On the recommendations of the First Arab Reform conference "Arab Reform Issues: Vision and Implementation", held at Bibliotheca Alexandrina 12-14 March 2004. The Arab Reform Forum (ARF) at Bibliotheca Alexandrina established the Arab observatory that comprises both the Reform Research Observatory and the Info Mall. ARF also designed a web portal under the name “ Info Mall ” through which the Arab civil society organizations would present their activities. According to the proposed web design, a dedicated workspace for the Arab civil society organizations will show the organization’s name, contact information, activities, areas of interest and all related news. Serving this purpose the Info Mall as a separate website is launched, to be accessed through Bibliotheca Alexandrina website then to the ARF link or directly through the ARF website. Thus, the Info Mall aims at presenting the Arab civil society organizations and their activities as well as enriching their knowledge of other organizations, providing the opportunity for the Arab civil society organizations exposure locally, regionally as well as globally.

The Info Mall has the following objectives:

• Presenting news on the activities of civil society organizations and their contact information via a news bulletin,
• Providing the opportunity for civil society organizations, as well as interested individuals, to exchange opinions and ideas through a discussion forum
• Providing the opportunity to exchange and share files and to help in organizing seminars and conferences.

The Info Mall will comprise the following:

• Logging-in mechanism so that users and visitors would be identified.
• A classification of civil society organizations geographically as well as according to their field of interest and activities.
• Providing documents, papers, research projects and lists of activities prepared and accomplished by civil society organizations.
• Presenting and sharing information on voluntary work and means of cooperation between civil society organizations in the Arab world as well as across the world for those who are interested.
• Enabling searching via the use of Search Engines.