| Governments
should draw on eServices expertise to improve implementation of ICT
projects
Posted:
5 May 2003
Dubai eGovernment joins efforts with Finnish Embassy to
host seminar for online services
“Evolving eGovernments and businesses can gain much from
the experiences of developed countries and adopt the successful
solutions created by leading information and communication technology
(ICT) companies,” said Salem Al-Shair, Director, eServices,
Dubai eGovernment.
Al-Shair recently inaugurated a seminar on ‘Internet-based
services for eGovernment and businesses in Dubai, hosted by the
Embassy of Finland in association with Dubai eGovernment, in the
presence of HE Risto Rekola, the Ambassador to Finland in the UAE.
Al-Shair said countries that had a head start on eServices had
reached high levels of eService delivery for their government departments,
and it was in the interest of evolving governments to draw on that
expertise for a smoother implementation of ICT projects.
HE Risto Rekola said, “The ICT sector is advanced in Finland
and has subsequently attracted international attention. With this
in mind the campaign Digital Finland was launched last year in the
UAE with the purpose of sharing Finland’s experience in the
IT arena with the Gulf region.”
The seminar highlighted the Finnish experience on eGovernment.
Finland is among the worlds leading nations on ICT and a recognised
information society who was rated thirteenth according to the United
Nations worldwide benchmarking exercise for e-governance, which
also rated the UAE as twenty-first last September.
This has given rise to the emergence of numerous Finnish ICT companies
specialising in highly advanced and innovative products and solutions.
These companies, now grouped under an initiative called Digital
Finland, are offering their expertise to the Gulf region.
The speakers at the seminar were representatives from Digital Finland
(Axel Finland, Evia Helsinki, Nixu Oy, Stonesoft Middle East and
Axel Digital Oy) as well as Counsellor Seppo Kurkinen from the Ministry
of Finance of Finland.
The Dubai seminar focused on the benefits of Internet based services,
how to build portals, market eServices to the people, security and
the latest IT and eService developments in Finland between the government
and municipalities.
Focusing on the Dubai eGovernment experience, Al-Shair commented:
“The Dubai government’s vision to emerge as the regional
hub of the Digital Economy is being implemented with expertise from
the world’s leading players in ICT and eCommerce. The project
was preceded by extensive groundwork that included visits to countries
that were successfully migrating from manually delivered services
to integrated eServices.”
“We are pleased to welcome representatives from Digital Finland
as their visit offers increased awareness for eServices and highlights
the wealth of knowledge, real experience and technology gone into
creating successful eGovernments,” added Al-Shair. “Their
presence in the Gulf region indicates the seriousness with which
they view ICT developments in the Middle East. These companies are
assured of receiving a strong response from the local business sector
and should lead to productive mutual cooperation.”
The topics shared at the seminar included development of eGovernment
services in Finland, marketing of eServices, publishing and user
interface solutions for portals, secure eCommunity portals, digital
television as a delivery channel and cooperation between the government
and municipalities as well as a case study on Espoo, Nokia mobile
phone’s hometown.
Dubai e-Government
Dubai e-Government is a pioneering initiative in the region to provide
online services across the spectrum of corporate and community life
in the emirate.
It also has a vision to integrate Individually automated government
departments under the single umbrella of the e-Government initiative,
thus empowering employees across lines of businesses and levels
of government, besides facilitating the lives of citizens and customers
of the government.
Dubai has taken a lead in the region in deploying e-Government
applications and is among the first few governments in the world
to provide such integrated services to its citizens.
The e-Government portal (www.dubai.ae) is a single contact point
masking the complexity of the bureaucratic procedures, and guiding
access to all services in the easiest possible way.
In addition, the e-Government initiative seeks to improve and enhance
procedures by maximising the benefit from technology, so that users
from all walks of life will be able to utilise the portal for their
specific needs with considerable ease.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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