UK and Egypt work together to raise awareness of gender issues

The UK & Egypt are working together to raise awareness of gender issues in strategic issues like counter-extremism & counter-radicalisation

CAIRO, Egypt, November 23, 2016/APO/ -- 

A part of this effort, the British Embassy Cairo and the Centre for Democracy and Social Peace Studies in Alexandria ran an roundtable discussion on 21 August on empowering women in countering violent extremism. Co-chaired by Deputy Ambassador Helen Winterton, this was part of the Bibliotheca Alexandria’s two day series of events to celebrate International Peace Day.

The primary objective of the workshop was to bring together researchers, policy makers and activists engaged with the problem of countering violent extremism in Egypt to establish a shared understanding of the issue, the role of women, and integrating a gender equality perspective. The second aim was to discuss different approaches, evidence of what works and generate pointers for future research on women’s roles in countering violent extremism in Egypt.

The British Embassy also supported a series of workshops organised by Souryana, as part of the wider UK objective to promote stability and reduce conflict. Souryana uses innovative and inclusive ways to raise awareness of sexual and gender-based violence and increase civil engagement within vulnerable communities. Workshops included music and theatre activities, art therapy and sports sessions.

As well as helping to strengthen the UK-Egypt partnership in countering violent extremism, the workshop fell under the umbrella of Gender September, a British Embassy initiative to raise awareness of what it is doing to support gender equality in Egypt and why. This has been through a month of events and activities including a women-only speed mentoring event, as well as boosting female representation in day to-day embassy work.

Co-chaired by Deputy Ambassador Helen Winterton, this was part of the Bibliotheca Alexandria’s two day series of events to celebrate International Peace Day

Deputy Ambassador to Cairo Helen Winterton said: Countering violent extremism is a shared agenda between countries, communities, and families. Women and gender equality are central to our understanding of the problem and our attempt to build resilience to it.

Souryana representative Rethaa ElRefaie said: Souryana is our big family in Egypt. We worked with a lot of donors and they valued our work. Being refugees with a big challenge for us. We are proud of reaching out successfully to our beneficiaries we are also proud of using effective developmental approaches with them.

Distributed by APO on behalf of U.S. Embassy - Cairo.

Three New Investments Strengthen UK Support to Egypt

Three New Investments Strengthen UK Support to Egypt as Number 1 Investor

GlaxoSmithKline provides jobs to a workforce of 1,700 Egyptians, and Unilever has 1,939 direct and over 8,000 indirect Egyptian employees

CAIRO, Egypt, November 23, 2016/APO/ --

Since 2011, Foreign Direct Investment inflows from the UK have amounted to USD30 billion. On Tuesday 8 November British Ambassador to Egypt John Casson attended the inauguration of GlaxoSmithKline’s newest liquid line in Egypt, an EGP65 million investment that will produce essential, low-cost medicines for Egyptian patients.

This is delivering on the company’s 2013 pledge to expand its local investments over the course of four years to upgrade its facilities with investments exceeding EGP481 million. GlaxoSmithKline’s total investment in Egypt surpasses USD 800 million and it is the largest British investment in the Health Sector and Pharma field in Egypt.

UK Director of Trade and Investment said: The launch of this new line for GSK demonstrates their commitment to the Egyptian market. GSK along with many other UK companies has a long history with Egypt and my team at the Department for International Trade will continue to encourage UK investment in Egypt– something which can only benefit both countries.

This GlaxoSmithKline investment is the latest in a series of new investments from Britain, Egypt’s biggest investor.

• Last month, Vodafone acquired a EGP3.5 billion 4G licence in addition to its EGP35 billion in investment in Egypt to date, which will increase internet speed and open new economic and social opportunities.
• Last month British company Unilever opened a new factory in Egypt – the largest in the Middle East in terms of production capacity – following a EGP220 million investment.
• BP continues to be one of the largest foreign investors in the country, having invested approximately USD30 billion in Egypt to date, with plans for a further USD13billion before 2020.

UK investment provides long-term social investment and sustainable growth in Egypt, alongside the short-term action currently being taken by the Government and the IMF. GlaxoSmithKline provides jobs to a workforce of 1,700 Egyptians, and Unilever has 1,939 direct and over 8,000 indirect Egyptian employees. BP Egypt runs a wide-ranging programme focused on education, training, and skills development, and works with local communities to deliver sustainable development projects dedicated to creating jobs, micro-financing, education, and health.

