UAE Space Agency wins WSIS Prize 2019

The UAE Space Agency has won a 2019 WSIS Prize for its global efforts in partnership and sustainable development.

The WSIS Prizes are part of the World Summit on the Information Society, WSIS, currently underway in Geneva. Since 2012, WSIS Prizes have been recognising remarkable efforts made by entities and organisations from around the globe that focus on accelerating the socio-economic progress of the whole world as a community.

A UAE delegation, headed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, is taking part in WSIS. The delegation includes representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination, Smart Dubai Office, Digital Ajman, the UAE Space Agency and the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

The International Telecommunication Union previously announced the top 90 Champions of the WSIS Prizes, with the 18 winners recognised at the WSIS on 9th April. The prizes contain 18 categories, identifying successful initiatives by governments, private sector actors, civil society members and partnerships between all stakeholders.

Five of the projects submitted by the UAE made it to the final stage of the WSIS Prizes, with the UAE Space Agency project on global efforts in partnership and sustainable development taking home the WSIS Action Line for International and Regional Cooperation.

The United Arab Emirates' efforts in the field of international and regional space collaboration have helped the country to gain international recognition in the last decade in the space arena.

Moving beyond the steering of policy matters and chairing conferences and meetings, the UAE has developed high national building capacity space programmes via successful partnerships with potential and leading space sector administrations.

The UAE has also assisted the international space capacity building efforts of international specialised space organisations like the United Nations Office of Space Affairs, and in a short space of time, the country has successfully partnered with over 25 global members, international and regional organisations to find and set up regional capacity building initiatives.

The four other projects submitted include the TRA Innovation Camp for the category of capacity building; the Mobile Police Station Project, proposed by the Ministry of the Interior for E-Government category; the e-Recruitment Project, submitted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in the category of e-Recruitment applications, and the e-Licensing programme for the e-Environment applications category, introduced by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

The WSIS is a high-level international platform through which efforts are coordinated around the world in all matters relating to ICT and digital content. The role played by the Forum is crucial in laying the common ground for shaping a transparent, well-defined global sector-wide vision. The summit runs until 12th April.

WAM