Recognized as one of the main partners of the government's campaign to promote digital literacy among Saudi nationals, ICDL Saudi Arabia, the governing body and certification authority of the International Computer Driving License program in the Kingdom, has announced strategies and programs for 2010. These will be heavily focused on schools and government agencies adopting the ICDL certification program. Dr. Sulaiman Al-Dhalaan, Consultant, ICDL Saudi Arabia, said only 20,000 students are currently enrolled in the ICDL program and ICDL Saudi Arabia will move toward increasing this figure by entering into partnerships with all 24 universities in the Kingdom over the next few months. To date, top universities including King Saud University, Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University, the first university for women in Saudi Arabia, Taibah University, Baha University, and the University of Tabuk have already started offering the ICDL program as mandatory or equivalent courses for new students. “Moreover, as we begin 2010, ICDL Saudi Arabia will be implementing new programs and strategies that will focus on having more academic institutions and government agencies adopt the ICDL standard,” said Al-Dhalaan. He said the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology are considering signing agreements with ICDL Saudi Arabia making ICDL certification a mandatory requirement for their employees. “ICDL will pursue stronger ties with both the public and private sectors in an effort to help bolster the country's campaign to promote digital literacy,” said Al-Dhalaan. The move, which will include the implementation of newer and more effective strategies and programs for 2010 under a new phase of development, aims to reinforce partnerships between ICDL Saudi Arabia and various government and private sector organizations. Moreover, the introduction of the ICDL Syllabus Version 5.0 will help further update trainees on the IT knowledge needed in today's rapidly developing world. ICDL Syllabus 5.0 incorporates new areas including personal devices and new communication technologies, and reflects innovations in mobile computing. It also considers new emerging media such as ‘podcasting,' and new areas of communication such as ‘Voice over IP' and ‘online chat'. Syllabus Version 5.0 also provides answers on how to manage newly emerged security threats, including ‘phishing' and ‘spy ware'. “Saudi Arabia continues to move closer to its vision of being a global IT hub and of creating a fully integrated digital society,” said Al-Dhalaan. He said the progress that the Kingdom has made toward this end is reflected in the impressive growth of the Kingdom's IT market, which is expected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2013. ICDL Saudi Arabia aims to reinforce its ties with its partners in both the public and private sectors to give the country an added boost in the effort to promote digital literacy across all segments, he said. ICDL Saudi Arabia is introducing fully integrated online services and support to help authorized centers and trainees fully benefit from ICDL programs.
