor with the knowledge stations not involved in any notable creative socio-economic activities. In many areas of the world the "E-centers" have proved to energize local socio-economic development and combating poverty and unemployment by providing skills and training in local market dynamics. In Jordan the knowledge stations have been a big disappointment thus far.

It is very important for our policy makers and IT entrepreneurs to take that extra step from installing IT hardware and software to developing contents and integrating ICT in development and that need a lot of visionary people.