ICDL Commends Abu Dhabi Government’s ‘e-Citizen’ Initiative for Winning Award from ‘World Summit on the Information Society 2014’

Achievement consolidates Abu Dhabi’s leading position in global ICT arena
UAE, June 17, 2014 – ICDL GCC Foundation, an organization that promotes digital skills and cyber safety across the Gulf region and Iraq, has extended its greetings of congratulations to the Government of Abu Dhabi’s Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) for winning first place in the ‘Best Application of Information Technology (IT) and e-Learning’ category of the recently concluded World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The award was given in recognition of ADSIC’s successful implementation of the emirate’s ‘e-Citizen’ program—an initiative that aims to position Abu Dhabi as one of the best governments in the world. The ‘e-Citizen’ program falls in line with the vision of His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE and with the directions of His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi. Jamil Ezzo, Director General of ICDL GCC Foundation, relayed his greetings to ADSIC and lauded them for their win, which consolidates Abu Dhabi’s leading position in the global ICT arena.

According to Ezzo, Abu Dhabi’s ‘e-Citizen’ initiative is based on an ICDL program that was developed by the European Computer Driving License Foundation (ECDL) and represents strategic importance in the continuing move to fill the global digital gap by introducing, teaching and familiarizing IT literacy across all levels of society. The program provide Abu Dhabi residents with basic computer and internet skills that will enable them to optimally benefit from the UAE’s range of offered ‘e-Services,’ which is considered as one of the most prominent models of transformation into an integrated knowledge-based economy.
ICDL GCC Foundation and ADSIC signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) in 2011 that allowed ICDL to implement the ‘E-Citizen’ program across the UAE capital on a ‘Free of Charge’ basis. The landmark agreement aims to teach local residents on how to use and access basic ‘e-Services’ offerings like e-government, e-banking, job search websites, social media and others. The program also allows training and improving their e-participation skills and equipping them with the necessary tools needed in using computers and the internet efficiently–allowing easy access to various information resources online.
Furthermore, the strong partnership between ICDL and ADSIC has also resulted in the successful launch of various awareness programs, particularly targeting women and the youth segments, that seek to increase more awareness on the many benefits and advantages to be gained in learning digital skills and overcoming the challenges presented in the internet world.

About ICDL:
The International Computer Driving License (ICDL) is a global computer literacy initiative developed to provide knowledge about Information Technology (IT) and enhance competence of using personal computers and common computer applications for all the citizens of the world. The ICDL GCC Foundation is the sole body to implement and disseminate the program across the GCC States and Iraq with the support of leading educational institutions and accredited bodies. The Foundation mission is to enable proficient use of Information and Communications Technology that empowers individuals, organizations and society, through the development, promotion and delivery of quality certification programs around the world.

Demand for Leadership training rose 15 % in first quarter of 2014, compared to same period last year

More UAE businesses focusing on developing their leaders from inside instead of exporting from overseas says International House Dubai
Dubai, UAE, 8 June 2014: International House Dubai (IH Dubai), a leading institution offering practical skills-based courses with international accreditation, has said that demand for leadership training in the UAE has risen 15 percent in the first quarter of 2014, compared to the corresponding period of 2013, thanks to the rebound in UAE economy.

“There is a significantly high demand for leadership and management training amongst UAE businesses across different industries,” says Clair Hattle, Director, IH Dubai. “UAE businesses are more challenging to training companies and centres to develop up to date programmes specifically tailored to boost the leaders practically and intellectually.”
IH Dubai believes that owning proven skills and practices in leadership helps in acquiring soft competencies in decision making, coaching, issues management, mentorship and inspiration and many other independent areas.
Hattle added: “The success of the leadership and management training disciplines in the UAE can be attributed to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai who has injected a culture of excellence and competence in the public and private sectors, thus setting a customized practice for these two very similar yet delicately different disciplines.”
“Producing competent management leaders in the private sector is crucial. Exporting executives to run businesses might not be the right strategy as leveraging on the current workforce of any entity is better than getting new executives from overseas who would not be aware of the market context,” emphasised Hattle.
Hattle said: “We pride ourselves as a certified centre for the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), the UK’s largest management body, combining industry-leading qualifications and specialist member services.”
ILM is founded on the principle that skilled managers and leaders hold the key to creating productive workforce that delivers organisational and economic success. Their qualifications and membership services combine to drive up the standards of leadership and management and improve individual and team performance. 
Hattle said: “Last year 90,000 people enhanced their leadership and management skills with an ILM qualification, while over 30,000 ambitious management professionals secured increased professional recognition and support through ILM membership.”
She added: “We specialise in providing lifelong learning and vocational courses to a large cross section of the UAE community, including leaderships in entities and we believe that this sector will be more maturing in the run-up to EXPO 2020 to meet the needs of local private businesses for competent leaders.”
IH Dubai has been in existence in Dubai for the past 10 years. It is part of IHWO which has been established for 61 years as a network of institutions worldwide that is committed to implementing high quality standards in education and training.
Hattle concluded: “Developing leadership characteristics hold the key for UAE businesses’ competencies.”