G8 countries discuss use of biometrics: The governments of the G8 countries are setting up an international working group on biometrics. The Justice and Interior ministries of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Canada, the UK and the US will co-ordinate efforts to develop biometric tools as a means of improving border control, reducing identity fraud and combating criminal and terrorist activities. Biometrics refers to the use of personal data such as fingerprints, iris scans and facial scans as a means of identification. The working group will pay special attention to securing agreement between the countries on the type of personal information that should be included in electronic form on passports and other identity documents in the future. The group will also work to ensure that the United States' plan to implement biometric checks at borders by October 2004 does not impact on the freedom of movement and trade. The group will be co-chaired by France and the US and will submit a report by the end of the year.
Accession Countries join Europe's IDA: Six EU Accession Countries have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the European Commission to formalise their participation in the IDA Programme. The IDA (Interchange of Data Between Administrations) is an electronic infrastructure that allows EU Member States to share data for the purposes of applying EU law, enforcing single market rules and supplying e-government services. EU Accession and Candidate Countries already enjoy observer status of IDA working groups in areas such as network security, e-government portals and e-procurement services. With the MoU in place, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Malta, Estonia and Cyprus will now be able access services including dedicated software, technical guidelines and interoperability frameworks for implementing e-government solutions. Hungary will be next country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, with the remaining Accession Countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia) and three Candidate Countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey) due to follow suit.
Spain upgrades e-government portal: Spain's Minister of Public Administrations, Javier Arenas, has launched a new version of the country's e-government portal, www.administracion.es. The site's appearance, content and navigation have been revised and updated, and the portal now contains around 3,000 pages of information. The site is available in Spanish, English and French, and all menus and some content are now displayed in the official languages of Spain's regions -- Catalan, Basque, Galician and Valenciano. A particular effort was made to improve the site's accessibility to people with disabilities, in the wake of criticism contained in a recent report by consultancy Emergia. The study found that the portal scored a mere 22 percent in a measure of compliance with nine basic criteria for accessibility. Minister Arenas said the new version of the portal was a symbol of renewed efforts by the central government to get closer to its citizens through the development of e-government solutions.
Dubai aims to create 'e-citizens': Dubai is introducing a program aimed at encouraging citizens and businesses to make use of e-government services. The "eCitizens Track" program was announced at a recent e-government conference in Dubai by Hesham Amiri, New Ventures manager of the Dubai eGovernment initiative. The aims of the eCitizens Track program are to raise awareness of computers and the Internet among citizens and businesses and to encourage the use of on-line public services. Amiri said the program, which will be administered in conjunction with private sector organisations, has four steps: "adoption of PC usage, adoption of Internet usage, basic training and e-services training." The program ultimately aims to produce "e-citizens who would spearhead the new revolution of totally integrated on-line services," added Amiri. Currently, 24 of Dubai's government departments are on-line, and its portal site, www.dubai.ae, provides a single point of contact with the government for citizens.
Australian state to set up e-health system: The government of the Australian state of Victoria has earmarked AUD138.5 million (around EUR78 million) for the establishment of a network to enable the sharing of electronic health records. According to Health Minister Bronwyn Pike, the new system would allow health services across the state to share common information related to "hospital administration, clinical systems and medication ordering." A further AUD24 million was set aside for the implementation of an electronic prescribing program in certain Victorian hospitals. The announcements were made during the release of the state's budget. In addition, ICT Minister Marsha Thomson said that Victoria would become the first Australian state to appoint a government-wide chief information officer (CIO). The role of the CIO will be to provide authoritative advice and strong leadership on ICT matters across the government.
Quelle: electricnews
