UK accreditation body aids IT compliance: The UK government has set up an IT accreditation body to help public sector organisations comply with the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF). All government systems that are used in the delivery of online services must comply with the e-GIF, which sets out technical policies and standards to ensure the interoperability of e-government systems. The e-GIF Accreditation Authority, launched by the Cabinet Office's eGovernment Unit and the National Computing Centre, has established a register of approved IT suppliers -- from both the public and private sectors -- that comply with the e-GIF and are capable of delivering large-scale IT projects. At launch, the register contained 21 approved IT suppliers, including well-known tech firms such as Atos Origin, Cable & Wireless, Fujitsu, LogicaCMG and Microsoft. There are plans to eventually have about 1,000 names on the register. For more information, visit www.egifaccreditation.org.
EU promotes harmony for digital content: The European Parliament is supporting a programme to get EU Member States to store data, such as geographical information, in consistent ways. MEPs voted in favour of the eContentplus initiative, which aims to boost the European digital content market and to promote the development of multi-lingual content for online services, and allocated it a budget of EUR149 million over the period 2005 to 2008. The programme will focus on areas where inconsistencies in the collection and storage of data pertinent to e-services is common. One such key area is that of geographical data, such as postcodes, maps and land registration details. The eContentplus programme aims to eliminate fragmentation in this area in order to enable the establishment of EU-wide information services in areas such as transportation, navigation, emergency response and environmental management.
New York hosts online discussion on education: New York's City Council is hosting an online public discussion on how best to spend new funding for public schools. In what is believed to be an unprecedented event -- according to US newswire FCW.com -- students, teachers and parents have been invited to join an online forum to voice their opinions on how the council should spend an extra USD5.6 billion that has been allocated for education. Contributions made during the project, dubbed "Your Voice, Your Schools," will be used by a special 13-member Commission on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity in the compilation of a report for the city council, alongside contributions made during eight other (offline) public hearings. "The best experts on our schools are the parents, teachers, students and administrators who live it every day," said Arthur Levine, president of Teachers College and the Commission's co-chairman, in a statement. "Their input in these online hearings will have a real impact on the future of our schools."
E-signatures increase efficiency for Saudi businesses: Chambers of Commerce across Saudi Arabia are gearing up for the increasing use of electronic signatures and online document verification, reports Arabnews.com. The Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry (CSCCI) has contracted software firm House of Development to supply a real-time signature authentication solution to allow Saudi companies to submit certain documentation over the internet. Up until now, paper documents would be prepared, stamped with a company seal, presented in person, and physically stored at the Chamber of Commerce. Under the new scheme, however, company documents can be prepared and submitted online, authenticated and legalised, and stored in a central database. "Our new Oracle-based system for document legalisation not only saves considerable time and effort on behalf of our Chambers and their member organisations but also creates a streamlined process and an availability of public services that is unprecedented in the Kingdom," said Fahad Al-Askar, information technology general manager at CSCCI.
E-government centre opens in Beijing: An e-Government Centre of Excellence has been established in Beijing in China. The centre was jointly set up by Beijing University and IT giant Oracle, reports Chinatechnews.com. The two organisations said they would collaborate on the provision of e-government content, methods and practical solutions for public sector bodies at various levels. Wu Zhipan, vice-president of Beijing University, said that content, rather than infrastructure, had become a new bottleneck for e-government in China, and that the lab would aim to bridge this gap for the government. For its part, Oracle said that the e-government lab would help it to demonstrate its advanced technology and business concepts for China.
Autor: Sylvia Leatham
Quelle: ElectricNews, 02.02.2005
