The e-AGE conference has established itself as an important venue for networking among experts and scientists. In 2017, e-AGE was held under the patronage of His Excellency Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, in Cairo, Egypt, on 3-4 December. The focus of e-AGE 2017 was on Intercontinental Connectivity and how internetworking has contributed to Education, Science, and Innovation.
The e-Infrastructure in the Arab region has evolved significantly at both national and regional levels, with National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) developing in more than 17 Arab countries. At the regional level, ASREN announced the operation of the Arabian Global Educational Open PoP (AGE-OP) in London, in cooperation with GEANT. The main theme of e-AGE 2017 was “EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND INNOVATION,” with all activities centered around this theme.
e-AGE 2017 included events, workshops, and meetings focused on:
- The 10th Event on Euro-Mediterranean e-Infrastructure
- The 7th Annual Meeting of ASREN
- AROQA 9th Annual Conference
- EUMEDCONNECT3 and AfricaConnect2 Project Meetings
- Technical Workshops on R&E Networking
Special sessions were dedicated to specific domains, focusing on experiences in connectivity and e-Infrastructure, applications, and services across various scientific domains. The importance of showing how research infrastructure creates tangible benefits to communities and collaborations was emphasized, along with demonstrating how research connectivity can promote collaboration and innovation. Discussions aimed to drive outcomes and practical steps towards developing a regional e-Infrastructure.
