IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

That is how much it is costing to put all government services online, eGovernment Authority chief executive officer Mohammed Al Qaed told a Press conference on the eve of Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2010.

The three-day event is being held from 10am to 6pm at Isa Cultural Centre. Entry is free.

Cities are integrating connected technologies to optimise traffic flow, enhance public safety, and improve service delivery

Imagine stepping out of your home and instantly connecting to your city’s digital ecosystem. Your smartphone knows where the nearest available parking spot is, public transport updates arrive in real-time, and even the traffic lights adjust dynamically based on congestion detected through mobile data. This is not a distant dream—it’s happening now, thanks to the rapid evolution of mobile technology, IoT, and 5G. Welcome to City 2.0, where mobile tech is reshaping urban life, making cities smarter, greener, and more efficient—though not without a few challenges along the way.

On 17 January, African diplomats meet their global counterparts in New York to thrash out the details of a proposed new United Nations (UN) treaty to tackle cybercrime. It will be an opportunity for the African delegates to highlight growing digital threats and determine how to define, investigate and prosecute what is in effect a borderless crime.

Existing treaties such as the Budapest Convention or the African Union (AU) Convention on Cybercrime and Personal Data Protection (the Malabo Convention) are considered by some states to be useful if somewhat limited regional instruments. Russia has been among the countries arguing for a UN-wide convention, with cyberspace increasingly becoming a theatre of geopolitical competition.

At a press conference Committee’s spokesman Fazil Talibli has said that currently the SCSMPA provides e-services on six directions of activity, and these services are included in the register of the Ministry of Communications & IT of Azerbaijan.

Governments will not only use blockchain for fundamental services such as identity and voting but as a framework for economic growth.

Governments are tasked with bringing fair and efficient services to the public. Unfortunately, providing transparency and accountability often results in a reduction in efficiency and effectiveness or vice versa. Governments are usually forced to choose to improve one at the cost of the other. On rare occasions, technology comes along that enables governments to improve fairness and efficiency.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) participants at a public service and eGovernment workshop in Manama have agreed to expand public service provision for people with special needs.

The expansion will be achieved through a policy that uses various communication tools to enhance access to all segments of society, in line with the international standards.

AMC chairman of board Rahim Huseynov informes that the Society, as a partner in conducting the business polls, can guarantee full objectivity of the research and rise in country competitiveness level reflects real estimations of the business environment by the business society.

“We are planning to thoroughly study the Estonian X-Road. This is not just about the source code but also understanding the organization and agreements that create the frameworks for this technology. We are also hoping to test cross-border services,” Riku Jylhänkangas, Director of the Strategic Governance of the Finnish Public Sector ICT said in a press release by the Estonian Information System's Authority on Thursday.

The majority of Germans wants better digital management of citizen services, according to a study by the German digital association Bitkom published on Wednesday.

Two thirds of all respondents thought that it is possible to deal with administrative formalities online without any problems.

Estonians can access about 99% of public services online through an encrypted digital ID.

• A new report from The Associated Press outlines Estonia's most recent advancements in its digital government.
• Estonia allows its citizens to vote, obtains medical data and register business documents online.
• Given security concerns and other complications, it remains unclear whether nations like the U.S. could implement similar systems.

The aim is to bring public administration in line with more customer-friendly solutions, not only in terms of delivering single-window government services across the country, but also public eServices.

The move comes at the behest of Minister of Electricity and Water and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim, Assistant Director General of Kuwait Municipality for Control and Inspection Ghassan Al-Thaqeb said in news remarks.

Indonesia’s new capital city Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), which is about 15 per cent completed, has released a smartphone application that will ultimately allow residents to access public services with a tap and a swipe.

Features are still being added to the IKNOW app, which was released in February. But users can already use it for basic needs such as contacting emergency services and navigating within the planned 250,000ha city in the forest.

An app providing solutions for the improvement of public administration services has won the Youth Digital Citizen Challenge 2021 launched by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Hanoi, the Hanoi Students’ Association, and the Hanoi Youth Palace. The UNDP is committed to supporting an inclusive and people-centred digital journey. The youth of Vietnam have the skills, knowledge, innovation, and devotion to supporting local governments in this process, helping the country to achieve its targets and the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Qatar Airways has won the ‘Middle East Smart Government & Smart Services Excellence Award’ for its ‘Smart Tourism E-Services’, at a ceremony held by the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute at the Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre yesterday.

The institute of Middle East Excellence Awards recognises the significance of honouring excellent organisations and companies for their achievements in streamlining their online services that contribute to the competitiveness of the variety of e-services found in the Middle East.

Qatar will set up a specialised 'centre of excellence' for data and emerging technologies, as Artificial Intelligence, to digitise 90% of its services to citizens by 2030.

Moreover, the country will revamp the tools for monitoring operational and institutional performance to track the progress of achieving NDS3 (third National Development Strategy) outcomes.

Qatar aims to position itself as a leader in digital government with the aim of digitising 90% of its services to citizens and achieving a customer satisfaction score exceeding 85% across all its services by 2030, said the recently launched NDS3.

The Sultanate has made significant progress in rolling out faster and more efficient connection speeds, with growing demand for the services highlighted at a three-day awareness campaign held in early February when state telecoms operator TelBru notched up its 1000th connection to the country’s Fibre To The Home (FTTH) facility.

Saudi Arabia ranked first in the Government Electronic and Mobile Services Maturity Index for 2023, issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Kingdom maintained its lead for the second consecutive year with a high maturity score of 93 percent in the overall index result.

Eng. Ahmed Alsuwaiyan, governor of Digital Government Authority, said that this international achievement reflects the outcomes of the efforts made by government agencies in digital transformation. It is also the manifestation of the great support that the digital government ecosystem receives from the wise leadership, to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 programs in building a digital society and investing in new technologies to increase productivity, achieve efficiency, and provide the best experience for all beneficiaries.

Thanks to this initiative the citizens of Värmland have now access to approximately 100 eServices, making it easier for them to handle their administrative matters. Karlstad municipality, another municipality in Värmland county has for some years been offering to its citizens access to electronic services. The most popular ones are those applying for preschool places, civil marriage and parking permits.