The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has held a workshop on “Developments and best practices in the UN E-Government Survey 2018”, in the presence of H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, and H.E. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Director General of Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), at the InterContinental Dubai – Festival City. The Forum started at 9.00 a.m. with the national anthem followed by opening speeches, then divided into two workshops, one focused on e-participation while the second discussed open & big data and their impact in enhancing digital government orientation.

The Forum highlighted the importance of e-participation and its role in advancing service provision and design by engaging the public, in addition to informing the audience about open data significance to reach number one by 2020.

The event provided an overview on the UN E-Government Survey 2018 Report, attended by representatives of government entities in the field of data and participation as well as corporate communications directors. The workshop had a technical and detailed discussion on the development of government entities’ work in these two important fields. The audience listened to the views of the participating experts who summed up many outstanding practical experiences, success stories and implemented global standards.

In his opening speech, H.E. Al Mansoori congratulated the audience on the achieved results in the e-participation indicators. He said: “We have advanced 15 ranks at once from 32 to 17, which contributed to our progress in the Online Services Index to reach the 6th rank globally. The mystery behind this great progress is the team spirit, which characterized our work together through the journey of smart transformation, since the announcement of H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of the mGovernment initiative in the federal government in 2013.”

H.E. Al Mansoori added: “We are proud that our wise leadership trusted in us and was not disappointed. They trusted our cooperation and collaboration, and we have proven by conclusive evidence the UAE equation that one plus one does not equal two but 11 and more. We have learnt from our wise leadership not to compromise for the first place. And today, I see through your interest and interaction in this meeting, a confirmation that we are on the right track to achieve the deserved position of our country, relying on our experienced capabilities, and motivated by our loyalty to our country, the long history of achievements, and the deep sense of duty and national responsibility.”

Al Mansoori indicated that what has been achieved in the field of e-participation, directs us to new achievement, saying: “Today we look from the perspective of what should we do in the future, and not what we have done in the part. We note that 16 countries are ahead of us in this field, thus we have to innovate smart plans and programs that enable us to reach the first row and become closer to the forefront. Our common goal is achieving the UAE’s leadership in e-participation, regionally and globally, and I can see determination in your eyes to achieve this goal.”

H.E. confirmed his confidence that continuous communication at all levels of government entities, including exchange of successful practices and experiences, reviewing global practices, courage and innovation in adopting new trends in the field of participation, will lead to achieving the aimed goals, which would reflect on the results of the UN e-Government survey 2020 and beyond. He added: “From my position in TRA management, and based on TRA responsibility in monitoring smart transformation in general, and online services index in particular, I assure you that TRA team will always be ready to provide assistance and advice to all those who request it, from government entities, federal or local.”

In turn, H.E. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Director General of Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) explained that this meeting is a clear example of joint efforts between two federal entities and joint work among the members of the executive team. H.E. Lootah added: “Our participation in this forum is a practical interpretation of the wise leadership directives, to support the country’s efforts in achieving sustainable development goals 2030, through holding partnerships, sharing experiences, implementing best practices and utilizing latest technologies to achieve effective e-participation.”

Moreover, Salem Al Housani, Acting Deputy Director General of information and eGovernment Sector and Chairman of the national online services indicator Executive Team, reviewed the most important results and the new trends in the UN e-Government survey 2018 Report, and its relation with the implementation of the UAE National Agenda. He explained the features of the national-team work plan according to the global best practices, to ensure achieving global leadership by 2021 according to the UAE vision. The plan includes for example: providing tools and activities that reflect the UAE’s efforts in monitoring and achieving sustainable development goals and its inclusion in the UAE official portal, enhancing interaction and community participation, providing tools and applications to develop services and policies, enhancing the use of open government data and data analytics, providing tools of smart decision-making and emerging technologies, contributing to finding ways to enhance cooperation between federal and local entities to ensure efficient and equitable services that reach all segments of society, enhancing cooperation between government, private and academic sectors to enhance smart lifestyle and develop services, contributing to the launch of regional and global partnerships to reflect the UAE’s role and its impact in reducing the digital gap and focusing on innovations that improve people’s lives and achieve their happiness.

Moreover, TRA is keen to interact professionally with customers through social media channels, to achieve their satisfaction and exceed their expectations, through a knowledgeable cooperative team that understands their needs, and capable to respond to their inquiries. TRA is committed to respond to customers’ inquiries on a timely manner, and provide them with accurate information and proper service procedures. TRA welcomes the customers’ views and suggestions to engage them in the development of its services.