Bahrain authorities ink MoU to hold third Bahrain International eGovernment Forum in May 2010

The agreement was signed by Mr. Mohammad Ali Al Qaed Chief Executive Officer of the eGovernment Authority, Mr. Abdul Majeed AlGassab President of Bahrain Society of Engineers, Mr. Ahmed Naeemi, Director of Corporate Liaison at the Institute of Project Management (Bahrain) and Mr. Ahmed Al Balooshi President of the Bahrain Internet Society.

Based on the MOU, (The Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2010) and the Bahrain ICT Expo accompanying it shall be organized by the eGovernment Authority (EGA) in cooperation with the Bahrain Society of Engineers, Bahrain Internet Society and the Institute of Project Management (Bahrain).

Six committees were formed to manage the Forum: the Executive Committee, the Technical Committee, the Exhibition Committee, the Marketing and PR Committee, the Sponsorship Committee and the Logistics and Administration Committee.

In this regard, Mr. Mohamed Ali Al Qaed CEO of the eGovernment Authority, stated:

"Our main goal in holding the Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2010 is to position it as one of the leading global events in the area, and to portray the Kingdom of Bahrain on the world map as a pioneer nation in the egovernment. Held for the third time in a row and with the results attained by the Kingdom of Bahrain in the UN eGovernment readiness report 2010 I can say that we are on our way in achieving this goal."

Al Qaed pointed out that the forum will highlight the best international practices in the eGovernment arena, and shall identify successful experiences implemented and solutions applied to achieve excellence and development at the regional and global levels.

He also stated the forum will be attended and held under the patronage of HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister Chairman of The Supreme Committee of Information and Communication Technology, along with more than 450 local and international guests, government leaders and forum invitees.

The 2 day Forum sessions, will attract around 300 participants from Bahrain and other countries. Around 50 exhibitors are expected to participate in the Bahrain IT Expo attracting business visitors and showcasing the latest technologies, solutions, and software.

Mr. Abdul Majeed AlGassab President of Bahrain Engineers Society and Chairman of the Forum, said, "I am honored to announce the organization of the third Bahrain International eGovernment Forum, following the success achieved during the past two years, I can say that this year's event will witness further world-wide interaction especially with the achievement of the Kingdom of Bahrain in United Nations eGovernment readiness report. The kingdom is gaining international attention by many wanting to learn from our experience and capability to achieve high results in such a short period of time."

Al Gassab added, "As for the Bahrain ICT Expo, all preparations are in line with a number of institutions participating as exhibitors including the eGovernment Authority, ministries, governmental entities of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as eGovernment entities from across the GCC, MENA and worldwide. ICT and private sector institutions are a major player as well."

It should be noted that within the programs to support small and middle institutional development (Growth Assistant Scheme), (Tamkeen) is supporting the participating companies in the Bahrain ICT Expo by covering 80% of registration fees and the cost of the stands.

Mr. Ahmed Naeemi, Director of Corporate Liaison at the Project Management Institute (Bahrain) and Chairman of the Sponsorship Committee of the Forum, stated, "The Forum program is lined up with many activities that will be a meeting point for local & international expertise exchange in the ICT world."

Pointing out that the key role the exhibition will have in bringing all experiences to one place.

He added so far the main sponsors are as follows : (Tamkeen) is the strategic partner, eGovernment Authority as the main partner, current diamond sponsors are: the Consultative Council (Shura council ), Microsoft, and GBM IBM, the platinum partner is Tata Consultancy Services, the gold sponsor is STS (Jordan) and the online media sponsor is Trade Arabia Magazine.

Mr. Ahmed Al Balooshi President of the Bahrain Internet Society and Chairman of the Technical Committee, said, "We are pleased to participate for the second time in the Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2010, where every year we witness outstanding and great success. This participation is a translation of the main objectives of the Society in raising the awareness in the ICT field. We have been coordinating with a number of prominent speakers globally and the details will be announced at a later date."

It is worth mentioning that world-class speakers and experts from the GCC, United Nations, representatives from specialized technical societies of the Arabian Gulf, and GCC Chambers of Industry and Commerce, as well as a number researchers, specialists and academics in the field of information technology and communications, as well as representatives from the local, regional and global media shall participate in the (the Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2010).

The event will include the Excellence Award for 2010 which is divided in 3 sections which includes: 6 categories for the ministries and governmental entities (Best eContent, Best eService, eMaturity, Best eProject, eEconomy and eEducation), 3 categories for the Private Sector (Best ICT solutions Provider, eEconomy and eEducation), and 2 categories for individuals (eCitizen, Best eConcept).

(The Bahrain International government Forum 2010) is an annual forum gathering senior government officials from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the region, Europe and East Asia, as well as experts from the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and officials from the private sector.