International Experts representing 17 nations raised a number of suggestions to develop the UN eGovernment Index during a workshop held in Bahrain by the eGovernment Authority (eGA) over a two-days' workshop between 6th and 7th November, 2012.
The participants agreed that the workshop was a great opportunity to gather with UN organizations' experts, especially that all indicators adopted by the UN were discussed among different countries representing every region.

They also stressed on the importance to continue conducting such meetings due to its significant impact.

Participants also discussed ways of finding indicators that measure the extent of development at a state level and indicators which measure the differences between countries.

The process was carried out by highlighting the need of developing the current standards and the adopting of new factors that contribute in displaying nation efforts in developing their programmes in this field.

"We are very proud to host such an elite event of international experts who gathered together to discuss the UN eGovernment Indexes, and develop it with new concepts and visions in accordance to the UN standards that are aligned with the latest trends in the ICT field," stated eGovernment Authority CEO Mr. Mohammed Al Qaed.

"The workshop focused on a number of important topics related to developing the UN indexes in the eGovernment field, and they will be shared with the UNDESA by the beginning of next December," he added.

The second-day workshop sessions continued by emphasising eParticipation where Dr. Yeonwoo Lee, Director of Global Planning and Consulting Department Global Cooperation Division National Information Society Agency from South Korea, focused on the main findings of 2012 report and highlighting Korean experience in this field.

Prof. Kim Andreasson, Managing Director of DAKA Advisory and an expert in the UN eGovernment Surveys, spoke about the eService Index and his previous experience in the eGovernment measures which are based on transparency and accountability indicators. Prof. Andreasson stressed on the importance of developing the rankings in the light of a new eGovernment. He also covered other topics such as environment, mobility and capacity building.

Workshop attendees also agreed that the suggestions raised on developing the UN eGovernment Indexes will affect the rankings of countries and more accurately reflect on the commitment of these countries to develop their programmes and policies according to the latest practices.

"During the workshop, our main focus was on how to rephrase the standards of the UN eGovernment Index so that it covers both the service receiver and beneficiary, keeping in mind eParticipation, transparency, efficiency, customers feedback, and accessibility such as open data," stated Dr. Ali Al Soufi, Assistant Professor from the University of Bahrain and an expert in the Enterprise Architecture.

The workshop was attended by international eGovernment experts from numerous countries such as Korea, Slovenia, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Russia, Estonia, Turkey, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar. Attendance also included experts from the UN Global eGovernment Readiness Report; International Telecommunication Union; representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as international experts in the area of global indexes.