Held at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Dubai and organized by Datamatix, the 20th GCC eGovernment and eServices Conference continued on its 4th day emphasizing on government procedures simplification and smart transformations. The 5-day event will congregate global organizations and technological institutions, regional and global VIPs, federal and state government representatives, eGovernment executives, CIOs, decision makers from government, business and international institutions and IT experts from around the world and many others, as well as regional media.
Mr. Ali Al Kamali extended a warm welcome to all participants to Day 4 and gave a brief intro to the smart government and city infrastructure with special emphasis on the transportation development and the public-private partnership involvement in it.
The day began with a global best practices session by Ms. Kanika Kalra, Urban Transport Expert, Institute of Urban Transport, Govt of India. She presented a case study on, Urban Transportation Department Government of India.
She began her presentation by showcasing some of the worst traffic case scenarios across the world and spotted the reason for it. She elaborated the present urban scenario and the reasons behind it that includes increasing urban population, growing congestion, rising energy consumption, declining road safety etc….. She further spoke about the global scenario of energy consumption by the transport sector and the increasing carbon footprint leading to this.
She described the initiatives taken by the urban transport department in India in terms of eTransportation and the introduction of intelligent transport systems for traffic management, monitoring and control of increasing traffic, focus on use of ITS facilities in cities,I ntegrated ticketing system, PIS passenger information system and the ‘MORE’ card- an all transport access card that you can use across the country for unified and easy travelling purpose.
She further spoke on the Knowledge Management Center (KMC) initiatives and mobile applications that facilitate easy transportation. She also described India’s passenger and government perspective of city bus operations and the newly developed concepts of fuel efficiency and eco driving.
Q and A session discussed further enquiry on MORE card and its national integration pattern; data centers for recovery; ownership of data and creation of knowledge management center; strategic objectives of unified transport system; new apps developed for social transportation and other facilities;
It was followed by a session on Government eServices Procedures Simplification Strategies and Frame Work in the Era of Smart Cities and Government, presented by H.E. Dr. Essa bin Mohammad Rawas, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Hajj.
He took the audience through a 15 minutes journey on the massive work that the Ministry of Hajj is carrying out in coping up with the 1.2 billion Muslims performing the Hajj and Umra. He presented a very enlightening and successful eGov Case Study of the Ministry of Hajj Projects and Achievements. He elaborated on the various innovative services introduced by the Ministry for the convenience of the pilgrims; like the Hajj and Umrah season registration through the eGovernment portal, providing the best services to the pilgrims and protecting their rights. He also emphasized on the ministry’s collaboration with private sector for smooth functioning of other travelling and accommodation services. He said that the work of the ministry is not integrated but are working with 70 countries that is a challenge in itself.
His Excellency, in his presentation, further spoke on the Visa requirements and other shortcomings wherein the ministry is lagging behind in case of visa filing. He also elaborated on the need of the organization to address the needs of a huge number of Islamic Pilgrims coming from across the globe and the quality of the services that need to be maintained to meet with the expectations of the people who have invested their trust and faith in the Ministry. He stated that this Ministry is a blessing from God in Saudi Arabia that is doing such a noble service. He also added that the eServices is operated automatically with very minimal human interferences.
He further described the e-Path of Hajj and Umra that are similar in structure and the various new apps and systems that have been develop to make the pilgrims journey more fulfilling and lucid. He also took the audience through the various other services of the Ministry that takes care of the pilgrims accommodation and transportation arrangements so that the pilgrimage is a safe, secure, and most peaceful journey in the pilgrims’ life. The presentation also focused on the Ministry’s ePayment systems that provide ease in registration and which is a fool-proof system devoid of any hactivism or data theft.
He concluded his presentation by describing the red and yellow bus technology to detect unstated travelers and other adaptive technologies to make the passage of the pilgrims safe and devoid of any ill-happenings.
