Workshop features lectures and seminars on the standards related to domain name, hosting, design, information architecture, programming, privacy and security and electronic content

Dubai, January 2, 2010: The General Information Authority (GIA) has held a workshop with the participation of all ministries, authorities and federal government councils with the aim of training those in charge of websites in these bodies in applying the highest standards related to online presence.

The 5-day workshop, which was held at Hall 5, Zayed University in Dubai, featured lectures and discussions on the official guide of websites, which the GIA distributed to the different federal government authorities.

The workshop was attended by as many as 79 representatives from 34 ministries, authorities and federal councils as well as semi-government bodies and private sector establishments.

Expressing his gratitude to the government authorities that participated in the workshop, HE Salem Khamis Al Shair, GIA director general, said: "We are proud that the invitation extended by the GIA to our brothers in ministries, authorities and federal councils to participate in the training workshop has received a superb response. This truly shows a genuine interest in improving the UAE's level of online presence."

Al Shair added: "It is well known that the UAE is a pioneer in electronic readiness and online presence but maintaining this position is still more difficult as it demands continuous development of devices and technologies. Therefore, I invite our brothers in the federal government organisations to apply the standards related to government websites, noting that the GIA will evaluate the websites of these authorities based on the same standards."

Some representatives of the participating bodies expressed their gratitude to the GIA for its guiding role in laying down standards and helping the government bodies in how to apply them.

Mohammed Qanbar, Director of Information Systems at the General Pension and Social Security Authority, said: "The timing of the workshop was convenient and we learnt the federal government standards used for online content and how we can apply them to our website."

Shamsa Al Shamsi, Acting Director of Communications at the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA), said: "The image is now clear and simple with respect to applying the eGovernment standards to the FEWA website. Moreover, the government identity is on the right path that leads to unification and harmony in line with the government directives."

The workshop included seminars on the following themes: domain name and hosting standards, website and information structure designing standards, programming, privacy and security standards and finally online content standards.

-Ends-

About GIA:
The General Information Authority is a federal authority that has been assigned to the task of setting up eGovernment at the federal level in the UAE.

The task comes as part of a massive national project aimed at implementing the UAE Government's strategy for the following purposes:

  • Achieving balanced and sustainable development.

  • Ensuring high-quality life for nationals.

  • Developing the government's mechanism and uplifting the performance level of all sectors.

The GIA is working on a project to set up a unified portal of the UAE to be a comprehensive framework of information and government services across the UAE.

© Press Release 2010