These deals support the UK Prime Minister’s desire to further deepen cooperation and offer help to support the Egypt’s economic growth efforts, including the increase of British investments. The upcoming visit to Egypt by the UK Trade Envoy, the fourth this year, will provide opportunity for discussions around delivering on this desire.

British Ambassador to Egypt said: More important long-term than even the IMF funds, investment creates jobs, and brings in dollars and global standards to Egypt. I am proud Britain remains the number one investor in Egypt, with USD30 billion of inflows since 2011, but at this vital time we are hungry for more to power the Egyptian economy. This month we have seen important new investment and jobs from BP, Vodafone, Unilever and now GlaxoSmithKline. Egypt’s economic success is a top priority to the UK and we remain committed to developing our partnership.

Distributed by APO on behalf of British Embassy Cairo.

إسيت تقدم 5 نصائح لتسوق آمن عبر الإنترنت خلال موسم الأعياد القادم

دبي، 24 نوفمبر 2016: صفقات نهاية العام – إنها الفترة من العام التي تشهد تزايد مستويات مبيعات التجزئية بشكل كبير. ووفقاً لدراسة جديدة صدرت عن شركة ’ديلويت‘، سيشهد موسم الأعياد القادم قيام عدد أشخاص أكبر من أي وقت مضى بالبحث عن الصفقات والتسوق عبر الإنترنت، في ظل توقعات ببلوغ إجمالي مبيعات موسم الأعياد حول العالم ما يصل إلى 1 تريليون دولار أمريكي.

وفي حدث تاريخي آخر، سيقوم المتسوقون بإنفاق ذات القدر من الأموال في العالم الافتراضي قياساً بالمتاجر التقليدية خلال موسم الأعياد. ونظراً لكون دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة تعتبر موطناً مزدهراً لسوق التجارة الإلكترونية، فإن الزيادة الكبيرة في المبيعات عبر الإنترنت ستترك المستهلكين عرضةً لمختلف أنواع الهجمات الإلكترونية. وخلال الفترة التي تسبق موسم الأعياد يقدم أندريه كوبوفيتش، أخصائي أمن تكنولوجيا المعلومات لدى ’إسيت‘، خمس نصائح من شأنها أن تساعد في إبعاد المهاجمين عن أموال المتسوقين:

1. استخدم اتصالاً آمناً

لا يعتبر كل اتصال بالإنترنت آمناً بما يكفي لاستخدامه في تسديد المدفوعات عبر الإنترنت. وليس بالضرورة أن تكون شبكات الإنترنت اللاسلكية العامة المتوفرة في السوق أفضل الخيارات لاستخدامها من أجل التسوق الإلكتروني. وثمة حل بديل أكثر أماناً يتمثل بالوصول إلى المتجر الإلكتروني المفضل بالنسبة لك من خلال باقة بيانات الهاتف المحمول الخاصة بك.

2. قم بحماية أجهزتك

استخدم جهازاً موثوقاً – سواء كان جهاز الكومبيوتر أو جهاز التابلت أو الهاتف الذكي  – فمن الأسهل لك رصد أي تجاوزات أو جوانب غير طبيعية في سلوك هذا الجهاز. وبالإضافة إلى ذلك، تأكد من كون نظام التشغيل والبرمجيات محدثةً على الدوام، وذلك من أجل تجنب أي نقاط ضعف غير محمية يمكن أن يساء استخدامها. قم أيضاً بتثبيت حل أمني موثوق مع طبقات حماية متعددة يمكن له أن يوفر الحماية لنشاطاتك المتعلقة بالخدمات المصرفية عبر الإنترنت والمدفوعات الإلكترونية.

3. توخى الحذر من الصفقات الوهمية

عند تلقي عرض تسوق بمناسبة الأعياد يبدو أفضل من أن يكون حقيقياً، هناك فرصة كبيرةً لأن يكون فعلاً غبر حقيقي. وتعتبر الصفقات الوهمية المرسلة إلى صندوق بريدك أمراً شائعاً خلال موسم نهاية العام، وتستخدم هذه الصفقات لإغراء الضحايا وجذبهم لدخول مواقع وهمية تقوم باستخراج البيانات الحساسة (مثل أرقام بطاقات الائتمان) أو بيانات الدخول. للبقاء بعيداً عن المتاعب، قم بزيارة مواقع إلكترونية من اختيارك عبر كتابة عنوان URL الصحيح بشكل مباشر ضمن شريط المتصفح.

