The United Arab
Emirates is to participate on 17/5/2014 with the countries of the world in the
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, and this year’s Conference
is entitled: Broadband for Sustainable Development.
The World
Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2014 focuses on several important
topics, most notably: Multi-stakeholders’ commitment to achieving universal
access to broadband in terms of communication and content, and the promotion of
political will with regard to achieving this goal.
Those working in the
field of telecommunication are looking forward this year to identifying the
major gaps in research and development in the field of broadband and
infrastructure, identifying the policy priorities in order to take action in
the fields of distribution of the radio frequency spectrum for broadband
services, obligations of universal access and innovative funding mechanisms,
and finding technological solutions with regard to the expansion of broadband
access to the rural areas , the least developed countries, and the small
developing islands .
Hence, the UAE has
realized the importance of the telecommunication sector and its pivotal role in
achieving the sustainable development, and his Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum has recently launched the Smart Government Initiative which
aims to raise awareness for the governmental authorities in order to make use
of the mobile phone services, and implement the best techniques in the field of
services so as to offer their best and motivate them to upgrade their services
to the highest levels, based on innovation and out of clear understanding of
the needs of citizens and all customers.
For its part, the Ministry
of Higher Education and Scientific Research launched the first edition of Smart
Applications Award 2013-2014, and it is considered the first step towards
transformation into the smart government, and the implementation of this initiative
by his Excellency the Minister Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan was directly
announced during the Government Excellence Conference.
The award is aimed
at university students at the various levels, and the opportunity will be
available in the second edition of the award for more participations by
universities in the State, especially that the award aims to motivate and
encourage the universities and students to present innovative solutions in the
field of smart phone and mobile applications, in order to ensure receiving the
governmental services around the clock.
The State also
witnessed the launch of the first store of governmental smart applications in
the world, which contains more than (100) governmental applications at the
federal and national levels, and more than (700) governmental, educational,
economic, health, environmental, and social services, and there are plenty of
Wi-Fi points in the State. Such service is also available at some governmental
offices and many other public places.
The International
Telecommunication Union, the leading specialized agency of the United Nations
in the field of information technology and communications, is looking forward
to harnessing the catalytic role of information technology and communications
by its members, in order to achieve the sustainable development.
17/05/2014