Dubai eGovernment to participate in Dubai Summer Surprises 2004

The Dubai eGovernment today announced its active participation in Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) 2004, which will be held from June 17 to August 27, 2004, by contributing in three major events focusing on Information Technology skills.

The key events are Bayt Al Khebra, meaning "House of experience", which aims to provide the necessary tools and resources to all government departments participating in DSS; eFamily, a programme targeting families living outside the UAE; eChamp, an IT competition for youngsters and eStar, a similar contest for adults.

Saeed Al Nabouda, CEO, Dubai Summer Surprises, said: "We welcome the participation of Dubai eGovernment in some of our key activities which we are confident will become regular features of Dubai Summer Surprises. It is a recognized fact that Dubai eGovernment has created global benchmarks in its field of expertise. Global organizations have placed the Dubai eGovernment model above some developed countries. We are confident that Dubai eGovernment will demonstrate the same kind of excellence in the programmes it is organising during DSS."

"Each year, the DSS Organising Committee keeps raising the bar on quality in an effort to attract greater number of visitors and participants, especially families from the Gulf region," added Al Nabouda. "Our aim is to constantly come up with new events to prevent DSS from becoming a routine and predictable festival. The new events that are being supported by Dubai eGovernment exhibit high appeal and participation value. We are positive visitors and residents will have a great time."

Dubai eGovernment has created a special team to ensure that its participation in DSS 2004 is a success. All the projects are being developed in an effort to bring maximum mileage to Dubai eGovernment, while at the same time indirectly highlighting the role it is playing in migrating most public services to electronic platforms.

"Dubai eGovernment has entered an advanced stage of e-government, the highlight of which is full transactional functionality, complete with online payment and dynamic multiple channels of services," said Marwan Al Naqi, Head of Dubai eGovernment Committee for DSS.

"The eChamp and eStar competitions will sharpen the skills of participants, helping us achieve our aim in making the general public more interested in computer literacy. The eFamily website will not only give the opportunity to ten families to visit our vibrant city but will also portray Dubai as a model society driven by technology and innovation," added Al Naqi.

Dubai eGovernment's events during DSS

Bayt Al Khobra: In this programme, various government departments and private sector participants in DSS will join hands to demonstrate Dubai eGovernment's capabilities in eServices, Marketing Facilities, Human Resources and Training.

eFamily: This is an event organized in association with Dubai TV and targeted at families residing outside the UAE. Dubai TV will host a TV program entitled "We all love Dubai". To facilitate this, Dubai eGovernment will design a website aiming to reach families living abroad. These families who wish to visit Dubai during DSS are required to sign in and register electronically on the website. Every week one family will be selected electronically and will be flown to Dubai. They will be taken on a comprehensive tour of the city and Dubai TV will be conducting a live interview with them. During the whole of DSS, a total of 10 families will be selected and a live interview will be broadcast on Dubai TV every Friday.

eChamp: This event is tailored for youngsters up to age 18. The competition will run on Word, Excel and Internet browsing and is designed to meet the IT level of these youngsters. Dubai eGovernment will provide testing centres in Modhesh Fun City where participants will have to sit for an exam. Every week, the participant with the highest grade will be selected. At the end of DSS there will be 10 nominees and the one with the highest grade among them will be the eChamp.

eStar: This is a competition similar to eChamp, except that participation will be open to adults over 18 years. A similar elimination methodology will be followed, culminating in a final at the end of DSS.