4. تحقق دائماً من عناوين URL

في حال كان ذلك ممكناً، قم باختيار العلامات التجارية المعروفة والموثوقة التي توفر بيئة تسوق آمنة ويمكن لها أن تساعدك على حل المشاكل المحتملة. وحتى عند القيام بذلك، لا تتخلى عن حذرك عند رؤية علامة تجارية مشهورة، نظراً لأن المحتالين قادرون على إنشاء مواقع إلكترونية مزورة تبدو مطابقةً تقريباً للمواقع الاصلية. ومن أجل تجنب المواقع الوهمية، ينبغي أن تقوم دائماً بالتحقق من عناوين URL باعتبار أن المواقع الوهمية يمكن تمييزها بسهولة من خلال اختلاف عنوان الإنترنت الخاص بها عن الصفحات الرسمية التي تقوم بمحاكاتها.

5. استخدم البطاقات الائتمانية أو خدمات الدفع الآمنة

يكون إجراء عملية شراء عبر الإنترنت أكثر أماناً عند استخدام البطاقات الائتمانية او وسائل الدفع الآمنة، نظراً لكون استخدامها لا ينطوي على أي من الأموال التي تبقيها في حساباتك الجارية أو حسابات التوفير. وحتى في حالة التعاملات الاحتيالية، يمكن أن يتم احتساب الأضرار بصورة جزئية من قبل البنك أو مزود الخدمة.

تنطبق العديد من النقاط المذكورة أعلاه على التعاملات المصرفية عبر الإنترنت. وللحصول على نصائح أكثر إسهاباً، يمكنك الاطلاع على الدليل المختصر الذي يتناول موضوع كيفية الابتعاد عن المتاعب في مجال الخدمات المصرفية عبر الإنترنت؟

The consumer of the future will use a mobile phone to monitor his environment

VTT creates the world's first hyperspectral Iphone camera

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has created the world's first hyperspectral mobile device by converting an iPhone camera into a new kind of optical sensor. This will bring the new possibilities of low-cost spectral imaging to consumer applications. Consumers will be able to use their mobile phones for example to sense food quality or monitor health.   
Hyperspectral cameras, which are traditionally expensive, have been used for demanding medical and industrial, space and environmental sensing. The cost-effective optical MEMS (Micro Opto Electro Mechanical Systems) spectral technology enables the development of new mobile applications for environmental sensing and observation from vehicles and drones. Other applications include health monitoring and food analysis. All of this forms part of an environment combining smart sensors with the Internet.

“Consumer benefits could appear in health applications, such as mobile phones that are able to check whether moles are malignant or food is edible. They could also verify product authenticity or identify users based on biometric data. On the other hand, driverless cars could sense and identify environmental features based on the representation of the full optical spectrum at each point of an image,” explains Anna Rissanen, who is heading the research team at VTT.

VTT has already developed a wide range of new applications for the innovative hyperspectral cameras. These include the diagnosis of skin cancer, environmental sensing based on nanosatellites, various drone applications for precision agriculture and forest monitoring, and projects underway for the remote measurement of vessel emissions. 
Spectral imaging everywhere
Optical spectral imaging offers a versatile way of sensing various objects and analysing material properties. Hyperspectral imaging provides access to the optical spectrum at each point of an image, enabling a wide range of measurements. The adjustable tiny MEMS filter is integrated with the camera lens and its adjustment is synchronised with the camera’s image capture system.
“Today’s smart devices provide huge opportunities for the processing of image data and various cloud services based on spectral data. Mass-produced sensor technology will enable the introduction of hyperspectral imaging in a range of devices in which low-cost camera sensors are currently used,” Rissanen comments.
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland aims to cooperate with companies to commercialise the technology and bring new, innovative optical sensor products to the market.

See also: 
VTT's hyperspectral camera shows promising results in early detection of skin cancer http://www.vttresearch.com/media/news/vtts-hyperspectral-camera-shows-promising-results-in-detection-of-skin-field-cancerization

http://www.vttresearch.com/media/news/scientists-developed-a-miniature-gas-sensor-for-mobile-devices

The Modernisation Risk: How Companies in Egypt Must Adapt to the Digital Revolution

By:  Ashesh Badani, VP Cloud Product Strategy at Red Hat

Retailers and other traditional industries in Egypt are struggling to grapple with the challenges of the digital age. One problem is that many established brands are failing to take full advantage of new technology, such as increasingly sophisticated automation and Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) technology. As such, the technological revolution has been accompanied by a slowdown in the growth of more traditional businesses.

