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.