The first Harvard-certificated e-Government executive program in the Arab world at Dubai School of Government. dsg

Dubai , United Arab Emirates - The Dubai School of Government will host a forum entitled “Good Governance for development in Arab countries”. The forum which will take place next week will be run in co-operation with Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and will focus on E-Government and the need to achieve public sector reform goals.

The forum which will be held on 12-13 September 2005 will include senior government officials and decision makers from a number of different Arab countries. Two delegates will represent each country, one for the e-Government aspect and the other representing the overall reform in the public sector.

The forum will allow Arab countries the opportunity to provide an overview of their overall e-Government initiatives with a focus on how E-Government initiatives can contribute to public sector reform.

This forum is part of the “Good Governance for development initiative, which is supported by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development OECD and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The initiative was launched at a meeting of Arab Ministers hosted by Jordan on 6th-7th February 2005, in the presence of King Abdullah II, Donald Johnston, Secretary General, OECD, and Mrs. Rima Khalaf Heinadi, Assistant Secretary General, UNDP.

The overall “Good Governance for Development” initiative has adopted six key components toward reform and development. Each component will be led by one Arab country who will manage the meetings and knowledge sharing for that component. Dubai will represent the United Arab Emirates under the E-Government and Administrative Simplification theme. The other five components, which will be represented by other Arab countries during the forum, will be: Civil Service and Integrity; Governance of Public Finance and Public Service Delivery; Public Private Partnership and Regulatory Reform and finally, Civil Society and Media was chosen to represent the United Arab Emirates in the aspect of E-Government and the simplification of procedures. Dubai school of Government A was then selected to organize and manage the forum.

The Dubai School of Government is the first research and teaching institute in the region to focus on the administration of public sector. It was established in 2004 under the directions of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and in cooperation with distinctive international schools such as the John F. Kennedy School for Government Administration at Harvard University. The Dubai School of Government also offers various academic programs and supports the exchange of views and opinions on general government policies to further develop the skills of the leaders and decision makers in the region.