IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The country is ranked 45th on the global information and communications technology readiness index. The Kingdom, which improved its position by six ranks this year, comes 45 behind UAE 29 and Qatar 32, and before Jordan 47, Saudi Arabia 48 and Oman 53.

Bahrain's regional leadership in information technology has been acknowledged recently by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, one of the world's leading business schools, in the organisations' Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008.

The awards, and an accompanying IT Expo, are part of the Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2011, which concludes today.

"Such a prestigious information communication technology community will be an added value and an essential factor for development in different sectors, particularly in the social and economic aspects," he said.

Citizens can visit the blog and communicate with Dr. Zakareya Ahmed Al Khaja, eGovernment Authority Director of Policies and Business Processes Re-engineering Directorate, as well as share comments and suggestions for any enquires related to the effectiveness of information security management strategies.

The blog will emphasize different topics covering: the citizens level of trust, and concerns on eGovernment services, the confidentiality of the data which is entered by the users through the eGovernment channels, the criteria and measurement used by the eGA to ensure the security and privacy, in addition to the cyber threats and security procedures the eGA employs to ensure a high-level of quality, protection as well as confidentiality in its integrated services.

The move is key to Bahrain's advanced national e-government initiative and comes as part of a wide-ranging agreement reached between CIO, Gulf Business Machines (GBM) and IBM to supply software, hardware and services to support the transformation of citizen services in the country.

The move is key to Bahrain's advanced national e-government initiative and comes as part of a wide-ranging agreement reached between CIO, Gulf Business Machines (GBM) and IBM to supply software, hardware and services to support the transformation of citizen services in the country.

The move is key to Bahrain's advanced national e-government initiative and comes as part of a wide-ranging agreement reached between CIO, Gulf Business Machines (GBM) and IBM to supply software, hardware and services to support the transformation of citizen services in the country.

The workshop was attended by senior representatives of governmental entities such as the Ministries of Industry and Commerce, Finance, Transportation along with Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission, Central Informatics Organization, Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA), Supreme Judicial Council, Public Prosecution, Central Bank of Bahrain, as well as Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

South Korea ranked first in the report, followed by the United States, and Canada.

The mobile portal and common service centres (CSCs) are the latest channels being used to provide government services to the public.

They were launched by Cabinet Affairs Minister and Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology member Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa and e-Government Authority (eGA) chief executive officer Mohammed Al Qaed yesterday.

Dana Murgan, Partner Development and Marketing Manager for Microsoft Middle East and Africa, who was in Bahrain to launch the Microsoft Solution Competencies and Partner Points as additional features of the partner programme in the presence of top executives from large local and regional IT organisations, said that Bahrain has been very consistent in developing its IT infrastructure according to the needs of the future mode of business.

The workshop comes as part of implementing the National eGovernment Strategy 2016 action plans and initiatives carried out in order to facilitate government formalities- allowing an open data - excluding the confidential and personal- accessible for the public that will contribute in attracting and promoting investment in the Kingdom.

The initiative, the first-of-its-kind in the region, will make governmental procedures quicker and more streamlined. The eGA mission aims to achieve fully integrated and effective eGovernance in the Kingdom.

The program is aimed at bridging the electronic divide, and translate communications into e-Content.

This initiative comes shortly after the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) announcement for posting the eContent Administrative position in the ministries and governmental entities, in accordance with Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology, headed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister.

Mainly provided by the Education Ministry, they will allow students, graduates and parents to obtain exam results for all government schools from the fourth primary grade to final high school.

Copies of high school certificates can also be issued in preparation for university applications and online scholarships.

Announcing the launch, the eGA director of service delivery and channel enhancement Feras Ahmed said this comes as part of the authority's continuous objectives that aims to make the use of eServices easier and more convenient.

The event, which runs from September 12 to 24, will see the participation of 14 specialised international speakers and over 20 social media experts from the region, along with the expected attendance of more than 150 participants.

The Government Apps Store was launched by Kamal Bin Ahmed Mohammed, the Minister of Transportation during the opening ceremony of MEET ICT 2013 yesterday.

Announcing the details, vice CEO Dr Zakareya Ahmed AlKhaja said the store currently provides 21 applications and there are plans to increase the total number of apps to 26 by the beginning of 2014.

The 'FutureGov Award 2012' aims to honor the administrative excellence in government, education or healthcare institutions through benchmarking programs in the GCC region, beside Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.

The ISO 9001:2008 certification is a set of standardized requirements for a quality management system developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The certification of compliance with ISO 9001:2008 recognizes that the quality management systems in an organization is consistent with the international standards and provides a proven framework for policies, procedures and records to control and maintain quality standards within an organization.

The government of Bahrain aspires to achieve next generation government excellence through the adoption of the 'eGovernment National Strategy 2016' and help deliver high-quality services effectively, encourage innovation, advocate proactive public engagement, nurture entrepreneurship and collaborate with all stakeholders, said a top official.