eVisions Symbolism of the planting of the Union Tree This issue coincides with our overwhelming joy marking the 41st anniversary of the UAE federation; a joy that we see in the eager eyes of our citizens and residents. We stand witness to the wisdom of our early leaders, whose foresight allows us to take pride in the UAE’s achievements in all walks of life. Let us therefore take this opportunity to reflect on the presence of our wise leadership, whose actions go beyond mere words to achieve excellence in all spheres including political, economic, education and social. We also think of all UAE nationals whose love for their homeland is limitless. The anniversary springs forth from the vision of our founding fathers, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and their brethren, the Rulers of the Emirates when they all agreed to establish the federation. From the very beginning, the focus was on the development of the citizen and state, so as to enable the country to be placed amongst the advanced countries of the world. Although this objective seemed a pure fantasy to some people at the time, persistence and determination were behind the bid to build a nation that sought wellbeing and This interaction in the electronic world, which was caused prosperity for its citizens and residents. It became an by one tweet by HH Sheikh Mohammed, clearly shows ongoing process by the leaders who followed with the same that the UAE society has become a knowledge society that firm will, perseverance and sincerity, thereby proving to be a depends for information and communication on the modern worthy successor to our founding fathers. structure of electronic communication and information. At Dubai eGovernment, we feel satisfied with the direction *** in which we are headed, as we continue to transform His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, government services from their traditional model to the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of electronic one. Dubai, recently launched the Union Tree at the same location The success of the UAE federation model has added where our founding fathers planted the seed of our union. to the respect and appreciation of the UAE in international This sublimely symbolic initiative provides our citizens an forums and allowed us to win the race with time to serve opportunity to contribute their national feelings and love to the nation and citizens as symbolized by the planting of the this dear country; built by our forefathers through cohesion Union Tree. and loyalty, leaving us a robust federation with a high quality of life for all UAE citizens. The moment HH Sheikh Mohammed tweeted the Union . Tree initiative, his Twitter account was inundated with positive responses from so many citizens, who responded to the call as proof of their love for their homeland and loyalty to their leadership, resulting in the phrase ‘Union Tree’ finding a place in the vocabulary of social networking sites and search Director-General, engines on the Internet. Dubai eGovernment Department December 2012 - Issue 110 1 Our Vision The vision of Dubai eGovernment is to ease the lives of people and businesses interacting with the government and contribute to establishing Dubai as a leading www.deg.gov.ae economic hub. Dubai eGovernment’s mission is to achieve a virtual government through the provision of high-quality customer focused eServices for individuals, businesses and government departments and to promote eServices adoption through customer management. Dubai eGovernment promotes eServices through www.dubai.ae - the unified official portal for Dubai Government that provides all residents and businesses of the emirate with more than 2000 electronic services. The Official Magazine of e4all is the official magazine of Dubai eGovernment, and helps in creating awareness Dubai eGovernment Department of eServices to all segments of society and spreading an electronic culture for the well- being of all. Editorial Content Issue No. 110 - December 2012 Executive Editor Ahmad Bin Humaidan [email protected] Chief Editor P. 4 Amer Al Hamayda 4 [email protected] eNations under the shadow of the UAE Union Magazine Coordinator Tree Jamal Khalifa Almulla [email protected] English Editor Garth Mitchell [email protected] P. 10 Arabic Editor Mygov.ae..the Yaqdhan Mustafa federal portal for [email protected] customer feedback and suggestions Graphic Designers Fatima Ibrahim Ayesha Al Ansari [email protected] Active population during the daytime 2012 Population by gender mid 2012 P. 11 9 New look for Dubai Contact e4all Population by education status 2011 * Population by marital status 2011 * Statistics Center portal Dubai eGovernment Department dsc.gov.ae Tel: 04-4056274 with mobile services Fax: 04-3532988 * Source: Labour force survey 2011 P.O.Box: 90300 e-mail: [email protected] 13 ... An electronicΓέϮθϨϤϟ΍Ω΍έϵ΍ version can be viewed on www.dubai.ae The articles in this publication reflect only the author’s opinions and not P. 12 necessarily those of the eGovernment or its staff. Doing Business in Republishing of material in this the UAE – 2013 publication is not permitted without attribution of this publication as the source. Global reports UAE ranked 7th globally in labour market efficiency UAE has been ranked 24th out of 144 countries globally The Global Economic Forum has classified the UAE The UAE had joined the innovation and creativity driven economy for the seventh year consecutively among among economies since 2006. As a result it has been ranked ahead the top 23rd world economies based on innovation and of New Zealand, Australia, Italy and Spain. creativity. Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State and Chairperson of According to The Global Competitiveness Report 2012- the Emirates Competitiveness Council said the report is an 13 released by the World Economic Forum in Geneva on authentication from the international community about the Wednesday, the UAE has been ranked 24th out of 144 status of UAE as one of the most advanced and innovative countries globally, jumping three ranks from last year. The countries, thanks to the wise UAE leadership for the UAE’s report evaluates the countries competitiveness along the 2021 vision to make the UAE one of the most competitive 12 pillars corresponding to three main stages of economic countries in the world by 2021. development: Stage 1: Factor Driven; Stage 2: Efficiency She added that the UAE’s competiveness index regarding Driven; and Stage 3: Innovation Driven. the labour market efficiency surged by 21 points to seventh globally, reiterating that the UAE would score better results in the next global competiveness reports. The UAE topped the list of Arab countries and ranked 5th globally in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report for ease of trading across borders. Similarly, it ranked 1st among Arab countries and 17th worldwide on the UN’s recent World Happiness Report and 16th internationally in the IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook. • December 2012 - Issue 110 3 Cover Story The UAE is ranked as the first Arab country in terms of eReadiness, business-friendliness, foreign investment attractiveness, tourism levels and e-travel and more importantly, the first Arab nation to be based on a federal system for 41 years. This is the key to its success and distinction. This union has achieved a deep transition in the lives of UAE citizens. Here, we review the UAE achievements and government electronic presence and how it has, with vision and solid determination been able to achieve: eNations under the shadow of the UAE Union Tree UAE eGovernment Abu Dhabi eGovernment Government.ae Abudhabi.ae This portal represents an official site for the United Embedded in a broad Government reform, Abu Dhabi has Arab Emirates federal government, which comprises of a strong commitment to developing an e-enabled, service- more than fifty federal organizations and ministries. Its oriented government. In its eGovernment vision, Abu Dhabi eServices extend beyond the federal sector to the local Government’s ambition is to become a “high performance government departments and private sector. The portal government delivering world class services to the benefits of has also launched the UAE e-Encyclopedia as the first all its customers”. This vision translates into four focus and comprehensive encyclopedia on the United Arab Emirates. design themes for the eGovernment strategy, i.e. a focus on end-users and efficiency, and a comprehensive and cross- UN eGovernment Survey 2012 government design. The UAE has made a remarkable achievement worldwide The Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC), in the field of eGovernment according to the UN eGovernment which was created as a Committee in October 2005 by Survey 2012. The biennial Survey which was released in Executive Council Decree No. (33), and established as February 2012 is the most comprehensive reference for Centre in 2008 by Law No. (18), owns the IT agenda of the eGovernment programmes in the world. The 2012 edition of Abu Dhabi Government and leads the eGovernment effort the Report focuses on the role of eGovernment in sustainable across entities. Its mandate is to: development. • Supervise the implementation of the eGovernment programme in Abu Dhabi Government entities. • Sponsor initiatives and mature assets and competencies From 99 to 7 in online services that it deems of critical importance for the eGovernment The UAE has leaped to rank 7 on the ‘online service project. index’ in the United Nations eGovernment Survey 2012; up • Propose policies and technology standards for from rank 99 in the 2010 version of the biennial report. This the government and relevant entities to achieve a noteworthy advancement is a rare achievement for a country comprehensive quality in reaching the highest levels of since the UN started releasing the eGovernment Surveys in efficiency, confidentiality and safety in the eGovernment 2003.