Public voting campaign through an app launched by Hamdan

Dubai: A public voting campaign for best public service initiative was launched by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

With an aim to improve government services, the voting campaign was launched through the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Programme for Smart Government app, giving an opportunity for citizens and residents, including visitors, to evaluate government services by voting and choosing the 12 initiatives that added value and contributed to their happiness in 2014.

These initiatives will be nominated for the “Public Opinion” category of the second edition of the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart Government Award, a Dubai Government entity which honours the most dedicated and innovative initiatives, individuals and teams in Dubai’s public sector,

Commenting on the campaign, Shaikh Hamdan said, “Government entities cannot become number one on their own; we need the community to support us. Building cities through developing government services requires active participation from the community. The voting is a great opportunity for everyone to be active city makers and participate in becoming number 1.”

The Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart Government Award will select winners based on the opinion of an international jury and public voting. In 2013, the voting campaign reached 25,000 votes.

On November 3, the Dubai The Model Centre announced the government services nominated for the Award. On the launch of the voting campaign, Abdullah Al Shaibani, Secretary-General of the Dubai Executive Council, said: “The Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart Government Award adopts a new approach in evaluating government services through public voting. Our aim is to engage the citizens and residents in evaluating the services and use their opinions as tangible indicator to improve government services”.

Eman Al Suwaidi, Director of Dubai The Model Centre, said: “The entity obtaining most of the public votes will win the “Public Opinion” Award and will hoist the flag of Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart Government Programme for a full year in recognition of its contribution to people’s happiness.” The winner of the 2013 Public Opinion Award is the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). RTA will pass the flag to the 2014 winner in the annual ceremony hosted by the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart Government Programme.

Except for employees of Dubai Government, the public may vote through four steps. Voters must download the app directly from Apple or Android stores, enter their Emirates ID number and then select the winning initiative.

The app is available in Arabic and English and voting is open for the public from November 18 to December 3.