Manama - Bahrain: The CEO of the eGovernment Authority, Mr. Mohammed Ali Al Qaed stated: “Due to the numerous requests we have received from the potential participants and at the same time reinforce the quantity and quality of the eProjects, we have decided to extend the deadline of the Award registration”. Mr Al Qaed added that the participation numbers have risen this year which reflects the expansion of various eProducts in different fields.

As for the Steering Committee preparations for the award, Mr. Al Qaed pointed out that the evaluation criteria for all categories have been set, in addition to the Jury Committee selection criteria that comes in line with the international standards with a full collaboration with the official Knowledge partner of the award (Grant Thornton) Company, the leading consulting firm in Finance and Business.

Moreover, Mr. Al Qaed confirmed that the Steering Committee of eGovernment Excellence Award 2011 is keen to select the award’s Jury Committee members from local, regional and international acclaimed experts whom are well recognized in the fields of Information and Communication Technology; the names of the Jury Committee members are to be announced as soon the registration period is over.

Mr. Al Qaed urges all entities, organizations, societies and individuals to register and participate in the eGovernment Excellence Award 2011 before the end of the registration deadline (29th April 2011).

The award consists of 11 categories, divided into three sectors: (Government Sector), (Multi Sector), and (Individuals Sector).

The Government sector includes 6 categories: (Best eContent, Best eService, Best eMaturity, Best eProject, eEconomy and eEducation).

The Multi Sector contains 4 categories: (Best ICT Solutions Provider, Best eEconomy and eEducation and eNGO the Non Government Organizations). The Individuals category section contains 2 sectors: (eCitizen and Best eConcept).

The Multi Sector of this year opens the floor for both the private and public sectors to compete in the eEconomy and eEducation categories, as well as for the Non Government Organizations in the Best eNGOs category.

Mr. Al Qaed concluded that the winning eProjects in the eGovernment Excellence Award 2011 will be nominated to represent Kingdom of Bahrain in the GCC eGovernment Excellence Award to be held by the end of this year.

The eGovernment Excellence Award 2011 is organized 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. It is considered as one of the most significant initiatives aiming at encouraging individuals and organizations to enhance the innovation element in their eProducts. This, in turn, enhances eAccessibility, increases technology usability to access information and services, reinforce Bahrain’s and other GCC’s position amongst other advanced nations in eGovernment field and enhances their global ranking.

For further information on the eGovernment Excellence Award 2011 or for participation, please visit the award official website www.egovaward.bh or call 80008001