Last week, I attended the Arab Techies gathering in Cairo (Um El-Donia).It was a very nice gathering, attended by a group of tech savy, passionate young people from across the MENA. The purpose of the meeting was to look at the reality of information technology in the Arab world, and how such reality could be enhanced through cooperative work and mutual projects.The topics discussed varied from cyber or virtual activism to internet censorship and filtering in the region to business start-ups dealing with information technology and mobile services.

Interesting presentations where made on e-commerce, mobile payment methods,3rd generation services, Arabic Wikipedia, a project known as "Meedan" which translates work from both the east and west so that people can find ways to communicate and understand each other, as well intellectual property rights, creative commons and other related matters.

I made two brief interventions on citizen journalism in Jordan, and expat blogs in the Middle East, being an avid reader of some of them!

All in all, it was a great experience, and thanks to Alaa, Manal, Sami, and Lina for all their efforts in putting the conference together!