Group+3A

== = ictQATAR - Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology = = By: Alyssa Zickenberg, Mia Myklebust, Leila Seed, Aki Franklin =

=﻿Background Information - Alyssa Zickenberg =

=
The ictQATAR is the Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology of Qatar. It is Qatar’s independent telecommunications regulator and the Government’s technology advocate and facilitator. It was established in 2004 by the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, to accelerate the transformation of Qatar into an information-based society. ictQATAR has a diverse and talented international team of nearly 200 people dedicated to connecting people to the technologies that can enrich their lives. ictQATAR is led by Secretary General Dr. Hessa Sultan Al-Jaber (Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology [ictQATAR], 2010). ======

=
According to Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology (2010) the vision of the ictQATAR is “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) improves how we live and work in countless ways. The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology - ictQATAR - helps deliver on that promise for the people of Qatar. In all that we do, ictQATAR connects people to the technologies that enrich their lives, drive economic development and inspire confidence in the future. ictQATAR is leading the strategic thinking and implementation of ICT initiatives in government, market development and knowledge management, education, health, e-inclusion, and cyber security.” ======

=
According to ictQATAR (2010), Promise of e campaign aims to explain to the public the positive impact technology has on everyday life and the potential it holds for the future. It shows how technology improves lives across many sectors, including health, education, business and communications; working to make Qatar a truly connected nation that is prepared to thrive in the 21st century. The council has implemented initiatives and programs through their e-promise in the areas of e-education, e-health, e-inclusion, cyber safety and e-government. Commenting on the powerful future of these initiatives Creative Commons CEO Joichi Ito said, "I am very excited by the opportunity to collaborate with ictQATAR in this groundbreaking initiative. Embracing Digital Openness and adopting Creative Commons will greatly accelerate the development and global promotion of Arabic content and help foster sharing and increasing collaboration globally and I am very happy that Qatar is taking initiative in this effort” (ictQATAR, 2010). ======

=
The ictQATAR is working to make their country and voices a part of the global environment by changing the way their education, business, health care and government integrate and utilize technology in today’s global world and economy. Through education, initiatives, and working to bring technology openness to all sectors of their society Qatar is becoming increasingly globalized and a leader in the 21st century by making institutions more efficient, connected, and compatible. ======

ictQATAR. (2010). Retrived November 22, 2010, from []

=﻿Cyber Safety Campaign - Leila Seed =

IctQATAR has recently launched a cyber safety campaign in an effort to increase awareness about the importance of parental involvement in a child’s online safety. According to ictQATAR (2010), the campaign’s slogan “Keep Them Safe, Keep Them Curious” encourages youth to take full advantage of everything that is available on the Internet, but reminds them to be safe while doing so. IctQATAR (2010) said that the creation of the website “SafeSpace.ga,” will further support the safety campaign by providing worthwhile resources on cyber safety. Saif and Saqr are cartoon characters developed to guide Internet users through the website and lessen a child’s fear about the topic of cyber safety.

Q-CERT, which is sponsored by ictQATAR, takes on the responsibility of ensuring that Qatar’s citizens are aware of online threats. According to ITU (2009), one way that Q-CERT intends to increase awareness is by getting schools involved in cyber safety. Q-CERT was able to get students involved using an art competition, which asked the children to draw their visionary understanding of online cyber threats. ITU (2009) said that the goal of the competition was to inspire students to research the topic of cyber safety so they could use their findings in their drawings.

In order to design educational programs and websites that provide lessons and tips about how to be safe on the Internet, Golden (2007) said that Q-CERT in cooperation with ictQATAR and Microsoft agreed upon a Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership to improve “the use of information and communication technology in Qatar.” According to Golden (2007), Dr. Hessa Al-jaber said, “This Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership is part of our goals to connect Qatari people to technologies that will enrich their lives, strengthen our economy and create better opportunities for our young people to realize their full potentials. With valuable support from Microsoft, we will make positive steps towards becoming a truly digital society."

= ﻿ E-Government - Aki Franklin =

ictQatar has an ambitious e-Government program designed with three main objectives. ictQatar (2010) states their objectives are “to improve government service to users, increase internal government efficiency, and to improve government transparency”.

