IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

Asia’s biggest information technology and communications (ITC), the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbx), event began with the opening of eGov Global Exchange with a keynote address by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam here at Marina Bay Sands yesterday.

The first in a series of e-events hosted by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore that will feature some of the leading experts in the field with some 50,000 participants from 100 countries taking part in the 5-day event that concludes on June 21.

The philanthropic wing of a Singaporean business organisation will support Bangladesh especially in upgrading technical education and ICT ventures, its top executives have said.

A senior executive of the Temasek Foundation told the FE that they have plans to help Bangladesh upgrade its technical and vocational education and ICT into new heights with financial and technical assistance.

Learning Globally, and Applying Locally In the Light of World Town Planning Day 2023

World Town Planning Day, also known as "World Urbanism Day," aims to encourage community planning to address diverse environmental and socio-economic factors involved in the development of a town. The 74th World Town Planning Day 2023 is being celebrated worldwide on November 08 with the theme 'Learn Globally, Apply Locally.'

According to the 2023 IMD Smart City Index, Singapore is ranked as the 7th smartest in the world, and topped among the smart cities in the Asian subcontinent.

Singapore’s Government has announced the five Smart Nation projects that would offer biometric identification for a safe system.

The features of the project include a national digital identity that underpins the development of a safe and secure society, an e-citizen service called Moments of Life (Families), online payments, a sensor network, and smart urban mobility.

Scanning one’s fingerprint instead of using passwords is one way of overcoming common mistakes people make that compromise the security of systems.

And in the light of the recent SingHealth cyber attack, having biometric identification does make systems safer, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan said on Tuesday (Oct 9).

The tiny country topped the Waseda University World E-government rankings for three consecutive years between 2009 and 2011.

In 2010, 87 per cent of people said they were satisfied with overall quality of government services. And 93 per cent of Singaporeans would recommend others to interact with government the same way.

Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) and Singapore Information Communication Technology (ICT) Federation last week signed a memorandum of agreement which will lead to increased knowledge sharing in the ICT field.

According to the spirit of the agreement, Singapore ICT companies will be able to partner with local companies whenever they find opportunities in other African countries.

Singapore government’s technology subsidiary, IDA International, will act as the ICT advisor to Bahamian government managing the overall e-government programme deployment in the country.

Zhivargo Laing, Minister of State for Finance on Bahamas E-Government Programme Development, said the government will seek to lay the technical foundation and governance structure in the Singapore Model to drive the Bahamas’ e-government agenda.

Singapore has done well in international indices on smart cities and digital government

Last November, the Republic scored another accolade, winning the Smart City 2018 award, at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.

Businesses and other entities such as non-profit organisations and associations will be able to use CorpPass to access Government e-services.

Businesses and other entities such as non-profit organisations and associations will be able to use a single corporate digital identity instead of multiple login IDs to perform e-Government transactions when the Singapore Corporate Access (CorpPass) is launched on September 15.

Increased emphasis on building a cashless society to reflect country's success as a smart nation is misplaced, when the importance of getting the fundamentals right is overlooked.

Singapore has intensified its push for a cashless society, touting it as a vital step towards becoming a smart nation, but this emphasis is misplaced when it overlooks the need to first get the fundamentals right.

CAIT Deputy Director General Qusai Ibrahim Al-Shatti said in remarks to the media on Wednesday that this forum coincides with launching of the national plan of Singapore of electronic government for 2011-1015.

This strategy is aimed at establishing cooperation between the governmental entities and interaction with citizens, especially concerning the governmental policy, he stated.

Courses at the Universal Omniverse Experience Centre aim to deliver a holistic curriculum, integrating education and real-world applications of 3D technologies to demonstrate the power of spatial data for industrial and smart city projects.

Artificial intelligence (AI) modelling and visualisation specialist Vizzio Technologies is working with Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to launch a new centre of excellence that will focus on skills in areas such as 3D virtualisation and digital twin solutions.

Speaking at the recent Singapore GovCamp, MICA Minister Lui Tuck Yew said that the Government 2.0 movement was bringing citizens and governments closer together.

“Gov 2.0 is a nebulous concept. It seems to mean different things to different people. What I see as common to other definitions is the focus on providing easier access to public information, and the use of technologies—specifically Web 2.0 technologies—to facilitate two-way communication between a government and its people with regards to service delivery and citizen engagement.”

It's been a big week for the Singapore government which unveiled its big plan to become "the world's first smart nation", tapping strongly on data sensors and analytics to enable intelligent urban living. However, unanswered questions about the management of such data, which cuts across government agencies and private entities, could prevent Singapore from realizing its smart nation dream.

In addition to the existing suite of digital services managed by over 50 Government agencies, businesses can transact with IRAS using CorpPass by Q3 2018.

The Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) announced today that Singapore Corporate Access (CorpPaass) will be the only login method for online corporate transactions with the Government from Q3 2018. This is an extension from the previous deadline of December 2017.

From the threat of trade wars, the pandemic to continued technological disruption, government and businesses around the world are coping with an uncertain and volatile landscape. The Russo-Ukraine war is likely to further strain supply chains even as we emerge from the pandemic. An aging demographic profile is likely to place stress on productivity growth for small countries like Singapore.

Amid this disruption, Singapore has positioned itself as a centre of innovation and research and development at the heart of the world’s most dynamic economic region. The Singapore government in the last few years launched a few industry transformation maps to proactively support enterprises in Singapore by equipping them with resources to realise their business goals while addressing the above challenges.

With its ability to build an exact digital replica of anything from a small motor vehicle to entire cities, digital twins comprise one of the most promising tech developments of this decade. Singapore is at the vanguard of this leap as it holds the distinction of being the first country with its own virtual replica that is accurate down to individual buildings' rooftops, facades, and windows. With such detail, urban planners can do things that are approaching the realm of science fiction. Designers can simulate every metre of a new railway or bus lane, along with its impact on streets, households, and even at the individual level.

Digital twins also hold immense potential for high-value sectors such as manufacturing, which contributes a staggering 20% to Singapore's GDP.

In response to the Prime Minister’s 2018 National Day Rally, Singaporeans can share their thoughts using a mix of feedback channels. The digital avenue is the newest addition available for citizen engagement.

There are two parts to a digital revolution: First, the necessary technological infrastructure and programs. The second, a population which embraces a digital economy. The first is easy enough to obtain with sufficient financial backing. The latter however, requires encouraging public communications and a mind shift.