Q and A session from audience discussed the interface between the Ministry of Hajj and Ministry of Interior; Pulled services and Pushed services in the GCC; re-inventing the wheel for mGovernment; How can GCC benefit from the smart services of the Ministry of Hajj; IT infrastructure of the Ministry and its security;
The coffee break and networking session was followed by a presentation by Mr. Mohammad Khaled, Project Manager, Digital Flow. His presentation was a case study on Digital Flow and their eServices. He described the integrated eServices designed and developed by the organization to ease the workflow and paperwork of employees and authorities in their everyday life.
He further described the milestones and constraints that influenced the project and its final output and the various analytical tools that they used to meet with the end-user needs. He concluded his presentation by describing their user friendly portal that provides end-users with highly scrutinized information regarding whichever company from the secretariat. He showcased the portal to the audience and explained in detail its functionalities and result patterns.
In the next session, Mr. Saif Ali Hattawi, Head of E-Services, Information Technology Department Ministry of Environment & Water, UAE spoke on GCC Government Organizations Challenges in Application Integration for one stop shopping that discussed the challenges in overcoming the legacy systems and optimizing applications so as to provide the maximum value to the citizens.
He talked about the smart phone oriented culture and technology that surrounds us everywhere- an era where survival without technology is seemingly impossible. He stressed on the significance of eServices and elaborated on its various aspects of greater efficiency, easier access to government services, improved levels of experience and responsiveness etc…. He also briefed about the citizen empowerment and productivity that technology has bestowed in facilitating a much easier and stress-free life. He spoke about the eGovernment Maturity in its various levels that provides end to end online transaction and integrated government services.
He further discussed the ‘one-stop-shop government services that provides single point to access information and service transaction. He displayed the ideal world scenario of the MOEW that includes company’s registration, importing shipments and arrival and deport of the shipment from the airport. He conclude his presentation by addressing the challenges in eGov services and the strategy barriers in funding issues, implementation guide and lack of shared eGovernment goals and objectives. He also discussed the technology barriers in architectural interoperability and incompatible data standards and briefed about the inflexibility of the legacy systems and incompatible technical standards.
Q and A session discussed the legacy systems in the UAE and the lagging time frame; integration challenges in the ministries; and smart city development challenges.
The day concluded with the case study presentation of Mrs. Noora Saif Al Muhiri, Principal of Umm Suqeim Model School & Secretary General, Advisory Board, Dubai Educational Zone on Smart Learning in the Education Sector.
She talked about the necessity of the need for smart learning, its achievements, ambitions, challenges and partnerships. She elaborated on the application of education of student and community initiatives through eLearning. She discussed the current challenges in skills of teachers and parents, and the development of technology and cost of skills.
She presented a very interesting video of how the smart education system works and the various benefits associated with it that redefines the meaning of education and learning in the era of technological civilization. She explained the role that technology plays in leveraging the meaning of modern day education and why more and more institutions should take inspiration from the supreme leaderships of the region in developing the education standards.
Q and A sessions discussed the opinion of students studying in the school and their experiences; how students can independently access technology and master it; student interfaces and interactive portals for communication in 2 ways; smart curriculum and online study assignment; involving parents and creating awareness about the smart gates attendance system and online assignment patterns;
The conference is sponsored by: Future Group, Brother International, Dubai Courts, DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority), Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Naseej, Tawasol, General Information Authority of Libya, Umm Al Suqueim Model School Majid bin Mohammad Learning Center, University of Hail, Sejel, Saudi Post, Ministry of Hajj, Arab Planning Institute, Sure, Qatar Airways Holidays, Emirates Auction, Digital Flow, ]init[, Middle East Aura Portal, Almarai, Carlsbad Mineral Water, Al Riyadh Newspaper, Capital Business, Al Shabiba, Al Ain TV and Al Anba.
For more information on the event, please contact;
Datamatix Group
Tel: +971 4 332 6688
Fax: +971 4 332 8223
E-Mail: info@datamatixgroup.com
URL: www.datamatixgroup.com