ITA organises a two-day workshop on eContent

Information Technology Authority’s (ITA) organised a two-day workshop 15-16th December 2008, for the pubic sector representatives on eContent and the sessions were delivered by Mr. Jak Boumans, Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors - World Summit Award. Mr. Boumans also met with H.E. Mohammed Nasser Al Khasibi, Chairman of ITA and exchanged his views and suggestions for quality eContent from the Sultanate.

The World Summit Award is instituted as part of the initiatives under the World Summit for Information Society as a means to recognise creativity in digital content and enhance the quality of electronic contents and widen its reach for the common benefit of the world society as a whole.

eContent is defined as digital content digital content that could be delivered through different media including online and offline modes. Mr. Boumans explained latest trends in Trends and quoted that due to advancements in Information and Communication Technologies, the production and supply chains for digital content has changed to include user involvement and user-generated interactive contents. With this new model in mind, it is important to identify good digital content, recognise its excellence and present this as a role model for solutions in specific applications.

The digital revolution in information and communication technologies has created the platform for a free flow of information, ideas and knowledge across the globe. The purpose of the World Summit on the Information Society is to ensure that these benefits are accessible to all while promoting specific advantages in areas such as e-strategies, e-commerce, e-governance, e-health, education, literacy, cultural diversity, gender equality, sustainable development and environmental protection.

For this the World Summit Award (WSA) has been instituted since 2003 as a Global initiative to promote excellence in e-Content and the recent 2007 WSA – eInclusion category award was presented to the Higher Education Admission Centre of Oman. The WSA is held once every two years and in 8 different categories namely eGovernment, eHealth, eBusiness, eInclusion, eLearning, eEntertainment, eCulture and eScience. The award recognises projects that bridge the digital divide using innovative technology solutions.

This workshop is held as part of the efforts made by the ITA to build capacity within the government sector and enable them to provide quality e-content to the public in a e-inclusive manner. The second day of the workshop will look at the criteria involved in the selection of winning entries and understand the process of nomination and national level evaluation. ITA is encouraging entries from Oman into the WSA, which directs the focus of the UN on global efforts to support and develop high-quality e-Contents and innovative ICT applications. The participation of Oman in the WSA also provides a network for the selection and promotion of best practices to build up content industry world wide.