Total of 260 Applications received for all categories of the Award

The UAE Government has announced that 31 Applications from both Arab and international countries have qualified for the final stage of the Best M-Government Service Award. The winners in various categories of the Award will be announced at a private ceremony during the Government Summit which will be held on 10-12 February 2014 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. 

Expressing happiness over the overwhelming response to the Award, His Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs in the United Arab Emirates and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Government Summit, said the response exceeded expectations, highlighting the importance of the award in encouraging government institutions to provide innovative services that reach customers 24/7.

High level Arab and International competition

The Applications for the Award witnessed a strong Arab presence with 42 participations, including three which qualified to the final stage in the Arab Category. Information Technology Authority – Oman qualified with its Donate.om Application, the official donations App that offers complete e-service, enabling donations to 11 different charity organizations. The Application is officially approved by Oman’s Ministry of Social Development for these charities’ 75 different causes using their Oman-based bank cards. The App enables the less-privileged communities to benefit from donations paid easily via mobile phones and other smart devices.

Ministry of Commerce and Industry – Kuwait qualified with its MOCI application that creates a channel of communication between the citizens and residents of Kuwait and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Kuwait. It enables users to report commercial complaints and track their status.

The Lebanese Army qualified through its LAF Shield Application. The Application aims to enable the citizens to report to the authorities about any suspicious object, by sending its pictures or videos along with its description, easily and securely. In addition, the App allows sending out important information and pictures of wanted, kidnapped and missing individuals, helping citizens acquire information in exceptional instances.

At the global level, 26 applications were received, in which 3 applications qualified to the final stage of the Award on the Global Level Category namely. Among these, Seoul Tourism Organisation qualified with its iTourSeoul Application of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which offers comprehensive travel information, including a directory featuring hundreds of tourist attractions, restaurants, shopping destinations and hotels. The App uses GPS to locate the users and gives them detailed information on the most highly recommended points of interests nearby.

Land and Transport Authority – Singapore also qualified with its My Transport Application. MyTransport.SG is a comprehensive transportation App that includes information on all modes of land transportation, information on events and promotions nearby. It also allows open data sharing to encourage development of third-party transit Apps.

The Association of Danish Regions – Denmark akuthjælp Application qualified to the final stages for its efficiency in enabling users to locate and contact the nearest emergency rooms, clinics, and pharmacies. It also provides real-time information on waiting period at emergency rooms, and includes other useful contact information related to medical emergencies.

At the level of the Federal Government in United Arab Emirates, qualified Applications to the final stages were submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Water, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education, and the Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments.

At the level of the Local Government in UAE, 10 Applications qualified to the final stages. These are Applications of TransAD (The Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Jabel Ali Free Zone, Dubai Police, Department of Economic Development - Abu Dhabi Business Center, Fujairah Municipality, Department of Public Works – Sharjah, Municipality and Planning Department, Sharjah Transport, and RAK e-Gov.

In the University Students Category in the UAE, which is worth a million dirhams, 10 Applications have qualified to the final stage, which include those submitted by the Higher Colleges of Technology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi University, the American University of Sharjah and the American University in Dubai.

Participation beyond expectation<

A total of 260 Applications were received, of which 200 were chosen to the arbitration phase. The Award Committee nominated 31 Applications for five segments of the Award to compete in the last phase.

The overall participation recorded massive numbers, The USA topped the list in the international level with 5 Applications, followed by South Korea with 4, Australia with 3 and Germany with 2 Apps. The award also received other Applications from a number of countries around the world.

Regionally, Saudi Arabia led with 12 Applications, Oman with 7, Qatar 6, Lebanon 5, Bahrain 3, Jordan 3, and 2 applications each from Kuwait, Morocco and Egypt.

In terms of local and federal Applications, the Award witnessed effective participation, receiving 28 Applications from local entities. It received 22 Applications from federal entities such as the General Authority for Pensions and Social Security, Zakat Fund, Emirates Identity Authority, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and Youth and Community Development, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Labor.

The Award also received participation from Marriage Fund, Federal Authority for Electricity and Water, Sheikh Zayed Housing, Ministry of Environment and Water, Human Resources Authority, Ministry of Health, General Authority for Civil Aviation, Islamic Affairs and Endowment Authority, Federal Authority for Human Resources, Zayed University, and UAE University.

Emirati students

The highest number of participation came from students of the UAE University with 81 Applications, Higher Colleges of Technology with 43 Applications, 7 each from Zayed University, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, and 4 from Abu Dhabi University. The rest of the participation came from other universities in the UAE.

All participations were registered through the website of the award: www.mgov-award.ae, and were sorted by the Expert Committee in Technical Information which assessed all Applications electronically.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had announced the Award for Best Mobile Government Service in conjunction with the launch of the Smart Government Initiative in May 2013, aimed at providing government services to customers via mobile phones and smart devices anywhere and anytime.