MUSCAT -- The 2007 Oman Web Awards (OWA) competition has been launched under the auspices of Information Technology Authority (ITA). Instituted in 2005 in association with Pan Arab Web Awards, OWA strives to recognise excellence in web design and to promote skill development among the local community. In its third year, the Oman Web Awards is presented by Advanced Business Solutions (ABS), supported by Business Software Alliance and hosted by SJS Group in Oman.
Being the only web award at national level, the main objective of OWA is to promote the spirit of innovation and creativity, raise the standards of web-based solutions, advocate development of local talent, promote intellectual property awareness and encourage all sectors to become involved in the fast growing digital economy of the Sultanate.
Dr Salim al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA, opined on the award: ITA, being the apex government body for IT in the Sultanate, is committed to supporting ICT oriented events in Oman. We believe that the event spurs activity in the digital word which in turn strengthens the eOman initiatives of ITA in transforming Oman as a knowledge based economy by offering improved services to society at various levels. Therefore we consider that OWA can generate the spirit of excellence in citizens to work for a better society leveraging IT and we would encourage all entities to participate in this event and wish them all the success for winning it.
The winners will qualify for the Pan Arab Web Awards 2008, where web award winners of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE will compete. Apart from awards for the Best Website and Web Company of the Year, there are 22 categories with winners in gold, silver and bronze respectively.
The categories in the competition are, art and culture, automotive, banking and finance, corporate, education, forums, hospitality, FMCG, health services, malls/supermarkets, real estate, software and telecommunication/ICT, NGO/NPO, E-commerce, travel and tourism, oil and gas, media/media services and event management, ministries/government organisations, engineering/manufacturing industry, sports, services and personal websites. Sponsorship is open in all the above categories. The newly-constituted Web Designer of the Year award is to recognise the web designing companies for their efforts. The grand award ceremony is scheduled to take place early in 2008 here.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2007
