Bahrain International e-Government Forum 2012 to Launch on 8th April

Manama, March 31. (BNA) -- The countdown has begun for the launch of the fifth Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2012 which will be held from 8th to 11th April, 2012 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 Forum is organized by the eGovernment Authority in cooperation with the Bahrain Society of Engineers, Bahrain Internet Society, and the Project Management Institute (Arabian Gulf Chapter).

During the opening ceremony the winners of the eGovernment Excellence Award 2012, shall be announced whereby they will be awarded by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa during the forum ceremony. The Bahrain IT Expo 2012 will also be opened by H.H to reveal the latest advancements in information and communication technology.

More than 22 renowned speakers of specialists in the field of eGovernence and ICT are taking part in the Forum to convey their experience and share knowledge. The speakers are from leading countries in egovernment based on the Readiness report of the United Nations including (South Korea, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Japan, Belgium, Turkey, Poland, the Netherlands, the United States of America, Germany, Colombia), in addition to the participation of international organizations such as the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme UNDP, and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN.

Apart from the forum lectures the workshop events commence on 9th, April with a specialized workshop titled (The Cyber Law & Public Private Partnership) addressing the current information and communication technology laws. Another workshop will also be held in the same day titled (Social Media Hands-on) organized by the Social Networking Club in Bahrain to review the social networking practical skills with the participation of a large number of specialists and officials of e-government. The registeration is open for those wishing to attend.
On the 10th, April a workshop will be held by the Bahrain Internet Society in eContent Management (eContent Management) that will address the latest innovations and methods to develop the econtent in the region.

A workshop in security Digital Forensics Investigations" will be held on 11th, April by the Bahrain Information Technolgy Society to reveal the most security vulnerabilities and violations that may occur from the use of media, information and communication technology as well as methods of securing privacy in light of future innovations.

The organizing Committee of the Forum announced that the door for registration is still open to public and private sectors and individuals who wish to attend and participate to register through the official website of the Bahrain International eGovernment Forum on: www.egovforum.bh.The Bahrain IT Expo doors will be open to the public on the 9th , 11th and 12th April at the Ritz-Carlton hotel


Details on the forum :
The sessions of the Forum shall commence with (eGovernment), which will be moderated by Mr. Richard Kerby Regional Advisor of the United Nations - Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazalah, Chairman and CEO of Talal Abu-Ghazalah Group will present the first paper of the Forum on the mechanism of providing better citizens services through the eGovernemnt. Mr. Deoksoo Park Director of Office of Information Strategy MOPAS will talk about the experience of egovernment in Korea. Mr. Matt Poelmans Director of CitizenVision will review the citizen centered eGovernment in the Netherlands. Mr. Hannes Astok, a Senior eGovernment Expert eGovernance Academy will reveal the journey of the Estonia’s eGovernment journey and challenges ahead. Mr. Bill Mgage Advisory Technology Consultant will talk about the United Kingdom’s ICT strategy and delivery of eGovernment services.


International experts from the United Nations will participate in discussing a topic on (Mobility), Mr. Raul Zambrano Global Lead ICT for Development and eGovernance UNDP will talk about the mobile technologies and empowerment, focusing on how to enhance the human development participation and innovation. Mr. Ralph Simon, CEO of Mobilium Global will present a paper on new technologies and future steps in the field of mobile eservices. Mr. Kei Shimada Director of Business Development Future Communications Department at Dentsu will review the Japanese experience in the field of smart thinking. Dr. Julia Glidden Managing Director of 21c Consultancy will talk about the concept of (Internet of Things) and (Open Data) as a gateway to the Smart Cities. Papers will be followed by interactive panel discussion during which discussions will revolve around the working papers at hand.

On the first day of the Forum, the papers will be concluded with a session on (Social Networking) which will be moderated by Professor Peter Bruck, where Mr. Jeff Chertack Managing Director of Ogilvy, will speak on social media as a citizen engagement platform. Mr. Stephane Niango Executive Partner of Gartner Executive Programs will talk about the social media and the technology trends, followed by a panel discussion ending the first day of the Forum.

During the second day of the Forum on April 11th, 2012, the speakers will talk about (eParticipation), the sessions will be moderated Dr. Julia Glidden. Mr. Chris Rourke, Managing Director and Founder of User Vision in United Kingdom, will reveal the experience of creating eGovernment success through usable, citizen-centered services design across channels. Dr. Jeongwoon Yoon Executive Director at the National Information Society Agency in Korea will talk about the strategic approach towards smart society. Dr. Theresa Pardo, Director, Center for Technology in Government Associate Research Professor, Public Administration and Policy at the Albanian University in New York, will talk about creating public value through citizen engagement. Mr. Alex Felsenberg Director Consulting at Babiel will discuss the participation in the political process through listening, collecting, channeling, and reacting. The Founder and CEO of the Turkish egovernment's portal, Mr. R. Erdem Erkul will talk about the experience of eParticipation in Turkey, to be followed by a panel discussion between speakers and participants.

During the second day of the Forum the speakers will also address (eInnovations and Open Data) through various papers presented by a group of experts in the field of innovations and the IT industry. Dr. Gregory G. Curtin, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Civic Resource Group will talk about open data for FAST Government. Mr. Stefan Gehrke, Founding and Managing Director of the Open Data will unveil the experience of open data networks in Germany, while Ms. Minsun Jeong Deputy Director of Office of the Government Organization MOPAS, will address the experience of einnovations in Korea. Mr. Baher Esmat from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), will tackle the experience of the company in innovation, and Mr. Alex Butler, CEO of KindredHQ.com will show the experience of innovation in the government in terms of the importance of innovative thinking. Finally, Dr. Tomasz Janowski Head of UN University IIST Center for Electronic Governance & Senior Research will talk about the eGovernance for sustainable development, and working papers will be followed by an interactive panel discussion between the audience and speakers.

http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/501511