The Abu Dhabi Government has completed the events and activities of its ‘Digital Month’ initiative, which was launched in March 2020 with the participation of more than 45 government entities in the emirate.
The ‘Digital Month’ initiative reflects the ambitious vision of the UAE’s leadership to use Information Technology to serve the community and advance government services.
The initiative has yielded impressive results, with a dramatic 94% jump in switching to digital services across Abu Dhabi, a rise of 83% in online transactions, and an increase of 25% in the total number of visits to digital channels.
Today, government entities provide more than 1,000 services across various digital channels, through which it completed more than 8 million transactions during the final quarter of last year. Digital transformation provides added value at multiple levels, as it saves more than 300,000 days of work for government employees and 16 million customers visits.
One of the objectives of the initiative is to help the public save time and effort by enabling the completion of their transactions remotely via digital channels. Accordingly, switching to digital services registered a rise of 19% to 94% during the ‘Digital Month’ from 75% in the previous month.
Digital channels recorded 13,738,985 visits during ‘Digital Month’, compared to 10,966,912 visits in the previous month. The number of online transactions also increased to 1,089,275 from 620,557.
The initiative was launched under the supervision of the Higher Committee of Digital Government, in the course of its efforts to implement a governance framework across the Abu Dhabi Government and make a fundamental change in the concept of government services, moving towards a digital future.
The ‘Digital Month’ initiative’s outcomes reflect a rise in community awareness about the benefits of digital government services and the extent to which the public will benefit from them, enabling everyone to support the objectives of the Abu Dhabi Vision.
Speaking on the occasion, His Excellency Ali Rashid Al Ketbi, Chairman of the Department of Government Support in Abu Dhabi, expressed his happiness at the impressive outcomes of the ‘Digital Month’ initiative, which highlight the successes that government entities in Abu Dhabi have achieved in digital transformation, as well as their readiness to keep pace with future requirements.
H.E. Al Ketbi said: “This initiative reflects the commitment of all government entities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to offer cooperation and make all possible efforts to improve the various aspects of the lives of both citizens and residents. This initiative aims to raise community awareness about the benefits of digital government services and advise the public to take advantage of the digital services system, enabling them to contribute to supporting the objectives of the Abu Dhabi Vision.”
H.E. Al Ketbi explained that the initiative contributes to enhancing the efforts made by the Abu Dhabi Government over the past years to promote a digital future in the emirate, stressing that the initiative will help make Abu Dhabi a better place for living, investing, and doing business.
The ‘Digital Month’ is a unique initiative that sheds light on the benefits that both citizens and residents who rely more on digital services can obtain, instead of visiting a variety of government departments and entities to complete their transactions.
The initiative, which was launched under the theme ‘#TimeForYou’, also highlights the role of digital solutions and services in saving more time for the public, allowing them to focus more on other activities and positive aspects of their daily lives.
Engineer Mohamed Abdel Hameed Al Askar, Acting Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, said: “The objectives of the ‘Digital Month’ initiative revolve around emphasising the role that digital solutions and services play in providing more time for members of society, allowing them to focus more on positive aspects of their everyday lives, in addition to educating the public about the multiple benefits that everyone can acquire by relying on digital services.”
With the impressive results of the initiative, Engineer Al Askar called on the public to make maximum use of the available government digital services and take part in the on-going development of these services by sharing their feedback via digital channels to improve the customer experience.
H.E. Major General Maktoum Ali Al Sharifi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Police, said: “The Abu Dhabi Police is providing smart services to the public on its digital platforms in line with the ‘Digital Month’ initiative, which was launched by Abu Dhabi Government to encourage citizens and residents to switch to digital services and educate them on the available government services provided in Abu Dhabi.”
H.E. Major General Al Sharifi said that the General Command of Abu Dhabi Police is keen to continue collaborating with government entities in Abu Dhabi to develop its services around the clock, keeping pace with new technologies and harnessing them to enhance communication with the public by streamlining procedures.
H.E. Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Acting Undersecretary of the Department of Health–Abu Dhabi, said: “The Department of Health took part in the ‘Digital Month’ initiative by launching the ‘Remote Healthcare Platform’, a smartphone application providing users with safe and easy access to health care services remotely, including medical diagnoses and consultations."
