Govts Should Prepare People For Technology Shift –WEF Founder

Government representatives across the world should prepare their people for the technological innovation that’s currently taking place, the founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) advised in Dubai on Monday.

Speaking at the annual Government Summit, Klaus Schwab stressed that smart technologies were changing rapidly.

He advised governments to look at three aspects including education – development of skill sets to change systems; exploring public/private partnerships together to shape solutions; and encouraging empowerment in society, especially for women.

“The government has to shape an innovation system to help people move into this new era that’s coming,” he said.

The UAE is focussing heavily on moving towards smart governance, and aims to make government services, accessible, quick and efficient through the use of hi-tech smart devices.

The project envisions making 1,000 government services more accessible, or smart, in the next two years, with initiatives across six focus areas: smart life, smart transportation, smart society, smart economy, smart governance and smart environment.

In June last year, the UAE also partnered with the WEF’s Global Agenda Council to launch a guide to help governments use technology to deliver more efficient public services.

The guide, Future of Government Smart Toolbox, seeks to better government performance in areas such as trust, leadership, security, innovation, anti-corruption, bureaucracy and delivery of services.