Three websites from Qatar receive Arab e-Content Award

The Arab e-Content Awards recognize quality e-content and promote creativity and innovation in the development of new media applications in the Arab World.

The Supreme Council for Information and Communication Technology (ictQatar), nominated the three honorees for the World Summit Awards (WSA), which automatically entered them in the Arab e-Content Awards. WSA is a global contest to select best practice in e-Content and innovative ICT applications with the 2009 awards being officially announced later in June.

ictQatar's e-Inclusion team led the national nomination process for Qatar, assessing local websites on the strength of their content, ease of use, navigation, accessibility, attractiveness and multimedia functions.

Reem Al Mansoori, ictQatar's e-Inclusion Manager, said:

"These three honorees are excellent examples of the great potential interactive websites hold. ictQatar is committed to using information and communication technologies to create an inclusive society for all individuals in Qatar and strong e-content is a vital component to this."

The three organizations were each honored in different categories:

- Qtel (www.qtel.com.qa), Business & Commerce category

- Al Jazeera (www.aljazeera.net), e-Entertainment category

- The Doha Debates (www.thedohadebates.com), e-Inclusion & Participation category

Qtel's portal is one of the most comprehensive business sites of any Qatar-based company with real-time updates on stock performance, full investor and business solution information, a guide to e-procurement and full contact information for consumers and business users. Al Jazeera.net places great emphasis on content comprehensiveness throughout its website for a user-friendly experience. The Doha Debates website reflects the high standards of the Debates and is a full and comprehensive resource of Qatar's world famous free speech project.

In addition to the organizations honored, ictQatar nominated five other organizations for the WSA in the categories of e-Government, e-Learning, e-Health, e-Culture and e-Science.

The winners of the award were honored by H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Committee of Information and Communication Technology (SCICT), as part of the opening ceremony of the Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2009 on May 25, 2009.