From E-Government to Good Governance and from Good Governance to Development... The Arab world in the global E-Government readiness report 2005 Arab E-government

More than 30 international and regional speakers will be addressing a wide array of e-government issues at the inaugural Government Technology Middle East Conference & Exhibition (GOVTEC), being held in Bahrain from 13-15 February.

Convened under the official patronage of H.E. Dr Hassan Abdulla Fakhro, Minister of Industry & Commerce, Kingdom of Bahrain, and supported by the Central Informatics Organisation, GOVTEC features international case studies from Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Ireland, Scotland, Dubai, Egypt and Bahrain and will debate key issues facing public sector administrators such as open source architecture, IT governance, citizen-centric government, public private partnership and m-government.

International thought leaders addressing the conference include Dr Simon Moores, Vice Chairman of the Conservative Technology Forum; Dr Costis Toregas, President Emeritus Public Technology Institute; Christine Leitner, European Institute of Public Administration and Jeremy Millard of Danish Technological Institute. In addition, the conference also features presentations by Salem Al-Shair, Head of eServices, Dubai e-government; Mohammed Al-Amer, Director of Information Technology, Central Informatics Organisation, Kingdom of Bahrain; Chris Hadden, Strategic Consultant, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, United Kingdom; and senior e-government officials of Taiwan, Singapore, Ireland and Scotland, among others.

“We are very pleased with the quality and diversity of the speakers – this is by far the region’s most comprehensive and content-rich conference on the subject of e-government,” said Paul Stott, Managing Director, Media Generation Group plc, the event organisers. “With three days of strategic presentations by an unrivalled roster of recognised e-government visionaries, the conference offers an outstanding opportunity for public sector officials to share experiences, examine case studies and identify best practices.”

The prestigious conference, produced by Media Generation in strategic partnership with the Central Informatics Organisation and the Bahrain Convention & Exhibition Bureau and in cooperation with Dubai-based ITP Events, runs alongside a tightly focused exhibition featuring a wide array of specialised e-government solutions from leading vendors.

Key sponsors and exhibitors participating in GOVTEC 2006 include Microsoft Corporation, IBM-GBM, Batelco, Tata Consultancy Services, Novell, NCS, Crimsonlogic, Al-Faris Information Technologies, Somac IT and ZFP-IT.

Registration for GOVTEC is now open. For more information, visit www.govtec.net.

About Media Generation

Media Generation Exhibitions Ltd, part of the UK-based Media Generation Group plc, is a multi-channel media company. Its management team has a cumulative total of over 100 years experience in organizing shows in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, the Americas, the former Soviet Union and Asia. For more information on Media Generation, please visit http://www.mediageneration.co.uk or contact Paul Stott on +44 (0) 1423 810 547.

About Bahrain Convention & Exhibition Bureau

The Bahrain Convention & Exhibition Bureau (BCEB) is a government agency operating under the umbrella of the Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Kingdom of Bahrain. The main role of BCEB is to promote Bahrain as a world-class destination for international conventions, association and corporate meetings, exhibitions and trade shows. The operation and administration of the largest exhibition and convention venue in Bahrain - Bahrain International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) - is also under BCEB's remit. In addition, BCEB organizes a number of specialized exhibitions and conferences, independently or in association with leading international organizers. For more information on BCEB, please visit http://www.bahrainexhibitions.com or contact Pete Phoolsuwan at BCEB Public Relations on +973 17 558810.