Dr. Al Kaabi added: “Using such applications, digital solutions, and AI technologies, particularly in the context of the current exceptional circumstances in the UAE and the whole world, brings a fundamental change to the health care system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and upgrades the efficiency of medical services. The department is keen to use these technologies and digital solutions in the field of health care delivery in order to achieve the highest levels of efficiency in the health sector and enhance the quality of its services.”
Abdullah Al-Sahi, Acting Under-Secretary of the Department of Municipalities and Transport, said: “The Department of Municipalities and Transport has completed more than 1.1 million transactions via its multiple digital channels in the first quarter of this year, constituting about 84% of its total transactions. This has been achieved despite the fact that the department’s employees have been working remotely during this period. These numbers reflect our strategic objectives to strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position on the list of smart cities by using modern technologies to provide municipal and transport services at a level that satisfies users and improves the quality of life for society.”
H.E. Rashid Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Acting Under-Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said: “We are proud of our participation in the ‘Digital Month’ initiative, which was launched within the framework of the Abu Dhabi Government’s efforts to use digital solutions in the service of society and develop the government's work system. The department has provided all online licensing services via Abu Dhabi's unified government services platform, TAMM, becoming the first government entity in Abu Dhabi to switch its whole range of services to the platform.
H.E. Al Balooshi added: “The ‘Digital Month’ initiative represents a quantum leap forward in the digital transformation process, which contributes to improving the quality of life of Abu Dhabi’s residents, enhancing economic growth opportunities, and supporting the private sector's contribution to the emirate’s GDP, as digital services save both time and effort for investors and businessmen.”
H.E. Engineer Mohammed bin Jarsh Al Falasi, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, said: “As AI technologies will become an everyday reality, the ‘Digital Month’ initiative was an opportunity to highlight the sturdiness of the infrastructure of government digital services and the readiness of different sectors to keep pace with future requirements, particularly during the current exceptional circumstances that require social distancing and carrying out most of the work remotely. We have seen how our strategies and proactive initiatives to enhance the digital transformation of the Abu Dhabi government have contributed to strengthening our ability to address the crisis and ensuring business continuity to provide government services at the highest standards of quality.”
H.E. Engineer Al Falasi added: “Digital transformation is a key pillar of the Department’s energy transformation strategy to create a global model in building a sustainable future based on integrated digital solutions. This encourages investment in clean and renewable energy, enhances operational and energy efficiency, and reduces our environmental footprint. We are proud of our participation in the ‘Digital Month’ initiative and the smart services and digital solutions that we offer to our customers to facilitate licensing and compliance transactions, thus streamlining the submission of organisation reports for companies operating in the sector in line with our vision of building a prosperous future, a sustainable society, and a safe environment for all members of society.”
Her Excellency Alia Abdulla Al Mazrouei, Acting Director-General of the Abu Dhabi School of Government, said: “The Academy continues to stimulate and support the education system in the present circumstances by providing its programmes to train and develop the skills of government employees remotely, thereby promoting the digital transformation strategy of the Abu Dhabi Government. The Academy believes in the importance of digital transformation and the new opportunities it provides in all sectors of life and in various areas of Government, and we have started to see the impact of digital transformation and its ability to re-shape the future.”
H.E. Al Mazrouei added: “We launched the ‘Digital Learning Challenge’ during the Abu Dhabi government’s ‘Digital Month’ to enable employees in the Abu Dhabi Government to acquire the skills required in the era of digital transformation through a series of training programmes provided by the world’s best universities and educational institutions via the Academy’s e-learning platform. These programmes are designed to provide employees with the tools and skills required to demonstrate excellence in their work and to adapt to the continuous future changes in the labour market.”
H.E. Al Mazrouei stressed that the great success achieved by the ‘Digital Learning Challenge’ initiative encouraged the Academy to launch the ‘Digital Learning for All’ programme for all residents of the UAE. The programme gives access to 4,000 training courses provided by prestigious universities and educational institutions from around the world.
H.E. Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, Director-General of the General Administration of Customs – Abu Dhabi, praised the ‘Digital Month’ initiative as launched by the Abu Dhabi Government to enhance the government’s digital system and highlight the role of digital solutions and services in achieving the objectives of the emirate’s digital community.
H.E. Al Mansoori added: “The ‘Digital Month’ initiative supports the General Administration of Customs’ efforts to highlight its technical system, which are in line with the emirate’s efforts to build a knowledge-based economy, strengthen Abu Dhabi’s prestigious position as one of the most advanced cities in the world, and shed light on the administration’s flexibility and ability to ensure business continuity and maintain outstanding customs services.”
