People with vision impairment taking part in the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) program. (AN photo)
JEDDAH, 7 February 2007 — Due to the increasing use of e-government services, Ebsar Foundation for the Rehabilitation and Vision Impairment Services and Rehabilitation has inaugurated a Microsoft course for people who are blind or visually impaired.
People with vision impairment can now enroll in an Ebsar course entitled “International Computer Driving License” (ICDL). Such people can also partake in a program to familiarize themselves with the English language.
The first group of participants partaking in the course are aged between 16 and 40. While some of the participants are students, others are gainfully employed.
Faisal Al-Ghamdi, who is in his late 30s, said he heard about the course through MBC FM. “Although the course itself is new, its trainers are experts and generous in offering all the help they can to make us feel comfortable,” he said.
Al-Ghamdi, a father of two, developed weak vision due to retinitis pigmentosa six years ago. He attended regular school and university and has a degree in public administration. He worked as a training coordinator for the Royal Saudi Navy and was facing mandatory retirement due to vision loss when he came across Ebsar and was able to learn skills that enabled him to continue working in the same position.
Al-Ghamdi now looks forward to completing his course and helping his peers with the knowledge he has learned. “In the same way I was offered help, I want to pass what I have learned here to others in similar situations. We finally managed to refresh our memories and follow up on many things that we could not catch up with due to our vision impairment,” he said.
Syrian national Asmaa Arnaout, 28, agreed with Al-Ghamdi and said she looked forward to pursuing further education if possible. Arnaout is blind from birth and has osteoporosis which has caused her to be wheelchair-bound. Arnaout’s mother home-schooled both her and her brother Nojub who also suffers from blindness and osteoporosis. Ebsar also sponsored her and her brother for physical therapy and rehabilitation at Abdul Latif Jameel Rehabilitation Center.
Manal Al-Joaed, 27, a Saudi national, is a high school graduate. She is currently unemployed and suffers from severe loss of vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, which she developed when she was at high school. Al-Joaed completed her first year at university but was unable to continue her education due to her poor eyesight.
Participants believe there are many people who have vision problems and having programs like the one at Ebsar would benefit such people greatly.
According to Muhammad Bellow, Ebsar’s executive director, this is the first time Ebsar is offering a course which aims to enable people who are blind or visually impaired to keep abreast of modern technology.
“We were inspired to introduce the continuation of education for the blind and the visually impaired into the foundation’s long-term strategic plan along with their rehabilitation programs in order to help people overcome the consequences of vision loss,” said Bellow.
Ebsar came up with the idea after attending the International Council for Education of People With Visual Impairment (ICEVI) conference in Kuala Lumpur in June last year. Following the conference, Ebsar signed a one-year contract with the New Horizons Computer Learning Center to train 40 blind or visually impaired people in the Microsoft ICDL course and a foundation level course in English.
Each program is three months long and each class consists of eight people. Males and females are taught in separate classes. According to Bellow, there is no criteria in choosing subscribers — the course is available on a first-come-first-served basis regardless of age, sex and nationality. Those who have no working knowledge of computers are offered preliminary courses in order to make the actual main course easier to understand.
To make communication and learning easier, instructors from New Horizons attended a one-week orientation and training course at Ebsar to learn the basic skills needed in dealing with people with visual impairment. These instructors have already begun training the first two groups from last month.
Bellow explained that in order to encourage more people to join the course they would offer each participant, who successfully completes the ICDL and foundation level English course, a laptop equipped with Ibsar text-to-speech software. “This is an effective software that helps people with vision impairment to continue their education and careers,” said Bellow.
Sponsoring the program is Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Ahmad Abdul Aziz Al-Saud who is chairman of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (EMR-IAPB) and president of the National Committee for Prevention of Blindness in Saudi Arabia. He is also the chairman of Ebsar’s foundation board.
Dr. Akef El-Maghrabi, chairman of Maghrabi Eye and Ear Hospital and deputy chairman of Ebsar’s foundation board; Ibrahim Al-Jomaih, vice chairman and CEO of Al-Jomaih Automotive Company and board member of Ebsar Foundation; Khaled Baashan, GM of Baashan Trading Corp. and board member of Ebsar Foundation; and Muhammad Zamil, president of the Zamil Group and board member of the Ebsar Foundation, are also sponsoring the program.
Riyadh First e-City of Kingdom
Raid Qusti, Arab News
RIYADH, 7 February 2007 — If all goes as planned, much of Riyadh will become the Kingdom’s first free-for-all WiFi Internet access point.
