The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has launched a free online course on “e-Participation” on the Smart Government Virtual Academy website. https://training.government.ae/index.php?lang=AR ,Which it aimed at active the  e-participation in the community and encouraging individuals to participate in the policy-making, which supports the UN Online Services Index (OSI) as well as the national agenda indicators.

On this subject, H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, said: ‘Most countries in the world today call for activating e-participation, due to its key role in building the countries’ strategies, setting future plans and achieving sustainable development. The UAE, under the directives or our wise leadership, has given great importance to e-participation, as it engages the UAE community with all its segments in the decision-making process. E-participation allows UAE citizens and residents to contribute in the development of future plans and strategies, through providing their opinions and suggestions using online e-participation channels adopted and integrated in the government and federal entities websites as well as on the trusted social media channels.’

H.E. Al Mansoori indicated that the UAE Government strives to provide all the services that spread happiness among all member of the community, and to reach this goal, the public’s views must be heard and understood. He said: “Modern technologies and ICT revolution have facilitated communication between the citizens and decision-makers. Thus, TRA has launched many initiatives that support e-participation, including training courses, in order to introduce all members of community of various levels and interests to its importance, as well as the way to use it, for effective contribution in making better decisions. This would accelerate the process of sustainable development and contribute to the achievement of the National Agenda and the UAE Vision 2021.”

The e-participation course will address the concept and tools of e-participation, and the new conceptual framework for e-participation from the UN perspective. The audience will be able to learn about e-participation supervision in the UAE, how public administrations deal with the social media and social communication, and the best way to engage various social groups such as youth, people of determination and senior citizens in the process. Moreover, it addresses the most pillars of the e-participation strategy, and content management. The course is now open for registration for any UAE citizen or resident, free of charge.

The UAE has achieved great progress in e-participation, ranking sixth globally, ahead of Taiwan and Finland, according to IAC International Digital Government Rankings Report published by the Institute of Digital Government at Waseda University in Japan.

The UAE has a comprehensive e-participation platform (sharik.ae) which contains numerous e-participation channels such as consultations, blogs, Feedback and suggestions, Forum, innovative idea, polls and social media channels.