A total of 55 Abu Dhabi-based entities and 44 federal government authorities currently provide UAE citizens with 1114 different services through the Abu Dhabi e-government portal abudhabi.ae, a report said.

The report issued by Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (Adsic) shows remarkable business results and reinforces the centre’s importance in the development of ICT in the emirate.

Last June, the ‘5th Abu Dhabi e-Government Forum – ’Towards a Digital Abu Dhabi’ held by Adsic, showcased some of the innovative and creative developments that are underway to transform the level of e-government services in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Among Adsic’s most notable recent achievements, is the e-Citizen program, in collaboration with the Family Development Foundation (FDF), the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Core & Special Needs.

The program currently offers a series of training courses to those who are not familiar with key online applications and e-government services and promotes digital literacy. Fresh training material will help people search for different locations of government departments, such as hospitals and schools. In addition, a new course entitled ‘Social Media For All’ will provide skills to use social media sites and provide awareness on e-safety.

Another important initiative was the launch of the Abu Dhabi Government Contact Center in Al Ain, where 100 per cent of the workforce is made-up of Emiratis. Set-up in collaboration with the private sector, the contact center aims at enhancing the quality and speed of services provided to customers and accelerating the response process to all calls and comments.

Among the60 newly introduced interactive mobile services, CityGuard is helping to engage and empower the Abu Dhabi community

 Adsic’s campaign to encourage people to use the free app - that allows Abu Dhabi residents to easily take a picture, video or audio clip and submit non-emergency cases relating to public safety, consumer protection, environmental issues, public works, transport and public services to the Abu Dhabi Government Contact Centre via a smartphone - was extremely successful.

During the first half of 2014, the app was downloaded 43543 times, while cases reported through the app increased eight per cent during the same period.

The fifth edition of Adsic’s annual e-Fair has once again proved to be one of the leading recruitment exhibitions in the UAE, offering employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors by means of a virtual platform that allows job seekers to connect with reputable organizations throughout the country from the convenience of their homes.

Adsic also launched its e-Citizen Program, a free training that enables people with a limited knowledge of technology to learn how to use computers and the internet. The program won a first place prize in the category of ‘Information Technology Applications and e-Learning’ during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) conference in Geneva, Switzerland earlier this year.  

In terms of international partnerships, Adsic continues to work closely with Esri, as per Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed back in 2012, to ensure collaboration between both parties on the Advancement of Spatial Thinking, GIS Planning and Monitoring, GIS Licensing and Support, and Outreach and Sharing of Best Practices.

This year, a delegation of 40 government officials participated in the widely recognized Esri User Conference (Esri UC), held in San Diego, USA. Driving Abu Dhabi Government’s agenda in advancing the Emirate’s geospatial capabilities, the delegation joined thought leaders from all over the world to find solutions to local, global and industry problems, learn the latest in spatial analysis, web and mobile apps, location analytics, big data, open data, and the ArcGIS platform. – TradeArabia News Service