MANAMA: The Kingdom of Bahrain which welcomed the global experts and public and private sectors stakeholders on Monday reiterated its commitment to adopt technology advancement at levels of the governance.
This was the crux of the opening speeches of the three-day 7th Bahrain International eGovernment Forum and Bahrain IT Expo 2014 opened in Bahrain.
The event was opened by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology (SCICT); at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Bahrain International Circuit from 21st – 23rd April.
eGovernment Authority (eGA) CEO Mohammed Ali Al Qaed affirmed eGA’s commitment in seeking and implementing the vision by achieving excellence in all vital ITC sector.
The event attracted over 550 delegates, a 20% increase over the past year, brings together the best minds from the across the world to deliberate upon the challenges and opportunities in the ICT.
The event was organized by the eGovernment Authority; in collaboration with Bahrain Internet Society (BIS), Bahrain Society of Engineers (BSE) and Project Management Institute, Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC).
Al Qaed said that the forum was considered as one of the key gatherings on the ICT calendar and that the authority will strive this year to feature the forum with new and comprehensive visions and themes, with the most up-to-date trends in the field of technology, along with the latest developments in this sector.
The three-day packed with activities forum kicked started on Monday followed by tailor-made sessions starting on Tuesday at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The sessions are prearranged to address key issues such as Smart Government, Mobile Trends, Big Data, Future Cities, along with other vital themes.
The Bahrain IT Expo 2014 along with eight specialized workshops that are under the supervision and follow-up of eGA; yet formed by NGOs, professional institutes, international organizations, as well as 40 keynote speakers and experts from across the globe.
The forum was coincided with the announcement of the eGovernment Excellence Award 2014, where winners were awarded by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed. A corner, at the forum, will be designed to showcase the winning projects; along with the participating NGOs in the organization process.
Bahrain Internet Society President and Organizing Committee Chairman Nawaf Abdulrahman expressed his pride in this continued cooperation with the eGA in organizing the event.
He also pointed that content-rich workshops are being extended to 16 hours per workshop – conducted over a span of two days. Workshops discuss the future trends and the best practices in topics such as eGovernment Success Stories, Mobility, IT Governance, eContent Management, Entrepreneurship and ICT Innovation Forum, Social Media Toolkit, Agile Business Analysis and Improvements, as well as Leadership in Information Technology.
PMI-AGC Corporate Liaison Director and Forum’s Sponsorship and Exhibition Committee Head Ahmed Naeemi outlined the major plan for the IT Expo, especially with the increase in floor plan space to double.
He urged companies and concerned entities to take part and book official sponsorships for the several prepared events. As each year, the forum gathers several leading exhibitors – being representatives of the public and private sectors.