Bahrain International e-Government Forum 2009 opens today

The inaugural session will be attended by a large number of eGovernment and IT officials, experts, and decision-makers from Bahrain and abroad.

Winners of the eGovernment Excellence Awards and the Arab e-Content Awards will also be announced at this inaugural session, and His Excellency, the Deputy Prime Minister will present the awards to them.

The session includes several other activities and presentations. At the start of the event, H.E. Shaikh Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa; Forum Chairman A. Majeed Al Gassab; and director of the division for public administration and development management at UNDESA Haiyan Qian, will deliver brief speeches on the Forum's objectives and the role it plays in realizing the objectives of Bahrain's eGovernment.

They will review Bahrain's experience in this field and discuss the pivotal role that the ICT sector plays in achieving prosperity for countries and raising the standards of living for their peoples.

eGovernment Authority Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Al Qaed will deliver a presentation on the eGovernment Program, its achievements and future plans.

In the second part of the session, a short film about the eGovernment program will be presented and Peter Bruck, World Summit Award Chairman, will deliver a speech on Bahrain's experience in organizing eContent and ICT awards and the international standards followed.

At the conclusion of the session, the patron of the forum will honour the winners of the Arab eContent Awards and the eGovernment Excellence Awards. He will also present Appreciation Awards to all speakers, official sponsors, and organizers of the Forum.

The Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2009 will be held from 25-27 May. The Forum is organized by the e-Government Authority in cooperation with the Bahrain Society of Engineers, the Bahrain Information Technology Society, and the Bahrain Internet Society.

The Forum is expected to be attended by senior eGovernment Authority representatives, an elite group of international eGovernment strategists and decision-makers, UN experts, ICT leaders from the public and private sectors, technology associations, representatives of the Chambers of Industry and Commerce, academics, and specialists.