An element of ictQatar to improve government service to users is an online government-wide portal called Hukoomi. According to Hukoomi (2010), its goal is to create a modern, super-efficient public sector. Through Hukoomi, residents of Qatar can easily perform a variety of tasks, such as obtaining health insurance, paying the water bill, or renewing one’s driver’s license. Hukoomi also provides legal services from obtaining building permits to licensing a new business. This element of Qatar’s iGov will provide users with access to 48 different government ministries, along with all the information and benefits from each ministry.

In order to increase internal government efficiency, ictQatar (2010) says they will have Qatar’s government agencies directly linked together over a secure communications platform, allowing for improved data sharing and enhanced security for e-services. This platform will be especially helpful for the health and education sectors, allowing information to be easily transferred between hospitals and doctors over a secure platform to keep patient confidentiality. Schools will also be better connected to each other and to parents of students.

The final objective of Qatar’s (2010) iGov is to help citizens participate in decision-making processes and better understand their rights, freedoms, and responsibilities. People will be able to learn about what the government is doing such as changes being made in the legislature, environmental protection, and many other government-offered services.

This e-Government system will be very helpful to the citizens of Qatar and help make the government run more smoothly. This program has already made great leaps since its inception in 2006, and will continue to make advances over the next few years.

= ﻿ "Key Events" - Mia Myklebust = IctQATAR has many different speakers and forums made to educate and inform the people of Qatar. When researching the Information and Communicative Technology I found several that seemed interesting and beneficial to furthering Qatar toward becoming an information based society. The first is “Mudawanat: All About Blogging”, the forum took place on December 12, 2009 at the Sharq Village and Spa (2010). It was comprised of several speakers, including a keynote, interactive workshops and a panel discussion. There were blogging experts in attendance, both regional and international, who led the forum and contributed valuable information. The keynote speaker was Jeremiah Owyang, a young fresh face in the social media scene. Owyang describes his profession as being a “Web Strategist”, and has been operating his blog since 1996 (2010). He is a partner of Altimeter Group where he provides social media advice and produces industry reports. Altimeter Group is a social media research and advisory firm.

Another event was the Digital Communications Literacy Forum 2010. At this forum ictQATAR combined forces with the International Institute of Communications (IIC) to present a number of poignant topics and effective speakers to the people of Qatar (2010). Industry initiatives in digital communications literacy, the development of social and cultural aims, the protection of minors from inappropriate material, and the role of formal learning were all discussed in the forum. The goal was to “…to develop a clear definition of digital communications literacy and define its importance in areas such as business, culture, education and creativity” (2010).

There have been many other important and progressive events held in Qatar that have assisted ictQATAR in accomplishing its overarching goal. These two are good examples of how ictQATAR has taken the initiative to really catalyze the progress of Qatar.

Jeremiah Owyang

=References =

1. ictQATAR. (2010). //ictQATAR Encourages Youth to Take Control of// //their Privacy Online//. Cyber Safety Campaign. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from http://www.ict.gov.qa/output/page1517.asp. -Cyber Safety Campaign

2. Golden, L. L. (2007, April 25). ictQATAR and Microsoft to make ICT an integral part of Qatar’s Society. //AMEinfo//. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from http://www.ameinfo.com/117998.html. -Cyber Safety Campaign

3. ictQATAR. (2009). WTISD 2009: //Worldwide Initiatives//. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from http://www.itu.int/wtisd/2009/initiatives.html. -Cyber Safety Campaign

4. ictQATAR. (2010). Retrived November 22, 2010, from http://www.ict.gov.qa/output/Page2.asp

5. ictQATAR. (2010) //Any Time Day or Night, Government is a Click Away//. E-Government. Retrieved November 21, 2010, from http://www.ict.gov.qa/output/page30.asp. -E-Government 6. Key Events. (2010, November 10). ictQATAR (article 21 and 22). Retrieved November 16, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IctQATAR

7. ictQATAR About Us. (2010). Retrieved November 17, 2010, from ictQATAR website: http://www.ict.gov.qa/output/

Page9.asp

8. Owyang, J. (2010, October 5). About [Web log post]. Retrieved from Web Strategy: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/about/


 * [[image:i/c.gif width="10" height="21"]] ||  || [[image:i/c.gif width="23" height="21"]] ||> Draft Saved at 1:00 pm || [[image:i/c.gif width="10" height="21"]] ||


 * ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || Normal ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || Link || File || Widget || Table ||   ||   ||   ||   || Preview || Continue Editing || Cancel ||   || Save ||   ||   ||   ||

code mber 10). ictQATAR (article 21 and 22). Retrieved November 16, 2010, from code

code http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IctQATAR code