The nominations period for the eighth eGovernment Excellence Award 2015 has begun and will continue till January 25, according to the awards’ organising committee.

The awards are aimed at enhancing the kingdom’s image as a distinguished destination that boosts initiatives in the field of information and communication technology, highlighting the innovations that contribute to raising global competitiveness through the development of innovative ICT solutions and strengthening the infrastructure of ICT all in line with the eGovernment Authority’s strategy.

The eGA has reactivated the website ‘www.egaoaward.bh’ for those who wish to nominate their projects, said a statement.

The website will help identify the categories, along with necessary information about the submission process, it said.

Dr Khalid Ahmed Al Mutawa, director of Business Systems and Information Technology at the eGA, said: "The ICT sector have witnessed changes and rapid developments over the past year. The kingdom has become an environment that is characterised by productivity and development in the field of Information and Communication Technology, according to international standards.

“During this year, we've personally seen many achievements made by the public as well as the private sectors which are in line with developing Bahrain as a country and promoting it.”

“Due to the growth of the sector, we have expected a high level of competition this year due to the number of projects participated in previous award. The eGovernment Excellence Award plays a vital role in opening doors for entrepreneurs in the field of technology, which is aligned with eGA's program,” said Dr Al Mutawa.

As part of the award preparations, the Organizing Committee has organised workshops in order to provide an overview of the standards required to make the participants eligible to enter the competition.

The participants will later benefit from the feedback given by the committee to develop their future projects, especially since the jury encompasses local as well as international experts.

The selected winners will be announced during the official opening of Bahrain International eGovernment Business Forum 2015, which will run from March 9 to 12.

The awards will include three sectors - government, multi-sector and individuals.

The Government sector is divided into four categories - Best eContent, Best eService, Best eProject and eParticipation; the multi-sector includes four categories - Best Application for Smart Devices, eEntrepreneur, eEconomy and eNGO; and the Individuals sector includes two categories - Best eConcept and eCitizen.

The eCitizen selection will be decided based on a citizen’s effective participation by the highest number and volume of transactions conducted on the eGovernment portal during the last year. - TradeArabia News Service