Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain - Under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology; the organizing committee of the sixth eGovernment Excellence Award 2013 has announced that the nomination period has begun and will continue till next February 21st this year. It is opened to all innovative participants - individuals, government and private sectors as well as NGO’s.

The eGovernment Authority strongly believes in encouraging technological initiatives which comply with the recent practices in this field, creating a competitive climate to ensure that efficient high-quality services are provided for Bahrainis and expatriates,” stated eGovernment Authority CEO Mr. Mohammed Ali Al Qaed.

He also noted that the eGovernment Excellence Award, in its sixth version, does not aim to only select the winning projects, however, it will also contribute in developing the disqualified projects by presenting suggestions of progress and enlighten participants to take into consideration the evaluation committee’s feedback.

The award comes as part of the eGovernment’s program to raise the level of awareness among the general public - by setting-up specialized programs for awards and innovative activities, working towards enhancing Bahrain’s image as a distinguished destination to boost several sectors and strongly support ambitious and meaningful initiatives in the ICT field.

As part of the award organizing committee’s firm belief in the importance of effective engagement of a significant number entities, the committee has announced to facilitate formalities pertaining to participation by asking simple questions in relation to the subject matter of the participation and flip charts. The committee stated that the jury’s evaluation mechanism and criteria are enhanced through field visits and presentations intended for some of the award’s categories.

The disqualified participants will benefit from the committee’s final report in which remarks and instructions of the committee members will be given to assist them in developing and improving their registered projects. The committee is also keen to consider each submitted project, ensuring that the project fulfills the internationally and locally established judging standards for each category, along with the project’s feasibility.

The selected winners will be announced during the opening of Bahrain International eGovernment Forum 2013 which is to be held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed, who will be honoring the winning participations.

The registered projects will be evaluated and announced by a jury comprising international and local ICT specialists who have proven professional expertise in the ICT and eGovernment domain.

This year's awarding ceremony consists of ten categories divided into three sectors – Government, Multi-Sector and Individuals. The Government Sector includes four categories; Best eContent, Best eService, eMaturity and Best eProject. The Multi-Sector also includes four categories; Best ICT Solutions Provider, eEconomy, eEducation, eNGO. The Individuals' category includes two - eCitizen and Best eConcept.

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.

For more information on the eGovernment Excellence Award 2013 or for participation; visit the eGovernment Excellence Award official website: www.egovaward.bh