The eighth Bahrain International eGovernment Forum opens today at the Isa Cultural Centre and Bahrain International Circuit.

Held under the patronage of Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, the five-day event aims to bring together the brightest minds and latest solutions in eGovernment, with a particular focus on the private sector and the theme "Smart Cities - Beyond Innovation", reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The forum has attracted, for the first time, a high-level delegation of nearly 30 experts from the European Union (EU).

The delegation is led by Ambassador Adam Kulach, representative of European Union and head of delegation of the European Union to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, in conjunction with the EU-GCC Science and Technology International Network (IncoNet GCC2).

Kulach will deliver a keynote address at the forum's first-day sessions today at the Isa Cultural Centre about the theme of EU Strategy in Smart Cities, together with a group of selected international prominent officials specialised in the field, such as former Prime Minister of Sweden John Fredrik Reinfeldt, who is also managing director of EMEA Government Worldwide Public Sector, Microsoft Corporation, and executive partner of Gartner. The EU will hold a closed meeting for the members of the EU-GCC Science and Technology International Network (IncoNet GCC2) tomorrow at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

Three representatives of the European Union will deliver a presentation about the success stories and key projects funded by the EU and the successful experiences in areas covering eGovernance, ICT, initiatives and projects carried out between the European Union and other territories as part of the eGovernment success stories workshop.

The delegation members will also organise "Horizon 2020 Information Day" Workshop as platform to showcase the initiative of one of the biggest research and innovation programs ever with nearly 80 billion euros of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020), in particular due to the expansion seen by the European Union across the globe.

The forum this year will feature eight workshops held in parallel with Bahrain IT Expo 2015 at the BIC from Tuesday to Thursday, organised by eGovernment Authority and stakeholders from international organisations, local partners and NGOs.

Batelco yesterday announced its Diamond Sponsorship of the event.

Batelco enterprise and government division general manager Adel Al Daylami said Batelco is a close partner of the government and plays a crucial role in enabling e-Government initiatives including the provision of infrastructure, broadband and the gateway-services. – TradeArabia News Service