The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) recently hosted a two day workshop in partnership with Google, addressing a group of leading figures from the ICT sector about the ongoing development around the UAEs mgovernment initiative.
The workshop was led by Samir El Bahaie, Regional Policy and Government Affairs Manager, Google MENA and a group of technical experts. Engineer Meshal Bin Hussain, aeCERT Operations Manager and a member of mGovernment Committee, TRA, moderated further discussions. Mobile applications trends and innovations, transferring from egovernment to mgovernment platforms through specific frameworks and models, performance and functional testing including safety were some of the topics addressed during the event.
“The TRA is committed to engage and bring on board as many parties as possible. Gaining multi-faceted feedback and widespread support appears as a cornerstone of the initiative’s success when it comes to delivering the vision of our leaders,” said H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Deputy Director General for Information and egovernment Sector and Head of mgovernment Committee.
“Smartphones contribute to the creation of new and exciting opportunities to promote public participation and personal services. We discussed in this workshop the innovative strategies and best practices available to enhance government services on smartphone platforms as we look to open new information gateways and avenues for public interaction. We look forward to working with all our partners to reinforce and promote the ‘mgovernment’ culture and expand the scope of its applications in various fields,” said Mr. Samir Bahaie, Regional Policy and Government Affairs Manager, Google MENA.
The workshop targeted managers of government services, strategic decision-makers and leaders of the telecommunications and ICT sector. The audience present was briefed on the full cycle of innovative management techniques used to generate creative ideas and safety procedures. Through the series of workshops, The Center of Excellence in mgovernment sought to raise public awareness in order to create an integrated system of mGovernment policies and encourage the participation in the process of universities and community developers.
The UAE currently features the highest smartphone penetration levels globally, at 73.8%, while mobile penetration stays steady at 180% or almost two mobile devices per inhabitant.
Taking stock of these figures, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai recently launched The UAE mgovernment Initiative as a shining example of the UAE Government’s responsive operations, dedication to public satisfaction and innovative ability.
By enabling the creation of new applications and interactive programmes by 2015, mgovernment will extend access to existing services, allow the delivery of new services and encourage citizen participation through dialogue, effectively sustaining socio-economic growth by contributing to the building of the UAE digital society.
