Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has won the GovTech Innovation Award 2021, thanks to a submission by the Enterprise Command and Control Centre (EC3) in the Smart City Initiative of the Year category of the awards.
These awards are granted by Gov Tech, a specialist in granting technical awards for government, semi-government entities and private companies, said an RTA press release on Tuesday.
Read more: AE: Dubai: RTA bags GovTech Innovation Award in Smart City category
Digital will empower governments to take leapfrogs in tackling challenges and seizing opportunities across all sectors, said Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumy, UAE Minister of State for Government Development and the Future.
Speaking on Wednesday at the ‘Digitalization and new skills’ forum, organised by TIM Group with the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, she said that the pace of technological advancements and digital transformation is accelerating drastically. “Today, we are witnessing years’ worth of digital transformationa happening in a matter of months, and the world is likely to experience more technological changes in the next 10 years than it did in the past 100 years.”
Read more: Digital transformation will empower governments: UAE Minister
Achievement of target marks the start of a new stage in Emirate's journey to digitise life in all its aspects
The complete digital transformation in the Dubai Government will enrich the smart city experience for all Dubai residents, entirely removing the need for paper transactions and documents – be they handed out to customers or exchanged between employees across government entities. Digitalisation will also help provide exceptional experiences for residents through the DubaiNow application, which allows access to more than 130 smart city services in 12 major categories.
Read more: AE: How Dubai government achieved 100% paperless goal
Dubai Crown Prince announces realisation of Dubai Paperless Strategy launched in 2018
Dubai has become the world’s first paperless government after the on-time realisation of the Dubai Paperless Strategy that was launched in 2018, it was announced on Saturday.
The announcement was carried in a tweet by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai.
Read more: AE: Dubai becomes world’s first paperless government, saves over 336 million papers
Even with all these technological investments, some municipal officials and agencies struggle to move public safety and smart city initiatives forward
Cities everywhere are growing rapidly, and so are the technologies that public safety agencies use to keep people safe and urban landscapes running smoothly. The pandemic has seen an acceleration of digital and ecological transformations in smart cities. In fact, about 54 per cent of UAE residents expect Covid-19 to accelerate the development of smart cities, a report by Mastercard, Smart Dubai, and Expo 2020 revealed. Environmentally friendly business practices, paperless government services, and fast, affordable, city-wide internet connectivity are some of the features residents expect from a smart city, the report found.
Read more: AE: Here’s how to build a smart city of the future