The event was announced after finalizing the official agreement between eGovernment Authority CEO Mohammed Ali Al Qaed and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOG) Director Haiyan Qian, during their meeting yesterday in New York City.
The Kingdom of Bahrain became the fourth country in the world and the first in the Middle East to host and organize such forum outside the UN premises in New York – since its launch ten years ago.
The forum is expected to attract more than 700 leading figures, policymakers, high-level official delegations, practitioners and innovators in governance, representatives on behalf of international and regional organizations, the academia, non-profit organizations and the private sector arriving from more than 80 countries.
The event is designed to celebrate the value and virtue of public services delivery in the community and the rewards of such services. Also, its core focus is to shed light on the contributions of public services in the development process, assess the duties of public servants and encourage youth to pursue careers in the public sector.
The celebration event grants the recognition of projects which assist beneficiaries to gain easy-access to services worldwide.
It is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in the area of eServices as it rewards public service institutions, fosters participation and utilizes eGovernment in the delivery of services as well as institutions who utilize unique and innovative approaches.
The awarding ceremony was launched in 2003 to reward public service institutions that are distinguished in categories of Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service; Improving the Delivery of Services; Fostering Participation in Policy-Making Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms; Advancing Knowledge Management in Government; and Promoting Gender Responsive Delivery of Public Services.
eGA has added a new global achievement for the Kingdom by winning the first place in the United Nations Public Service Awards Ceremony of the category ‘Advancing Knowledge Management in Government’ for its Zajel project.
The Kingdom had previously gained an exceptional international recognition by winning three UNPSAs in 2010 Barcelona, Spain for the best performance in eGovernment. These comprise ‘Transparency Development, Accountability and Effective Public Service’ response for the eGovernment portal, UNPSA under the category “Advances Government Knowledge Management” for the National Project of Enterprise ICT Architecture, and the ‘Best Performance Positive Change ranking among top 20 countries according to the UN eGovernment Report 2010.
Al Qaed said that holding one of the key global events of the UN agenda would enable Bahrain to occupy a leadership position in the public service and eGovernment field at a global level and contribute in achieving the eGovernment strategic goals.
“Bahrain will play a significant leading role in discussing and proposing projects as well as public service standards, in particular the eGovernment’s role. The Kingdom has a key role to play in mobilizing support, cooperation and coordination between various countries, stakeholders, private sector, governmental bodies, and a significant number of other concerned parties,” Al Qaed, added.
“We are very proud to host and take part in such event, not only due to the strategic global significance of such momentous events but as it will enable Bahrain to obtain universal appreciation given by the international community,” he added.
“Hosting the United Nations Public Service Awards and Forum 2013 reflects the Kingdom’s keenness and ability to attract regional and worldwide elite decision-makers as well as specialists. Additionally, this event will support business tourism and enhance Bahrain’s position in organizing international events and conferences; as it will occupy more than 3,000 accommodation nights in hotels, revive transportation services, shopping malls, as well as highlight the cultural side of Bahrain – for being the capital of Arab culture and showcasing its heritage and history to the participants and visitors of the forum.”
The United Nations Public Service Day is a unique capacity-building global event in the area of public administration. It provides a platform to explore, discuss and learn about the emerging challenges, issues and trends in public administration as well as innovative practices to address challenges, capacity development strategies, approaches and tools.
Every year, the forum focuses on a specific important area of public governance and explores its various dimensions and components in such detailed way.