IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The UN in Cambodia held a virtual conference with Preah Sihanouk provincial officials on February 23 to promote the project Sihanoukville for All: Promoting a Smart, Sustainable, and Inclusive City.

The project was planned in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN-Habitat.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Mr. Mohammed Ali Al Qaed Bahrain’s eGovernment Authority CEO, Mr. Vincenzo Aquaro, Chief of eGovernment Branch- Department of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations and Mr. Richard Kerby, Senior Inter-Regional Advisor on eGovernment at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, along with senior officers from eGA and media representatives.

According to the latest development report digital which the United Nations has just published, the region shows progress in this regard. “The pandemic Covid-19 has presented policymakers at all levels of government with unprecedented challenges in responding to the critical needs of their countries. The results of the 2020 Survey are encouraging and show a significant acceptance of digital services in different geographic regions, countries and cities. Data-centric and e-participation approaches have been improved, and the focus on digital capacity building has increased. However, progress faces new and existing challenges and risks, such as cybersecurity and data privacy. Some considerations are especially urgent or important in developing countries, including countries in special situations. These include the lack of digital infrastructures, sustainable E-Government platforms, and limited resources to implement digital government policies. Although E-Government has reached sophistication in leading countries, digitization is still relatively new on the national agendas of some countries ” express Liu Zhenmin Undersecretary General Department of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations.

Fifteen years ago, the United States was the undisputed leader in the evolving world of e-government, where online transactions with government were seen as a powerful engine for improving public services.

A new United Nations report shows just how much other nations around the globe have risen up and surpassed the United States in delivering on that vision.

The country slid four notches in the United Nations’ 2018 E-Governance Development Index survey.

The UN’s recent report, themed “gearing e-government to support transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies,” showed the country slipping from 75th to 71st place in 2016.

Moscow is rated highest in a new United Nations study on e-government services.

The new United Nations (UN) E-Government survey ranks digital services across 40 cities, with Moscow topping the list, followed by Cape Town and Tallinn, then London and Paris.

The remaining cities in the top 10 are Sydney, Amsterdam, Seoul, Rome and Warsaw.

South Korea is most effective in e-governance in Asia while Laos the least effective, according to the recent survey by UN Data Center.

According to the UN report, the e-government survey measures e-government effectiveness in the delivery of public services and identifies patterns in e-government development and performance.

South Korea fell to the third place from the first in the 2016 e-government survey with the country’s human capital index moving down by 12 spots.

The UN compiles the e-government survey and releases the index every two years after the evaluation of member countries’ e-government levels. It had revealed six core assessment items every time before the launch of evaluations. The e-government evaluation standards of the 2016 United Nations (UN) survey, however, were undisclosed.

The ICT Agency (ICTA) led efforts to get Sri Lanka ratify the UN Electronic Communications Convention bore fruit, when Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Dr Rohan Perera deposited the Instrument of Ratification in New York recently. This is sequel to approval from the Cabinet of Ministers obtained in June. The Cabinet approval authorized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deposit the Instrument of Ratification at the UN Treaty Office so as to ensure Sri Lanka’s entry into this only UN Convention on the subject of international e-Commerce and on the use of cross-border e-Contracts.

With its ratification Sri Lanka becomes the first country in South Asia and 2nd country after Singapore to become a State Party to the Convention. Countries like Australia, Thailand, Vietnam and China are already preparing domestic legislation to ratify this Convention. However, Sri Lanka’s ratification of this important UN Convention was possible because the country already has the required domestic legislation, namely the Electronic Transactions Act No. 19 of 2006, which is based on this UN Convention. The Convention will enter into force for Sri Lanka on 1st February 2016.

The 2018 United Nations E-Government Survey is the product of collective efforts of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Malaysia has undeniably climbed in their rankings over the past two years, from being in the 60th place in 2016 to the 48th place in 2018.

The 2018 United Nations E-Government Survey (hereinafter referred to as “the Survey”) is issued at the time of key rapid technological changes, with Member States in the third year of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sandra Baer takes us through the eight things city leaders should be looking for during Cop28 in Dubai, to help build inclusive and lasting climate resilience.

Cities may only cover two per cent of the world’s surface, but they are major contributors to climate change, consuming 78 per cent of the world’s energy and producing more than 60 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The status quo in our cities, combined with continuing urban sprawl, are key drivers for more urgent climate action, and make Cop28 a summit at which urban climate action commitments must come to the fore.

Denmark leads in the United Nations’s E-Government survey 2020, according to the embassy of Denmark in Myanmar’s announcement on 14 August 2020.

The E-Government survey by United Nations’s Department and Economy and Social Affairs ranked 193 countries in terms of digital government readiness and implementation has given Denmark the highest score for the second time.

The issue was addressed today at a meeting between President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov and U.N. Secretariat Economic and Social Affairs Department Adviser Alexei Tikhomirov.

Turkmenistan intends to introduce an e-workflow and the e-government e-document handling system.

A meeting with Natia Natsvlishvili, Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Turkmenistan, was held at the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan (UIET), Trend reports referring to UIET.

The meeting participants named interaction on the development of services in the Awaza tourist zone as well as on the introduction of digital technologies as promising areas of cooperation. They also discussed opportunities for expanding cooperation for implementation of UNDP projects, and the “smart-city” project in particular, according to the source.

Britain has the best blend of telecoms, human capital and online services according to newly published international index

The UK has come out as the leader in the United Nations’ rankings for e-government, topping the table in the new survey published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Undesa).

The United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development concluded its twentieth session on the evening of 12 May with countries reaffirming its role as the United Nations torch-bearer for science, technology and innovation for development.

The United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UN CSTD) acknowledged that many technological and development gaps still remain. The gender gap was stressed in particular and countries highlighted existing digital and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics gender divides and recommended key policy options for countries and the international community to make progress in closing science and technology related gender gaps.

The biennial survey scores all 193 United Nations member states. It scored governments on their overall e-government efforts, as well as specific analysis of: online public service delivery; e-participation; collaborative governance; mobile delivery; digital inclusion; and open government data.

In a development that is likely to change how governments treat location data, the Statistics Division of the United Nations and World Bank launched what they are calling “a new guide” last week to help nations worldwide better manage geographical information data.

The guide, called the Integrated geospatial Information Framework – A Strategic Guide to Develop and Strengthen National Geospatial Information Management, was launched during the Eighth Session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) held in New York last week. It includes advice for countries  on how to collect, access and use geospatial information, and will help governments, especially in low- and middle-income countries, to develop effective policies, and support decision-makers in directing aid and development resources. Further, it gives concrete recommendations on establishing national geospatial information management processes and putting that information to use.

Women in developing economies are nearly 50 per cent less likely to access the Internet than men, and a new UN initiative aims to turn this around by empowering more women to access vital government services online and via other ICT tools.

When women have access to information and communication technologies, they can become more empowered to achieve many things, including better income through time-flexible jobs which they can do at home, access to free quality education, and wider access to funding to fuel their small businesses.

With the curtain closed on the two-day review by the United Nations General Assembly of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Member States have adopted an outcome document which aims at bridging the digital divide, ensure freedom of speech, and address Internet governance to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"ICT [Information and Communications Technologies] has played an increasingly important role in promoting economic and social development, such as enhancing productivity, facilitating trade, creating quality jobs, providing ICT-based services such as e-health and e-learning, and improving governance," said Mogens Lykketoft, UN General Assembly President, who convened the conference, known as the WSIS10 High-Level Meeting, which began Tuesday and wrapped up last evening.