President Nasr of Tehran: No decision should be made about the digital economy without the presence of representatives of the private sector

The information technology day event press conference was held today in the computer trade union organization of Tehran province. The head of Tehran’s Nasr Organization and members of its board of directors were present in this meeting and while providing explanations about this event, they also answered the questions of journalists.

According to the members of the computer union system of Tehran province, this event will be held in the form of a three-hour program and two-person discussions will be held between the invited guests. Hossein Eslami, head of Tehran’s Nasr Organization, said about the purpose of holding this event:

“The purpose of Information Technology Day is to convey information related to information technology and its impact on the lives of the general public. We should introduce people to this day because nowadays information technology has changed our Iranian-Islamic lifestyle tremendously.”

One of the most important issues in this press conference was the formation of a working group to deal with the slowness of the Internet, which was formed by the order of the president. Although some private sector organizations in the field of technology had expressed their readiness to appear in this working group, but the news about this working group showed that the members of this committee only consist of representatives of the National Center for Cyberspace and the Ministry of Communications.

Regarding the formation of this working group, Islami said: “For us activists in this area, it is a matter of Azhar Man Shams and there is no need to form a committee, but we consider the formation of this committee as a good omen, provided that the representatives of the private sector are also present in it.”

He believes that no decision should be made in the field of digital economy without the presence of the private sector: “In my opinion, no decision about the digital economy should be made unless the representatives of the private sector are also present. It is expected that the voices of private sector activists will be heard.”

President Nasr of Tehran says that due to the fact that the activists of the private sector suffer from the situation of disruptions and filtering, they should be members of this working group: “In some government departments, with the argument that the private sector is the beneficiary, members of this department are not invited. By the way, we say with the same argument that we should be present because we are the beneficiaries and we will be harmed.”

Of course, he added the explanation that the government cannot give authority to the private sector in this working group, but there is still the expectation that representatives of the private sector will be present in this committee:

According to the powers given to the government by law, the government can only delegate powers to its members, not to the private sector. Despite this, we were invited to many topics in the Digital Economy Working Group and we appeared and spoke at these meetings without the right to vote. Therefore, today we expect to be present in this committee even with the right to vote. However, we most expect that private sector stakeholders will also be present in this working group.”

Of course, regarding participation in this working group, the private sector is expected to prove the existing issues and problems with the help of documents and technical information. Hossein Eslami considered the provision of this information conditional on the private sector having access to information as much as the government collections. Islami stated in this regard:

“If the authorities expect us to appear in this committee with technical information, we need access that is exclusive to government collections. If they want this information, our conditions should be equal to government collections and they should give us this access. If we are also present in this working group, we will definitely try to prove the limitations and disturbances based on technical issues.

The issue of not paying attention to the private sector is not only limited to the issue of the absence of representatives of this sector in the working group to follow up the Internet situation. The main issue is perhaps the set of measures that have led to the weakening of the private sector in the country’s information technology sector. The head of Tehran’s Nasr Organization explained in this context and in response to the Zomit reporter:

“Almost all organizations are now weakened compared to before. Usually, no government welcomes a critical professional formation. “Unfortunately, the presence organizations both in the Fawa area and outside of this area have been weakened for various reasons, the main of which is the issue of power and sovereignty.”

Of course, Eslami believes that this weakening did not happen to the computer trade union organization of Tehran province: “In the case of Nasr, this weakening did not happen; Regardless of the issue of Internet restrictions, which is a national issue and we should not expect a trade union organization like the Nasr Organization to change the situation, our efforts and activities in the field of Fawa businesses are not comparable to previous periods.

According to him, Nasr organization has always acted aggressively in functional areas and businesses and has been able to overcome the opinions of the private sector. Of course, the situation is different regarding the general issues related to the Internet: “In the general and structural issues of the country, there is a trend that unfortunately weakens the digital economy and requires that all managers prevail. As a private sector organization, we are trying to convey our opinion through correspondence and dialogue and play a role with all the measures that can convince the decision makers.

He further added: “There is a hard core that does not like and accept our words; Sometimes they call us the opposition, when we ourselves are position and activists in the business field. However, as a trade union, we can only operate within the framework of the law and we are doing our best.”

Reza Ghorbani, a member of the Board of Directors of Nasr Organization in Tehran, also said in this meeting about the way to hold the Information Technology Day event: “Given that our content content was spent at Elcamp 26, we will hold a more compact event in less than three hours. Kurdish, which includes two-person conversations. This year, unlike last year, they were not invited to participate in this event, but we have made it possible to register, and we have allocated 1,200 of the 1,600 full capacity for registration, and so far 773 people have registered to participate in this event.

According to him, honoring the winners of the Informatics Cup football tournament, honoring the activists and those present at Tinostars Elcamp, and the public offering for the release of prisoners in the field of technology will be among the other programs of the Information Technology Day.

Keshavarz, another board member of Nasr Organization in Tehran, also explained the importance and goals of holding events like Al-Comp or Information Technology Day: “Events like Al-Comp and Information Technology Day are a platform for more open communication between the government and the private sector in a non-private space. Some government managers may not be aware of the consequences of their decisions. When these managers attend these events, they receive feedback from the ecosystem, which will definitely affect their future decisions.”

Those interested in participating in the IT Day event can attend this event through this link register