Launch of the WSIS Forum 2016 and the Kingdom Wins Award in the E-Business Category and a Number of Certificates of Excellence

The Kingdom participated yesterday in the events of the WSIS Forum 2016, currently held in the Swiss city of Geneva, and continuing until next Friday. The Kingdom, represented by the Ataa Charitable Program, won an award in the e-business category, in addition to a number of government entities receiving certificates of excellence in recognition of their efforts and projects sponsored to implement the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society; the Ministry of Health was awarded a certificate of excellence for its treatment abroad project, the Ministry of Education was awarded a certificate of excellence for its "Your Job and Your Scholarship" program, and King Saud University was awarded a certificate of excellence for its digital curriculum development initiative.

Within the events of this summit, His Excellency the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom's delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, Dr. Khalid Manlawi, delivered a speech in which he said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been keen to adopt international visions in this field, in a manner consistent with its constants, values, and great interest in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, and has followed this approach since the summit's launch in 2003. He added that in appreciation of the Kingdom's efforts in this field, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques -may God support him- received earlier this year the Information and Communication Technology in Sustainable Development Award from His Excellency the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, Mr. Houlin Zhao.

Dr. Manlawi noted that in order to enhance the spread of broadband services throughout the Kingdom and make them available at high speeds, (Saudi Vision 2030) was launched, which included the Kingdom's commitment to developing digital infrastructure, especially broadband, aiming to achieve coverage exceeding 90% of homes in cities with high population density, and 66% in other areas, by stimulating investment in broadband and developing new partnerships with the private sector.

The National Information Society Committee, in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology represented by the E-Government Program (Yesser), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, and the Communications and Information Technology Commission, organized two workshops during the forum's events on the Kingdom's efforts and achievements in transitioning to an information society.

It is noted that the WSIS Prize consists of 18 categories, and this year more than 300 projects from around the world competed for it, and the forum witnessed intensive attendance exceeding 1,500 participants, including 85 ministers and 250 high-level figures. With this year's announced win, the Kingdom has now won a total of 7 United Nations awards for WSIS projects since 2012, and 3 certificates of excellence in recognition of efforts made in the field of the information society.