Digital Government MENA

“Our ambition is to create happiness amongst our residents, and our primary purpose is to really embrace technology innovations to improve the life of every individual living in Dubai. Our vision is to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city on earth.” Those were the words of Mr. Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General of Smart Dubai Office and CEO of Dubai Data Establishment as he gave his presentation at the 7th annual Telecom Review Summit.

Mr. Wesam Lootah, CEO, Smart Dubai Government Establishment has outlined some of the key initiatives that Smart Dubai have launched in its attempts to make Dubai the happiest city in the world.

Mr. Lootah was speaking at the 7th annual Telecom Review Summit where he gave a brilliant insight into Smart Dubai’s on-going vision for the city in an informative, engaging and fascinating presentation. He highlighted the importance of the introduction of a ‘happiness meter’ which he said was giving everyone in the region a voice to shape the city they want to live in. The happiness meter subsequently provides key decision makers, city leaders and director generals with critical information about what impact their services are having on residents - and gives them feedback on whether or not the strategies they’ve executed are the correct ones for the city.

“At this stage, we believe our roadmap and blueprint have covered every dimension to ensure Dubai will be a smart city across all sectors.” That’s what H.E. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, director general, Smart Dubai Office, discussed in a recent interview about the latest Smart Dubai Office’s achievements and projects that will lead towards transforming Dubai into the happiest city in the world.

Smart Dubai, established to empower, deliver and promote an efficient, seamless, safe and impactful city experience for residents and visitors, in collaboration with Smart Dubai Government, the technology arm of the Smart Dubai Office, released the results of the inaugural Smart Dubai Govt. 'Shared Services Impact Report' on June 28. The report highlights the success of Smart Dubai Govt. services which together have saved the Dubai Government AED 4.3 billion.

The Smart Dubai Office hosted a press conference at Convention Tower in Dubai to announce the results of the Shared Services Impact Report to the public. Hosted by Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Bin Bashr, Director-General of the Smart Dubai Office, and His Excellency Wesam Al Abbas Lootah, CEO, Smart Dubai Government (SDG), the conference revealed the results of the international, 3rd party report which analyses the Smart Dubai Government's service portfolio, to determine the cost savings to the Dubai Government as a result of shared services.

The idea of transforming Dubai into the 'smartest' and 'happiest' city in the world is an intriguing idea, but is it realistic? What makes Dubai a smart city? How can it be measured? What has the Smart Dubai initiative actually accomplished? In an exclusive interview, the pragmatic H.E Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, director general of the Smart Dubai Office, opens up about Smart Dubai; her passion for eGovernment and the public sector, the collaborations essential to the Smart Dubai model, and how the citizens of Dubai can truly benefit from the work that Dr. Aisha and her incredible team have accomplished.