Organized by Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) , 26-30 October, 2008, Fez-Morocco

Conference Objectives and Anticipated Outcomes
The special session will feature speakers, papers and posters from the international eLearning eResearch community, which focus on:

·  Raising awareness for eLearning and eResearch activities in Arab countries,
·  Information sharing and networking among those engaged in eLearning and eResearch activities,
·  Discussion of issues related to eLearning and eResearch, e.g. technology issues, cultural change, and other barriers,
·  Providing information about International and Regional eLearning  and eResearch initiatives,
·  Prospects, trends and challenges of eLearning and eResearch in the Arab world,
·  Presenting success stories of eLearning and eResearch in the Arab world.

Conference Scopes
· eLearning and eResearch Applications in Life Sciences, Materials, Chemical Sciences, Energy, Earth Sciences and Cosmology, Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities,
· Grid Services and Applications, eInfrastructure and Computer Grids for Science and Industry,
· Tools, Infrastructure, Policies and Services to Enable and Support eLearning and eResearch in Arab World,
· Access and Data Management,
· Collaboration Environments and Research Networking,
· eLearning and eResearch Applications.

Conference Co-Chairs
·  Salah Al-Sharhan, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait,
·    A. Y. Al-Zoubi, Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Jordan.

Keynote Speaker
·    Mohamed Kamel, Director of the PAMI Lab in the University of Waterloo, Canada.

International Program Committee       
·  Abdulmotaleb El Saddik, University of Ottawa, Canada,
·  Andries P Engelbrecht, School of Information Technology, University of Pretoria,
·  Albert Zomaya, University of Sydney, Australia,
·  Amr Ibrahim, American University-Cairo, Egypt,
·  Chady El Moucary, Notre Dame University Lebanon,
·  David Guralnick, President, Kaleidoscope Learning, USA,
·  Denis Gillet, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland,
·  Domenico Ponta, University of Genoa, Italy,
·  Edmundo Tovar, Madrid Polytechnic University, Spain,
·  Federico Ruggieri, Director of Research in the INFN, Italy,
·  Imad Moukadem, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait,
·  Issam Mougrqabi, Gulf University for Science and Technology,
·  Jill Hewitt, Head of the School of Computer Science, UK,  
·  Manuel Castro, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain,
·  Maysam Abood, School of Engineering and Design, Brunel University, UK
·  Michael Auer, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Austria,
·  Mohamed Jemni, University of Tunis, Tunisia,
·  Mohamed Omran, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait,
·  Qusay H. Mahmoud, University of Guelph, Canada,
·  Redouane Merrouch, CNRST-MARWAN, Morocco,
·  Rob Reilly, MIT Media Lab, USA,
·  Tarek M. Sobh, University of Bridgeport, USA,
·  Wael Bazzi, American University of Dubai, UAE,
·  Wail Gueaieb, University of Ottawa, Canada.
 

Abstracts Submission and Registration
All Abstracts should strictly comply with the style and format as provided in the SRO submission style.

Abstracts submitted in other types of formats or styles will not be considered for presentation. Duplicate Abstracts submitted for consideration in different sessions will be automatically rejected.

All Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and acceptance decisions will be made by the respective Technical Program co-Chairs Dr. Salah Al Sharhan, Dr. Al-Zoubi AY. All accepted Abstracts will appear in the conference proceedings electronically and will be published on ASTF Website. There will be award for the best presented Extended Abstract.

For submitting your Extended Abstract please send it to alsharhan.sro@astf.net, alzoubi.sro@astf.net.

For Registration kindly arrange to fill the Registration Form and send it to sro@astf.net, or visit our website at: www.astf.net/sro/sro5 and follow the instructions. 

Working Languages
Official Language: Arabic
Second Language: English

Deadline for Submissions
Extended Abstract Submission: Extended until 22 June 2008

Acceptance Notification: July 15, 2008
Final Abstract Submission: September 10, 2008

Date and Venue
29-30 October 2008,
Fez-Morocco.  

Visas
Participants are kindly requested to inquire the Moroccan Embassy/Consulate in their country of residence about obtaining an entry visa. Upon individual request, a Letter of Invitation from the Organizers to participate in SRO5 may be provided to facilitate procedures for obtaining a visa into Morocco. If needed, kindly inform us at sro@astf.net.

Registration Fees
Participant without an accepted Abstract: 1480 MAD or 130 Euro,
Participant with an accepted Abstract: 740 MAD or 65 Euro.

Hotel Reservation
The organizing committee has obtained special rates for Hotel accommodation of the conference participants, but to qualify for these rates, reservation should be made through this committee. You are kindly requested to make your reservation as soon as possible, as the number of room available at this rate is limited.

The rates will be conveyed to you shortly.
Arab Science & Technology Foundation,
P.O. Box 27272 Sharjah, UAE,
Tel: +971 6 5050551 Fax: +971 6 5050553,
sro@astf.net,
www.astf.net/sro/sro5.