Declaring Riyadh the Kingdom’s first electronic city, officials yesterday unveiled the first phase of a project that brought Prince Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz Street online. Anyone with a wireless device, such as a WiFi-configured laptop computer or mobile phone, can access the Internet by connecting to the airwaves around this main avenue in the city.
At an event attended by hundreds of IT specialists, officials and business executives, Riyadh Deputy Gov. Prince Sattam inaugurated the capital’s first smart zone project on Prince Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz Street live from an event called the Smart Cities Forum held in the King Faisal Hall.
The audience watched on a large screen as the Globe atop the Al-Faisaliah Tower was linked directly with the smart zone on Prince Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz, part of the capital’s first direct link between the smart zone areas.
According to the organizers of the forum, the establishment of smart cities in Saudi Arabia would boost government performance, security and the economy, as well as provide better services.
Governor of Telecommunications and IT Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel told reporters after the event that Jeddah and Madinah would follow suit after Riyadh, since both cities “are ready logistically to establish the smart city initiative.”
KAU Plans e-Book on Saudi Law
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
JEDDAH, 27 January 2007 — The Research & Development Center of King Abdulaziz University (KAU) intends to publish an e-encyclopedia of Saudi laws containing 22,000 pages.
“The encyclopedia will include all rules and regulations in the Kingdom that were issued through royal decrees and ministerial decisions,” said Mamdouh Ba-Owaidan, the center’s director.
These rules include security strategy to combat extremism and terrorism, anti-money laundering law, copyright protection law and the foreign investment law, he said.
The center has been publishing a print version of the encyclopedia for the past 34 years. “We have decided to publish the electronic version to cope with modern developments,” he said.
Salimeen Mohsen Hareez, a researcher at the center, said his organization was publishing the encyclopedia of Saudi laws in two volumes since the year 2000.
Muhammad Al-Thumali, public relations official at the center, said Internet users all over the world would be able to access the electronic encyclopedia free of charge. He said a large number of people especially businessmen, lawyers and researchers would benefit from the project.
During the last seven years, the Saudi government has issued and updated a large number of rules and regulations as part of its efforts to join the World Trade Organization.
The new e-encyclopedia project goes well with the Kingdom’s SR3-billion e-government initiative, dubbed Yesser (Arabic for “Simplify”), that aims at making Saudi society more digitally literate and streamlining government bureaucracy.
Speaking at the National e-Transactions Conference 2007 in Riyadh recently, Prince Muqrin, chief of general intelligence, emphasized the Kingdom’s plan to launch an awareness campaign in order to encourage the general public to embrace e-governance, while explaining the key benefits to officials of government agencies, businesses and society in general. He also expressed optimism that the Kingdom’s e-government project would be fully functional in 2010 or well before the stipulated timeframe.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Muhammad Jameel Mulla said 150 electronic government services would be up and ready for public use by 2010. He said the Kingdom aimed at providing easy access to government services by citizens and residents from their households.
The government of Abu Dhabi, capital emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), launched on
Wednesday an information and services portal, www.abudhabi.ae, providing access to more than 500 government services, Emirates News Agency reported.
"The portal serves as a hub for all government departments. It provides access to over 500 government services, providing essential information and guidance for users," Rashid Al Mansoori, chairman of Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Committee, was quoted as saying.
The portal aims to be the first stop of any resident or visitor for clear and direct access to government information and services which are classified by user-centric service topics, the report said.
It also provides a section entirely dedicated to doing business in the emirate.
The launch of the portal is in line with Abu Dhabi government's efforts to streamline performance of government entities.
Qatar e-Government reaches a milestone in achieving (22,127) transactions for the month of February, 2006. This 22 % growth compared to January, 2006 was due to the increase in number of companies and individuals wanting to use the e-services on the site.
The IT Division at the Department of Economic Development (DED) announced that the nine new eServices launched recently on its website have received huge response from customers.
The initiative is part of DED's commitment towards implementing eGovernment policies and is specially created to boost efficiency of operation and productivity. Company Lookup service registered most customer queries - 1038, followed by Transaction Status (1004), Business Set up Simulator (871), Search Trade Names (731), Activity Search (641), Number of Licenses per Person Report (583), License Renewal Cost Estimator (462), Fines for a License Report (231) and Sales and Promotions service (119).
