Ireland scores well for m-government: The Irish public sector is above the EU average in terms of using online and mobile communications, according to a new report. The study, conducted by iReach for mobile operator O2, ranked Irish public sector communications seventh amongst the EU15, narrowly ahead of Germany and just behind Britain. Nordic countries dominated the top end of the rankings with Sweden in first place, Denmark in third and Finland fourth. The survey analysed the performance of revenue, social welfare, health and education organisations across the public sector in implementing m-government services, and their overall use of mobile communications technology. It found that Ireland was above the EU average in all categories bar health. Read more on this story on ENN.
Sunderland wins Digital Challenge: Sunderland City Council has been named the winner of the UK's Digital Challenge competition, which aims to reward local government for devising ways to use ICT for social inclusion. The council will receive STG3 million to deliver its plans to benefit vulnerable and socially excluded citizens in the community. Among Sunderland's proposals are "Community e-Champions", who will help people access computer and internet services, and a scheme to link carers and the people they care for using 3G mobile phones. The city council also devised a programme to enable refugees to communicate with local voluntary groups via video conferencing. Sunderland was one of ten finalists who were shortlisted for the prize, out of a total of 79 entrants. The other finalists were awarded STG2 million to implement their proposals for digital inclusion.
New EU plan aims to cut red tape: The European Commissioner for Information Society and Media has outlined how e-government can help tackle bureaucracy and inefficiencies in administration throughout the EU. Speaking at an international conference called "Advancing eGovernment" in Berlin earlier this month, EU Commissioner Viviane Reding noted that the Commission's new Action Plan, "Reducing Administrative Burdens in the European Union," has set a target to reduce red tape across member states by 25 percent by the year 2012. Reding noted that citizens now expect the same high quality and easy-of-use from public sector services as they do from commercial service providers. Some examples of reducing bureaucracy cited by Reding were "once-only" data provision for citizens and businesses, electronic public procurement, and the implementation of interoperable electronic identity systems across Europe in order to simplify life for citizens moving around the EU.
Malaysia rolls out e-ID cards: The Malaysian government has launched a new biometric identification card especially for immigrants. The "i-kad" card has 17 physical security features, including a copy of the holder's fingerprints, and will replace the existing ID card for foreign workers, foreign students, expatriates and other non-nationals. "This card cannot be duplicated because of the safety features," claimed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, speaking at the launch of the e-ID card, although he warned users to take care not to lose the card. The prime minister hailed the launch as an example of how the country was successfully rolling out its e-government programme, but added that people must accept and learn to use electronic cards in order to allow the Government to continue making progress in this area.
Burma aims for paperless office: The Government of Burma is rolling out back-office IT systems in a move towards creating a paperless office and providing more e-government services, reports the People's Daily Online newswire. The new system, supplied by Myanmar Info-Tech and implemented by the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications, is costing USD12 million and includes an electronic document management system. The solution links up various government departments and also connects to a government data centre established at the end of 2006. Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, has already launched a number of e-government systems and services, including e-visa, e-passport and e-procurement.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Sylvia Leatham
Quelle/Source: ElectricNews, 14.03.2007
