The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has announced its participation in the first edition of the Social Good Summit 2013. Held by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the event will take place in Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi on September 24, 2013. The first edition of this event is set to unite a dynamic community of government and business leaders who will share insights on the transformative power of social media and how the use of digital technology for social good can build a better future.

This year’s Social Good Summit theme, 2030NOW, will also challenge participants to share solutions and ideas with a look at what needs to be done now to pave the way for a better world by 2030. 2030NOW builds on the UN-led process to craft a post-2015 development agenda that will follow and accelerate progress on the Millennium Development Goals.

Mapping the theme back to the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030, Ms. Noor Shamma, Acting Director, Corporate Communications of the TRA and one of the key speakers at the event will address participants on the instrumental role that social media has on achieving the goals outlined in the UAEs economic vision.

“The prevalence of social media is common knowledge, yet a closer look at the statistics reveals the sheer size of this modern phenomenon”, said Noor Shamma, Acting Director, Corporate Communications, TRA. “In the Arab World, social media is growing exponentially with data from the first quarter of the year indicating that the UAE continues to have the highest Facebook penetration rateamongst all Arab countrieswith 41%, ahead of Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and Tunisia. In terms of Twitter usage, the UAE has 401,000 active twitter users, the third highest number in the region and LinkedIn usage also remains highest in the UAE with a rate of 16.5%.”

“In short, social media is experiencing remarkable growth in the UAE. Factoring in such platforms to connect with the public is no longer optional but a necessity for any effective government communications strategy. Given the significance of the goals outlined in the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 coupled with initiatives such as mGovernment, it is interesting to see how social media can be used as one of the key tools towards the development of a dynamic, open and knowledge based economy,” added Ms. Shamma.

The TRA’s participation in the summit also coincides with the UAE mGovernment initiative launched in May of this year by UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.By enabling the development of a whole new set of applications and services, mGovernment affords a powerful and transformational capacity to extend access to existing services, expand the delivery of new services and increase active citizen participation in government operations. This national project will enable strong socio-economic growth via the creation of an integrated digital society in the UAE.
 

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