Across the world, online first is a secular consumer trend and increasingly advanced technology has led them to expect a more proactive, personalised service. The rise of technology-based services has led to an Increasing engagement with companies like Amazon, Facebook and Netflix, which rely on technology but don’t physically manufacture or directly produce content. This points to one of the biggest trends of the current age: the rise of software-based companies. Software is providing customers with experiences that were never previously available, such as the ability to try on clothes before ordering online.

Can you imagine walking into a shop to look at a product but having to queue before you could? This is what slow site speeds do to customers online. Or not being able to turn a product round so you can see it from all angles? That is the shopping experience many consumers are met with when shopping online at older brands. Consumer behaviour is evolving at a faster pace than many businesses can cope with. Consistently, across the board, traditional firms of all sectors are failing to deliver what their customers want and expect in the digital age. And, for those that fail to keep up, the impact can be substantial.

From one perspective, business failure is part of what switches capital away from what doesn’t work and over to what does. But with the rise of the empowered consumer, software is increasingly the key to success for any business. With more computing power available through the cloud, more established companies, such as US retailer Target and global bank BBVA are adopting technology as a key differentiator. To support this trend, companies like Red Hat provide the necessary tools and application platforms under an open-source license that help companies develop their digital platform and Software as a Service (SaaS) offering or modernize existing applications. This enables established businesses to become more agile and respond more effectively to customers’ needs. The SaaS model has taken off because it delivers flexibility in the underlying infrastructure while taking advantage of a business’s existing IT investments. This has fuelled the rise of “weightless” companies, firms that can attain high valuations with minimal staff and capital.

With technology changing the way companies operate, there are some significant trends that can help established companies stay ahead. The first is big data which has transformed industries across the board by helping businesses better understand their customers and become more proactive via intensive analytics to not only responding but also predict trends. A key technology taking off alongside big data is the Internet of Things (IoT). With more items being tagged and more data generated every day, the smartest companies are being proactive and applying IoT technology to various parts of their business. Being able to connect more devices to the internet will give businesses more intelligence and the ability to bolster the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations.

There is also a rise in containerisation. Just as there has been an increase in companies virtualizing their infrastructure to make them more flexible; today we are seeing a growth in the containerisation of software platforms. While this may sound abstract, it is a key enabler for DevOps that senior leaders across the world are looking to have their IT departments embrace. DevOps fundamentally promotes a much tighter relationship between various groups so that applications and services can be released quickly to drive innovation. The concept of containerisation was developed in order to get software to run reliably when moved from one computing environment to another which is a key requirement for DevOps. Because you don’t need a virtual machine for every app, containers can be quicker to create and launch. This enables a company to pack a lot more applications into a single physical server and, ultimately, do more with its resources while also speeding up development processes and updating applications with new functionality in less time.

Whether in retail or transportation, every company regardless of the business it’s in must develop a core competency in harnessing the power of technology. However, it’s not just the technology; it’s the entire culture of traditional businesses that needs to change. In this digital age, it is necessary to learn from the Amazons of the world and foster a culture of innovation and disruption. This means taking a more DevOps approach to business. So while brands don’t have to change their prices multiple times a day like Amazon, they should aim to generate a cycle of innovation and break down internal barriers.

More than ever, there is a need to bring together different teams across the company to collaborate and share ideas. To help their organisation manage the cultural transition towards digital and a software-first approach, it is increasingly the role of the CIO to guide company strategy. The Harvey Nash CIO Survey found that in 2016, 34 percent of CIOs report directly to the CEO - the largest proportion in 11 years. And an IDG Research study found that the CIO collaborating with other departments increases productivity (87 percent); informs decision-making (83 percent); and increases end-user satisfaction (80 percent). This broadening of the CIO’s traditional role is a necessary step to ensure organisations put technology at the heart of their strategy and don’t get left behind.

The digital transformation continues, and its pace has been steadily accelerating as a result of increasing globalisation. The technological revolution could still hold many surprises. It may create vast numbers of jobs nobody has yet imagined, or boost the productivity of less- skilled workers in entirely new ways. But for now, it is safe to say that brands which fail to adapt won’t survive long. The death of the well-established retailer is just the beginning. The death of the well-established retail model is underway. And the winners will be the businesses that think digital from the top down.