'DED's mission is to expand the scope of businesses in Dubai and the new eServices shows the success of our endeavor. Our initiative would contribute to fulfilling Dubai's aspirations of becoming an e-driven economy,' said Sultan Ali Lootah, Director of IT Division at DED. 'DED is always on the lookout to improve and upgrade its IT system which will help boost the customer service standards of the entire department,' added Lootah.
Since the launch of the new e-services www.dubaided.gov.ae/eservices, the number of on-line visitors clocked 6169 from the UAE; 272 from Saudi Arabia and 216 from the USA.
'With the new initiative we are positioning Dubai as an international business hub in the Middle East and the application of eServices creates a direct and interactive link to this vast business community,' added Lootah.
The new eServices will benefit potential investors seeking information to set up businesses in Dubai, owners of small and medium sized enterprises and public relations officers.
More online services will be available on the website in the next few months offering primarily GROs (Government Relationship Officers) and company owners the opportunity to handle transactions online. Six more releases are expected to be launched in the coming months.
Mr Sultan Ali Lootah, Director of the IT Division at the Department of Economic Development.
Mr Sultan Ali Lootah, Director of the IT Division at the Department of Economic Development.
During the press conference to announce the communication channels and the services the RTA delivers.
During the press conference to announce the communication channels and the services the RTA delivers.
hese include those from the suggestion scheme 'Fikraty', complaints system, Customers' Council, Emergency Office, Call Center in addition to the automated response system (IVR) and the services of the Traffic and Roads Agency, Marine Agency and Public Transport.
This was announced in a conference held yesterday (Wednesday) by Mr. Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim, CEO of Strategy and Corporate Governance in the presence of Dr. Aisha Al Busmait, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Laila Hareb, Director of Strategy and Corporate Performance, Farid Karmasatji, Director of Customer Service Centers and Khalid Al Ramsi, Stakeholder Relations Manager.
Abdel Mohsen Ibrahim said that the RTA pursues the development of the quality of services provided to customers inside and outside the authority. "We prioritize customer services within Dubai and accordingly respond to their needs and desires in the pursuit of gaining their satisfaction. The Roads and Transport Authority provides effective channels of communication with its customers through schemes like 'Fikraty' and the complaints system, the customers Council, Emergency Office Call Center and the IVR system of automatic reply."
He said, "The suggestion scheme 'Fikraty' is an easy way to deal with internal and external customers as we receive creative ideas to develop and improve the working levels in a bid to improve the performance of the services provided.
"The system aims to strengthen the relationship with partners, customers and society and develops work systems improving the performance, and enhancing the confidence of customers thus involving participation, and raising levels of efficiency and excellency."
Regarding the complaints system in the authority, Abdul-Mohsen said that the system aims to develop the RTA services offered to clients through feedback, as part of the quest is to provide outstanding services and developing performance to achieve customer satisfaction. Stressing that complaints submitted to the Authority is one of the most important sources through which the RTA can identify the improvements.
The CEO of Strategy and Corporate Governance spoke about the customers' Council, which was launched recently and said that through the Council the views of customers are studied by conducting group interviews with a selected group of clients. The council aims to gather information and views on special themes with dealers concerned by the specific body.
On the work of Emergency Office, Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim said that the office receives all internal and external calls on emergency cases on Dubai roads from strategic partners only and in case of necessity the requests are entertained from customers. He pointed out the office intends to facilitate the communication processes with the customers, and is also always ready to receive comments and calls from customers and also the RTA round the clock. He explained that the office is working 24/7 to deliver the urgent services for the RTA clients and the work is divided into three shifts: morning, evening and night.
As for the Call center, the CEO of the Strategy and Corporate Governance said that the center is under Emirates Telecommunications (Etisalat), and answers all incoming calls from RTA clients over the phone, e-mail and fax, and transfers the call to the concerned department in the RTA or the emergency office in case of emergency, indicating that the center is working 24/7.
He added that the center aims at facilitating the communication with the clients, opens new channels to receive the urgent notifications, and continuously handles queries to ensure the delivery of quick service, so as to be distinctive and qualified in servicing the clients and providing the information round the clock.
Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim, shed light on the (IVR) system that the RTA has recently launched. He said it is an electronic system which provides the RTA services to the public over the phone. The system also transfers callers who are interested in speaking to the customer service executive at the RTA call center, thus handling their queries, suggestions and complaints.
He added that the system aims at applying the goals of the e-government that includes providing the services for the clients anywhere and anytime, providing easier and quicker means and more accurate to communicate with the clients, providing the services to the clients without having visited the RTA service center and providing the information to the clients around the clock.
