Digitalising the future of Bahrain

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) held an introductory workshop to enhance collaboration between government entities and raise their awareness of the most advanced technologies available to them.

The event focused on areas experiencing significant innovation and technological advancements, such as security, health, education, traffic, labor, and sustainable development. These efforts are in line with digital transformation initiatives of the Government Plan (2023-2026).

iGA Chief Executive, His Excellency Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, started the workshop, welcoming the attendees and highlighting the importance of such programs, which provide opportunities to share knowledge and experience, and to stay abreast of the latest ICT innovations.

He provided an overview of the strategic objectives followed by the Directorate of Innovation and Advanced Technologies, which were introduced recently by Royal Decree No. (84) of 2023, in line with the senior leadership’s directives to adopt advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence in government operations to enhance the quality of services.

Al Qaed praised H.E. Gen. Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communication Technology (MCICT) for his support of the Kingdom’s digital transformation.

Technical challenge

He highlighted the role of the Directorate of Innovation and Advanced Technologies in fostering a digitally advanced culture by tackling technical challenges on both the international and regional stages, engaging with research centers, and collaborating with major corporations to deploy solutions that benefit governmental sectors.

He thanked the concerned team for its pursuit of these strategic objectives. iGA Director of Innovation and Advanced Technologies, Latifa Al Abbasi, discussed mechanism for implementing various initiatives, including evaluation criteria for idea submissions and the exploration of appropriate options for their execution.

The workshop’s main goals include knowledge exchange and raising awareness about developments contributing to the evolution of various sectors, as well as the streamlining of government procedures for citizens, residents, and visitors to the Kingdom.

Main themes

The workshop’s main themes included the process of studying and implementing innovations, starting from understanding user needs and expected challenges to finding suitable solutions, along with the creation and evaluation of both simple and complex prototypes ahead of final implementation.

It also focused on the adoption of advanced technologies in government, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, virtual reality (VR), the Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics. In attendance were senior officials from government entities, including the Ministry of Sustainable Development; the Ministry of Health; the General Directorate of Traffic; government hospitals; the Higher Education Council; the National Health Regulatory Authority; the Quality Assurance Authority for Education and Training; the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourism; the Ministry of Labour; the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture; and the Ministry of Education.