Communication plays a very important role in the proper functioning of a society. Honest, open and two-way communication between the public and Government is always necessary to provide the public a sense of relief; that they are in safe hands.
Recent developments in technology has led to the emergence of better and more refined ways of communication which the Government can use to facilitate the communication process. Internet is one of the ways the Government has adopted to provide several services and communicate with people. This use of ICT by the Government to provide information and public services is termed as e-Government.
According to the United Nations E-Government Survey 2014, e-Government involves 3 types of communication: Government to Government, Government to business and Government to consumer. Through innovation and e-Government, public administrations around the world can be more efficient and provide better services. It will help to promote effective natural resources management by adopting the “go green” methods of working. Also, it will help the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups within the society feel like they are part of the society, as they can access the services via Internet and will not have to go through any additional difficult procedures, which they might have to access it personally. In addition, ICTs have already proven itself as an effective platform to share widespread knowledge, skills development and transfer of innovative e-Government solutions among countries.
This newest way to provide services and communicate with the public has also reached the UAE. The UAE has launched the e-Government portal very successfully. This portal has information about the UAE’s culture, brief information about the Government to Government services, along with all important information each citizen needs to know: from health services to the infrastructure and environment in the UAE. In addition, the Abu Dhabi e-Government has also won the inaugural “2015 Smart Government Award” launched by the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) User Conference, held in San Diego, California, the United States on 20th - 21st July. They received the award for their efforts in implementing Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and driving the cooperative use of geospatial information across a wide range of Government entities in Abu Dhabi.
Internet is one of the most powerful communicating tools available and the fact that, the Government is trying to make use of this tool to improve public services, and communicate better with its citizens is definitely commendable.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Ivana Jesmin
Quelle/Source: The Gulf Today, 28.12.2015
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