October 11, 2004

ICDL GCC Foundation, the regional office for the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) Foundation and the governing body of the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) programme in the Gulf States, has announced that ICDL programs in the region received a major boost as international ICDL content providers participated at its stand at the recently concluded GITEX Dubai 2004.

The participating vendors were Aston Swann, CiA Training, Electric Paper, Element K Middle East, NCC Education, The Regional Centre for Development of Educational Software (ReDSOFT) and Thomson NETg, all of whom showcased their ICDL content and testing solutions for ICDL Syllabus 4 at the region's premiere IT trade show.

"The participation of these leading international vendors at our stand in GITEX Dubai and their commitment to our region demonstrated the tremendous success of the ICDL certification program in the GCC Countries," said Jamil Ezzo, Director General, ICDL GCC Foundation: "We recognize their efforts and their investments in providing top quality solutions adhering to the international standards and syllabus of ICDL."

ECDL Foundation and ICDL GCC Foundation do not develop training and testing directly but work closely with expert organizations in the field and approve their solutions to ensure that they map to ICDL Syllabus and comply with the quality standards set by both foundations.

Aston Swann is based in the UK and has a decade of experience delivering computer training to the education sector. Aston Swann's portfolio of training products aimed at teachers includes ICDL for Educators and ICDL for Education. Both programs also have additional classroom exemplars and Pupil Projects that allow teachers to take the courseware into the classroom for their students in a context that is relevant to them. The ICDL for Educators programs showcased at the ICDL GCC Foundation stand at GITEX Dubai offer courseware tailored specifically for education providing step-by-step guidance on the techniques and routines required to fulfill ICDL qualification. The paper based courseware material is mapped against the newly released ICDL Syllabus 4 and available in Arabic and English.

CiA, a UK based company, enjoys nearly 20 years of successful growth within the European market with its flexible IT courseware and earned the reputation of providing high quality, first-class training material. Following the successful footsteps of the ICDL qualification, CiA Training has launched training material for the new ICDL Syllabus 4 and the all the four modules of ICDL Advanced. CiA showed a range of ICDL products at the ICDL GCC Foundation stand and introduced its courseware for the e-Citizen qualification, which is planned for release later in the year by the ECDL Foundation.

Electric Paper, based in Ireland, provides training, assessment and testing material to the educational sector designed specifically for the global ICDL certification program. Electric Paper highlighted at the ICDL GCC Foundation stand at GITEX a range of products including over 80 hours of engaging multimedia courses with built-in exercises delivering an effective and motivating learning experience. Electric Paper also showcased its simulation-based ICDL testing in Arabic and English, all mapped to the ICDL Syllabus 4, offering a complete solution for the ICDL program. Electric Paper's automated test has helped drive the growth in ICDL testing by eliminating manual marking and simplifying the administration process.

Element K Middle East with regional offices in Saudi Arabia and UAE, is a leading international courseware and e-learning provider that offers a library of over 1,200 courseware titles and 1,600 online interactive courses. Element K demonstrated its Arabic and English online courses and its matching paper-based courseware material it has developed for the ICDL Syllabus 4. Element K was first to introduce approved ICDL online courses for ICDL Syllabus 3 and had capitalized on its experience to introduce a comprehensive learning solution for the new syllabus.

NCC Education, based in the UK, strongly operates in the region with offices in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE and Yemen providing individuals with the skills and knowledge they require in order to access rewarding careers. NCC's testing software is used in over 1,000 education centers around the world. NCC demonstrated at the ICDL GCC Foundation stand at GITEX its unique in-application testing software for the latest ICDL syllabus in Arabic and English as well as its ICDL Primer, a training tool that prepares candidates for the ICDL official exam. The NCC automated testing is designed to suit a variety of learning styles and techniques, giving a broader view of candidates' capabilities. This is done by using an output-based methodology assessing what was done rather than how it was done. The administrative features, instant marking and results service also help save valuable time.

ReDSOFT, a not-for-profit regional organization based in Kuwait, was founded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), provides technical professional and developmental services to the agencies, institutions, and government organizations in the Arab region in issues related to the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and education. ReDSOFT spotlighted a range of ICDL training solutions in Arabic and English, including the latest electronic version of ICDL approved courseware developed for ICDL Syllabus 4, developed in conjunction with Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI) at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). The Arabic and English courseware is available in digital media and online versions..

Thomson NETg with more than 30 years of experience in enterprise-learning delivering solutions to more than 4,000 corporate customers and millions of users around the world, showcased its Arabic and English online training material for the latest ICDL syllabus at the ICDL GCC Foundation at GITEX Dubai.

"As an organization committed to providing access for all to the Information Society, we constantly strive to providing the best certifications for the widest possible spectrum in society," said Ezzo. "ICDL GCC Foundation is always working to ensure the availability of quality training and testing solution for the ICDL program in the GCC Countries. We are partnering with leading international vendors to launch ICDL Syllabus 4, the latest offering in ICDL certification, at GITEX 2004 with a range of training and testing solution that provide individuals with the necessary skills to participate fully in the Information Society."

-Ends-

About ICDL GCC Foundation
International Computer Driving License (ICDL), is an internationally recognized computer proficiency standard that is owned by the European Computer Driving License (ECDL) and introduced by the UNESCO's Cairo Office (UCO) for Arab states in 2001, is gaining increasing acceptance in the Middle East, with several governments adopting and prescribing it to their employees. The ICDL program exists in over 132 countries, and is offered in 32 languages, including Arabic. The programs offered are all based on one standard syllabus and question set. There are more than 15,000 centres worldwide, and over 10 million exams have been taken globally since the launch of the program.

ICDL GCC Foundation was created by the ECDL Foundation, the not-for-profit global governing body of the ECDL and ICDL member countries dedicated to helping raise the general level of computer skills in societies and providing access for all to the information society, to serve the to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States with their implementation of ICDL and for providing them with localised support to ensure quality of ICDL programs. The ICDL-GCC Foundation is the sole accreditation body that is responsible to support ICDL accredited training and testing centres in the GCC. It also acts as the reviewing and approving body for the local adaptation of ICDL programs.

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© Press Release 2004