H.E. Amer Al Hammadi, Acting Undersecretary at the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) said: “The Department participated in Abu Dhabi’s ‘Digital Month’ initiative, which was launched to further strengthen the government framework, by offering eight new e-services to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the services provided to customers, saving time and effort for students and their parents, as well as educational staff, when completing transactions and requesting any innovative services.
Al Hammadi praised the efforts made by Abu Dhabi government to promote a new era of government e-services focusing on customers' needs, which in turn highlight the government’s constant keenness to employ the best digital solutions in light of the on-going changes around the world that require a fast and efficient approach.
The ‘Digital Month’ saw the launch of many initiatives that have introduced a new concept how government services are offered and elevating the customer experience by using the latest technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial intelligence (AI) and Blockchain.
Among these initiatives is Abu Dhabi Connect, which was introduced by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), aimed at creating a comprehensive framework enabling government entities in Abu Dhabi to digitally exchange documents of individuals and companies by transforming these paper documents into digital data using secure digital channels.
This first-of-its-kind initiative is a project under the umbrella of TAMM and helped with converting more than 50 hard-copy documents into digital data for use across 24 government entities, saving more than AED714 million for customers, 737,000 working hours for government entities, and around 31 million archived documents annually. The completion of the Abu Dhabi Connect initiative enables Abu Dhabi residents to access government services and complete their transactions without the need to carry personal documents and identification.
Additionally, the Department of Government Support, represented by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority and in line with the ‘Digital Month’ initiative, has activated remote working systems at government entities and departments in Abu Dhabi. The system includes many technology-driven offerings such as remote meetings across many devices, scheduling and re-scheduling meetings, file sharing, and enabling communications between teams using safe and secure channels.
In another achievement, the Department of Economic Development transferred all of its services to TAMM to be the first government entity to successfully achieve 100 per cent digital transformation. The Department transferred 83 economic licensing services, including 25 services for licensing and advertising, 31 services for industrial activities and 27 services for commercial services.
Additionally, the General Administration of Customs in Abu Dhabi has moved all of its services to TAMM, where the Abu Dhabi Police also offers its smart services on its digital channels.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge introduced eight new e-services covering 95% of their customers’ needs. The new services, which are available via TAMM, aim at increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the services provided to customers, including certificate authentication, authentication of academic records, student report authentication, and certifying documents digitally. Additionally, the Maqta Gateway, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, has launched a new set of digital services for industrial areas.
Complementing efforts made by Abu Dhabi Government to accelerate digital transformation throughout the emirate, and to enable all residents to benefit from the positive elements of the digital revolution, the Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination activated ten main digital services provided through the TAMM platform. These services include Get People of Determination, Request Employment of People of Determination, Request for Practical Training for University and College Students, Request Sports Club Membership for People of Determination, Request Sign Language Interpreter, Appoint Meeting for Full Assessment and Evaluation, Get Report for Student of Determination, Volunteer for the People of Determination Caring Activities, Request to Provide Materials in Braille, and Request Parking Permit for People of Determination.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport launched a package of new digital services through the “SmartHub” platform, and the Department of Energy offered its digital services on the Abu Dhabi Energy Services platform, including issuing new licenses, cancelling, renewing or revising licenses, obtaining approvals and exceptions.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Health launched its Remote Healthcare Platform, a smartphone application, and offers support for innovative ideas in the healthcare sector through the AI lab. Abu Dhabi Retirement Pension & Benefits Fund have offered a package of digital services that can be accessed on its website and smartphone apps, and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry offered several digital services through its Abu Dhabi Chamber Digital Platform.
With the aim of building the skills required for the age of digital transformation, the Abu Dhabi School of Government launched the "Next Generation Abu Dhabi" digital platform, targeting Abu Dhabi youth. The platform will enhance the concept of learning continuity and encourage the next generation to keep abreast of the latest developments.
The Abu Dhabi Vocational Education and Training Institute has launched its ACTVET Smart Platform for remote learning, and the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi launched the Digital Environmental License.
TAMM reflects the efforts made by the Abu Dhabi government to accelerate digital transformation in the capital. In close coordination with all government entities in Abu Dhabi, TAMM employs the latest technology and digital solutions to offer smooth experiences for customers, providing all Abu Dhabi residents with high quality and efficient government services through a safe, integrated digital platform.
