Bahrain eContent Award Committee announces the 2009 award activities

Present at the press conference were Organizing Committee Chairman Mr. Ahmed Al Hujairi, Deputy Chairman BEA and Director of Marketing and Awareness eGovernment Authority Mr. Isa Abdul Rahman, Media Committee Chairman Mr. Ubaydli Al Ubaydli, and Industry and Commerce Ministry representative Mr. Zuhair Al Bahrani.

The committee highlighted the importance of the awards that have been created to encourage fresh talent, unleash innovative Bahraini initiatives and lay the foundations of an advanced and modern electronic information industry in the Kingdom. To motivate more people to participate the committee also announced the extension of the deadline for participation to 31st December 08.

Mr. Al Ubaydli explained that the conference was held to officially announce the launch of the award activities and invite all Bahraini individuals, private sector companies, civil society organizations, and government ministries to participate in this competition and enrich the electronic development in the Kingdom. He said 31 December will be the deadline for receiving applications.

Mr. Al Hujairi, Chairman of the Organizing Committee invited all organizations, individuals, private sector companies, civil society organizations, and government ministries to participate in this competition and enrich the electronic development in the Kingdom. The Bahrain e-Content Award was first launched in 2005 to encourage electronic creativity in Bahrain. The award has received massive response since its launch with the number of contestants doubling from 150 in 2005 to 300 in 2007.

Explaining the evaluation process Mr. Al Hujairi, said:

"Evaluation of entries will be based on international jury criteria, focusing on the quality of the e-content in terms of depth, diversity and inclusiveness. The winners will be adjudged on the basis of presentation, construction engineering, accessibility and accuracy of search results, including browsing and navigation mechanism."

The awards that will be held at the beginning of next year, will honour and promote the very best of the Kingdom's e-content in the following 10 categories: e-Government, e-Entertainment, e-Health, e-Learning, e-Science, e-Inclusion, e- Business, e-culture, in addition to two new categories this year e-Banking and e-Media added to acknowledge the growing importance of the two sectors in Bahrain.

The winning entries will be nominated for the World Summit Award, which is held once every two years in cooperation with the United Nations. Next year's awards will be held at Mexico during May.

Mr. Isa Abdul Rahman, Director of Marketing and Awareness eGovernment Authority and Vice Chairman of the organizing committee, said:

"The EGA took the lead in organizing the e-Content awards upon recommendation from the Higher ICT commission with a view to supporting e-content projects in Bahrain. EGA's sponsorship of the Arab e-Content Award underlines its commitment towards developing the Kingdom of Bahrain to a more privileged centre in the e Content industry, through promotion and sponsorship of talented young Bahrainis."

Mr. Zuhair Al Bahrani said the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and the department of e-commerce and IT in particular, participated in the organization of this award based on their extensive experience gained in recent years.