Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 07 December, 2014: 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 eighth eGovernment Excellence Award 2015 has announced that the nominations period has begun and will continue till January 25th, 2015 for all who wish to participate.

The award aims to enhance the Kingdom’s image as a distinguished destination that boosts initiatives in the field of Information and Communication Technology, highlighting the remarkable innovations that contribute to raising global competitiveness through the development of innovative ICT solutions and strengthening the infrastructure of ICT all in line with the eGovernment Authority’s Strategy.

The eGovernment Authority has reactivated the website www.egovaward.bh for all who wish to nominate their projects; the website will help identify the categories, along with the necessary information about the submission process.

In this regard, Dr. Khalid Ahmed Al Mutawa, Director of Business Systems and Information Technology at the eGovernment Authority, stated, "The Information and Communications Technology sector have witnessed changes and rapid developments over the past year. The Kingdom has become an environment that is characterized by productivity and development in the field of Information and Communication Technology, according to international standards. During this year, we've personally seen many achievements made by the public as well as the private sectors which are in line with developing Bahrain as a country and promoting it.”

“Due to the growth of the sector, we have expected a high level of competition this year due to the number of projects participated in previous award. The eGovernment Excellence Award plays a vital role in opening doors for entrepreneurs in the field of technology, which is aligned with eGA's program,” added Dr. Al Mutawa.

As part of the award preparations, the Organizing Committee has organized workshops in order to provide an overview of the standards required to make the participants eligible to enter the competition. The participants will later benefit from the feedback given by the Committee to develop their future projects, especially since the jury encompasses local as well as international experts.

The selected winners will be announced during the official opening of Bahrain International eGovernment Business Forum 2015, where His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communications Technology will honor the winners.

This year's awarding ceremony consists of three sectors – Government, Multi-Sector and Individuals. The Government sector is divided into four categories; Best eContent, Best eService, Best eProject and eParticipation. The Multi-Sector includes four categories; Best Application for Smart Devices, eEntrepreneur, eEconomy and eNGO. The Individuals sector includes two categories; Best eConcept and eCitizen.

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 2015 or for participation; visit the eGovernment Excellence Award official website: www.egovaward.bh or contact the National Contact Center 80008001, or through the National Suggestions and Complaints System bahrain.bh/tawasul, or via email: egovaward@ega.gov.bh.