14 Dubai Government department representatives gather at Dubai eGovernment offices to attend Andrea Di Maio's presentation

Dubai eGovernment today (Wednesday, April 02, 2008) hosted Andrea Di Maio, an internationally acclaimed eGovernment analyst and Vice President of Gartner Research, the world's leading information technology research and advisory company, at Dusit Hotel, Dubai. Di Maio was specially invited by Dubai eGovernment to share his thoughts and knowledge on various aspects of eGovernance.

During his presentation, Di Maio particularly focused on the business value of IT, eGovernment and transformation strategies, environmentally-sustainable IT and the impact of technology on the future of government. The significance of Web 2.0 technologies in government was also a main highlight of his presentation, since Web 2.0 technologies have proven to offer greater opportunities to governments for increased customer-centricity and participation.               

Salem Al Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment, said, "It was a great learning experience to have Andrea Di Maio giving us a presentation on IT and eGovernance, and we thank him for his enriching and enlightening inputs on the subject."

"Dubai eGovernment is committed to adopting latest technologies and strategies to provide robust electronic services, in line with our efforts to complement the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of creating a knowledge-based digital economy. Hence, it is imperative for us to benefit from the insight and suggestions of renowned experts in the field like Di Maio," he added.

Di Maio's presentation was attended by representatives from 14 departments of Dubai Government, including Dubai Airports; Dubai Customs; Dubai Media Incorporated; Dubai Courts; Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department; Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA); Dubai Police Headquarters; Real Estate Regulatory Authority; Dubai Economic Department; Dubai Customs World; Dubai Land Department; Dubai Chamber; Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing; Dubai Naturalization & Residency Administrator.

"We are glad that this presentation generated excellent response from other government departments in Dubai, as it served as a platform to reaffirm the role of all government departments in achieving the eGovernance objectives," added Al Shair.

Prior to joining Gartner, Di Maio was with the European Commission, where he was responsible for part of the R&D framework program, as well as for all activities on the impact of the year 2000 problem and the IT impact of the European single currency. Before the European Commission, Di Maio, who has more than 20 years of experience in IT, held management and technical positions in the systems and software industry.

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About Dubai eGovernment
Dubai eGovernment is a pioneering initiative in the region to provide online services across the spectrum of corporate and community life in the emirate. It also has a vision to integrate individually automated government departments under the single umbrella of the eGovernment initiative, thus empowering employees across lines of businesses and levels of government, besides facilitating the lives of citizens and customers of the government. Dubai has taken a lead in the region in deploying eGovernment applications and is among the first few governments in the world to provide such integrated services to its citizens. The eGovernment portal (www.dubai.ae) is a single contact point masking the complexity of the bureaucratic procedures, and guiding access to all services in the easiest possible way. In addition, the eGovernment initiative seeks to improve and enhance procedures by maximizing the benefit from technology, so that users from all walks of life will be able to utilize the portal for their specific needs with considerable ease.

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Press Release 2008