Ministers and top senior officials enriched the discussion by sharing their insights during the two-day workshops conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, 25 to 26 June 2013 at Bahrain International Circuit.
First Vice-Minister, Ministry of Public Administration, Republic of Korea Park Chan Woo, and Vice Minister of ICT, Colombia Maria Isabel Mejia Jaramillo, highlighted a roadmap for governments towards “Promoting Collaborative e-Governance through innovation and ICTs” and reflected on their countries’ experiences in building capacities to support and develop government work. Similarly, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, Republic of Korea Lee Suk-Joon, showcased the “Seoul Metropolitan Government” experience – winner of 2013 UNPSA – as an example in fostering participation in public policy decision.
In the same context, other Minsters and senior officials demonstrated national experiences on how to utilize the innovations in the least developed countries. During the workshop titled “Transferring Innovations for Improved Public Service Delivery in Least Developed Countries (LDC)” both Minister of State Administration, Timor-Leste Jorge Da Conceicao Teme and, Uganda’s Minister of State for Public Service Sezi Prisca Mbaguta confirmed the benefits their counties gained from the experiences of leading countries in public service which have significantly contributed towards improving the services offered to citizens. In turn, Honorable Minister, Kingdom of Lesotho Dr. Motloheloa Phooko, shed lights on important excellence tips to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through the development of public service systems and entities.
Among the attendees of the workshops were a group of prominent leaders of entrepreneurship and senior executives including Shaikh Ebrahim bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairman of Board of Trustees of Arab Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship and Investment Training, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Dr. Hashim S. Hussein, Head of United Nations Industrial Development Organization – Investment and Technology Promotion Office (UNIDO-ITPO), H.E. Shaikh Abdullah Bin Rashid Al Khalifa the Governor of the Southern Governorate, Dr. Zakaria Hijris, Chairman of MENA Investment Centre Board of Trustees and Dr. Adel Khalifa Al Zayani, Director General Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment & Wildlife. They all participated along with others in the fifth workshop titled “Creating on Enabling Environment for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development through Innovation and e-Government organized by UNIDO/ARCEIT.
It is worth mentioning that final recommendations and observations made by participant throughout the course of the various workshops were submitted to the organizers by the end of yesterday, Wednesday 26th of June 2013.