Manama, October 10 (BNA) The Information and eGovernment Authority was awarded the COVID-19 Innovation Award at the Smart Cities Summit 2021 for the BeAware Bahrain application, which played a crucial role in helping the Kingdom combat the pandemic. The award was received by the CEO of the Information and e-Government Authority, Muhammad Ali Al-Qaed. The event, which entered its fifth year, began on the 10th of October, under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Eng. Issam bin Abdullah Khalaf. The two-day event, which was held at the Gulf Convention Center, witnessed the participation of 250 representatives from public and private sector entities and international organizations, most notably from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Home).
The award recognizes the application’s effectiveness in supporting frontline workers and making all epidemic-related services available to the public on a single platform. The Leader expressed his appreciation to the Minister and the Organizing Committee of the Summit for the award. He attributed the success of the BeAware Bahrain application to the directives of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who leads the national task force to combat the Corona virus. He also praised the support and cohesion maintained by all stakeholders in the public and private sectors, who helped the Kingdom implement the policies necessary for the success of the BeAware Bahrain project. Al Qaed added that the application is an important step in the journey of digital transformation in Bahrain, which is continuing to face the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Director of GIS at the Information and eGovernment Authority, Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, provided the Minister with a detailed explanation of the Benayat system updates and how to support it during the pandemic. Benayat also provides infrastructure services that cover electricity, water, sewage, and a geo-navigator service that allows property owners to check building requirements and whether road, electricity, water, and sewage services are available at their location.
Sheikha Mai emphasized the system’s role in accelerating construction permit procedures for investment, residential, industrial and commercial projects, including the main services provided to licensed engineering offices such as permit requests, status inquiries, services related to building permits and fees, and more.
Abdullah Ali Al-Jowder, Director of Electronic Services and Application Development at the Information and eGovernment Authority, will participate in a panel discussion on the second day of the event to take a look at the BeAware story, during which he will cover the inception of the application and its development as the Bahrain team. In cooperation with other government agencies. It will also explain how the Information and eGovernment Authority will deal with the challenges posed by the application, and how the Kingdom intends to share its experience at the regional and international levels.
Donia Faisal Sarhan, Director of Change Management and Business Process Reengineering at the Information and eGovernment Authority, will participate in a panel discussion titled Smart Cities Opportunities during and after COVID-19, where she will discuss the benefits of deploying digital solutions and new ICT practices during the pandemic, and how this encourages Bahrain’s cities to become “smarter” and more sustainable as the kingdom returns to normal life.
More than 20 speakers participated in the summit who reviewed the practices of the global transformation of smart cities, the challenges facing countries in transitioning to smart cities, and the best strategies to overcome them. It included 10 discussion sessions discussing smart city initiatives, systems and projects, including lessons learned and plans for the continuous transformation of smart cities in the short and medium term. Topics covered included smart city solutions, future technologies, waste management, community partnerships to monitor the environment, implementing sustainable development goals in cities, the future of sustainable energy, and smart police applications.
The Information and eGovernment Authority also participated in the accompanying exhibition, where it presented several projects, most notably the GIS initiative; The updated version of the national portal bahrain.bh launched in early July. And the main electronic services provided through the portal and other channels.
NS