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 The ESCWA sponsored competition for Digital Arabic Content (DAC) launched in June 2008 in local partnership with Berytech, attracted dozens of meritorious projects and yielded one winner, Alf Mile, a regional gaming project driven by team leader Mr. Hassan Ayoub.
The competition had unfolded in two stages. During stage I of the process, candidates presented their ideas in a concise manner permitting evaluators to quickly and efficiently review the maximum number of proposals in a short period of time. Candidates were also encouraged to submit more than one idea. Projects addressed a variety of subjects relevant to the socioeconomic development of the Arab region and included software for the development of DAC as well as development of applications for e-government, e-learning, e-health, and e-culture.
During stage II, the evaluation committee, composed of ESWA and Berytech advisors as well as prominent experts in the ICT field, met face-to-face with candidates whose applications were accepted. Evaluators were able to experience firsthand the communication and presentation skills of their candidates and to better ascertain the maturity level of their proposals.
The evaluation committee was quite pleased with the excellent quality of the majority of applications and regretted that the requirements of the competition did not allow for more than one proposal to be chosen. Applicants who were not chosen were nevertheless encouraged to seek Berytech’s support for the development of their project and to re-apply in future similar competitions.
Alf Mile will be incubated through Berytech for a period of one year and will benefit from housing in a managed office space, business and technical advisory support from Berytech’s experts, advice on preparing a business plan, help in getting finance, access to business support tools and services, as well as synergy, networking, visibility and participation in events organized by Berytech.
"Alf Mile" is an educational interactive game set in 3D virtual reality. Players will travel around a virtual Arab World learning about local customs, getting a closer look at the culture of various Arab countries, discovering large and lesser-known historical and geographical sites while meeting and interacting with other players online. The game will allow players to customize their virtual environment and will help improve their design, programming and 3D gaming skills.
The DAC competition took place in the framework of a regional campaign aiming at highlighting the importance of digital Arabic content and encouraging university graduates and young entrepreneurs to research and submit proposals for a variety of DAC applications.
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