Mohamed Eliwa, Arabia Inform's Founder & CEO, Named AFLI's Person of the Year

Online, October 8, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The Arab Federation for Libraries & Information (AFLI) recognized Mohamed Eliwa as their Person of the Year. At Wednesday's annual conference general session in Beirut, Dr. Hassan Al Sereihy, AFLI's President, noted Mr. Eliwa's longtime contribution and struggle to bring valued Arabic content to a broader audience by digitizing, indexing and archiving the Arabic media; academic journals, periodicals and dissertations; and books that were previously only available in print.

Mohamed Eliwa founded both Arabia Inform and its sister company, Almotahida Multimedia. He has more than 30 years of experience in the information/technology industries, in both the Media and Financial Services Sectors. In addition to his expertise in information, he has been an IT instructor, trainer and consultant for multiple governmental organizations, corporations and NGOs. Mr. Eliwa sits on the Board of Directors of e-Labs, an initiative of the Egyptian Ministry of Telecommunications and IT, focused on enhancing, expanding and promoting the business and educational software industry in Egypt. He is also a member of the Egyptian National e-Content Initiative, the Egyptian Copyright Association, the Egyptian Publishers Union, the Arab Publishers Union, the Special Libraries Association, the Arab Federation of Libraries & Information, and the Washington DC-based National Press Club. Mr. Eliwa holds a Masters Degree in Economics from Cairo University and a Bachelors Degree in Foreign Affairs from Helwan University.

The award is presented each year to the person AFLI believes has made a significant contribution to supporting libraries and cultural activities in the Arab World.

Amr El-Menshawy, General Manager of AskZad, Arabia Inform's virtual library for universities, interviewed several industry icons at a celebratory dinner. They lauded Mr. Eliwa's achievements and acknowledged that he has set the bar high for others to participate in increasing digital content in the Arab world.

The Arab Federation for Libraries & Information was founded in 1986 and has members from 20 Arab countries. Among other things, the association aims at strengthening the ties between the national library organizations and preserving the written, oral and visual heritage of the Arab world.