Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 17 January 2012: Dedicated to trigger positive engagement, the eGovernment Authority (eGA) recently organized a two-day workshop for employees of ministries and governmental entities on the forthcoming eGovernment Excellence Award 2012. The event, in its fifth edition, is organized under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology. The workshop addressed a number of significant participation elements.

About 30 employees, representing more than 16 ministries and governmental entities, actively participated in the workshop held to clarify the mechanism of participation, the criteria of nomination and evaluation, the instructions of presenting according to established latest international standards and guidelines.

Dr. Zakareya Ahmed Al Khaja, Director of Policies, Business Process and Re-Engineering at the eGovernment Authority, stressed the importance of the workshop which aims at inspiring excellence in ICT projects. “The eGA dedicatedly organizes this annual award which has tangible results on the levels of progress and maturity of ICT projects throughout the four previous years of government and multi-sectors as well as individuals,” said Dr. Al Khaja. He also pointed out that one of the award’s objectives is to enhance public engagement by including multi-sector and individuals. Additionally, the inclusion of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for the second year, shows how eGA values their key role in developing ICT within the society.

He also stated that an independent jury committee comprises of local and international ICT experts will evaluate the projects according to the international standards in eGovernment excellence field. Names of the Jury Committee members are to be announced later.

The workshop demonstrated the awarding categories available for every sector (government, multi-sector and individuals), focusing on new adjustments added to the entry and evaluation criteria of some categories. In addition to newly-adopted unified procedures and presentation template.

The awards consist of eleven categories divided into three sections - government and multi sector as well as individuals.

The (Government sector) includes six categories; Best eContent, Best eService, eMaturity, Best eProject, eEconomy and eEducation. The (Multi-sector) includes four categories; Best ICT Solutions Provider, eEconomy, eEducation and eNGOs. The (Individuals) sector includes two; eCitizen and Best eConcept.

For more information on the eGovernment Excellence Award 2012, or how participate; please visit the award’s official website www.egovawards.bh., or call the National Contact Center 8000 8001.