The CEO of the Strategy and Corporate Governance explained that the RTA had completed the transference of the inquiry into the fines of the parking areas violations from Dubai Municipality to the RTA. The traffic and licenses services will be transferred from Dubai Police to the RTA where it provides the inquiry services into the traffic violations in the UAE. The RTA had connected the customer service of inquiries and complaints center, indicating that the RTA would shortly provide all the services delivered to the public over the auto reply system and complete the transactions provided over the phone to an electronic payment.
Khalid Al Ramsi, Stakeholder Relations Manager viewed the services of the agencies of traffic and roads, public transport and marine transport. He said that the Public Transport Agency delivers intercity as well as inter Dubai transport, taxi transport in and out of Dubai, while the Marine Transport Agency delivers the services of maintenance, issuance of licenses, issuance of launching new Abras, repairs and up gradations of Abras as well as the renewing the operations of Abras, and violations and fines concerning the organization of Abras at Dubai Creek, and last but not the least assigning an Abra number or Abra with a number.
He added that the Traffic and Roads Agency delivers a number of services including the public requests follow-up service, and government and private organizations including requests of parking and improvements on the roads, a non-objection certificate for the service parties' projects, and the consultants and contractors, selling the safety and traffic systems guide.
It also follows up on the requests of the signboards and numbering the houses and buildings, the roads pavement and outdoor spaces for the restaurants and cafes, and exploiting the special lands for parking. In addition to the licenses and reservation of the parking areas and building new temporary sandy roads for the residential areas and the leveling, as well as executing the detours of sub streets, constructing a building, demolishing a building, issuing the ads permissions, requesting to make pitfalls and electrical extensions, and entries, exists, signboards and the license services like, the vehicle licenses, driving licenses and commercial licenses.
blished: 08/02/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)
Abu Dhabi unveils region's biggest e-government project
By Ahmed A. Elewa, Staff Reporter
Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi government yesterday unveiled a massive e-government project unmatched elsewhere in the Middle East and Mena region.
The move follows the successful implementation of Dubai's e-government project and is in line with a federal e-government project that will complete the circle.
The new portal is the fruit of more than a year of intensive efforts and it will provide citizens, residents, visitors and businesses with a single point of access to all services and information provided online by the government.
The website provides a single point of access to more than 500 government services, of which more than 300 are already available as complete online services.
They include personal documents such as IDs, passports and visas, healthcare, land and homes as well as a dedicated portal for business where any investor can find all the necessary information he requires including business support, international trade, rules and regulations, and business start-up.
"One of the things the business portal provides is a step-by-step guide to establishing a business in Abu Dhabi, where investors will find detailed information, concerned authorities and forms.
"There is even a map to show the location of any government entity involved and its branches along with all the relevant details.
"There is no need for consultation. Doing business can never be easier," said Rashed Lahaj Al Mansouri, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Committee which launched the project
This e-service is part of the joint and ongoing collaboration between the two agencies.
Hassan Al-Sayed, Acting e-Government Manager at ictQATAR said that this significant service is an addition to the set of services currently offered online including residency permits, entry visas, health cards and others.
Travel permits can be issued within seconds after being signed electronically via the smart card assigned to the authorized signatory within the concerned government or business entity. The smart cards are issued in cooperation between MoI and the e-government department at ictQATAR. An important feature of this service is enabling the authorized signatory to approve Exit permits from anywhere and at any time. Users do not need to print Exit permit application forms, to be signed and stamped manually.
Colonel Saleh Al Kubaisi, Director of Information Systems at the Ministry of Interior called upon companies and government agencies to take advantage of the e-services available through the portal. The colonel added that the ministry's policy is to improve the delivery of services provided to businesses which will eventually benefit the general public. 'We intend to achieve this goal by simplifying procedures, lowering costs, enhancing administrative processes and utilizing the best IT solutions available', he said.
The new service is available for all governmental agencies, semi-governmental sectors as well as private companies that currently use e-government services in addition to companies intending to use the e-Government services in the future. However, the service is currently not available for personal sponsorships.
The e-service can be used to issue Exit permits for single or multiple trips (fees are QR500 per annum for multiple exit permits) or permanent leave. Interested agencies can subscribe to this e-service by obtaining the Exit Permit Declaration from ictQATAR's Government Information Management Office in the C-Ring road near the Cinema traffic lights or by calling 4657802 for further information.
'We kicked-off this e-service in response to our clients' needs and the growing usage of e-government applications. We also expect many businesses to value the benefits of this service once they use it,' said Hassan Al Sayed.
