Sharjah eGovernment highlights its efforts to provide easy-to-access services for the elderly

The Sharjah Department of eGovernment (DeG) concluded its participation on Wednesday September 28th, 2016 in the ‘Elderly Services Forum 2016’, which was organised by the Sharjah Department of Social Service in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), as part of its commitment to providing the highest international standards of government services to all customers.

The forum sought to create and implement innovative methods, aimed at supporting and meeting the needs of the elderly in accessing public services through modern technology and facilities.

DeG took part in the forum's third session titled 'The Current and Future Services for the Elderly by Sharjah City entities'. The session addressed a number of topics, most notably 'Digital Services', during which DeG highlighted its efforts and initiatives undertaken to encourage government bodies and organisations in the emirate to offer additional charactersitics for older people in e-services and smart applications provided to public.

Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Director-General of the Department of eGovernment, Sharjah; "Our participation in the fifth edition of the 'Elderly Services Forum 2016’, held under the theme 'Towards Eldelry-Friendly Cities' aimed to highlight Sharjah's vision for customer service, especially older people, by providing e- services that take into account the needs of this important category of society, to make them happy and put a smile on their faces." 

Sheikh Khalid Al Qasimi explained: “Our role during the forum underlined the importance of acknowledging that senior people have special needs and requirements towards accessibility for electronic and digital services. We were able to communicate with government agencies in Sharjah to update them on these needs and presented examples on electronic forms that are easy-to-use, allowing users to interact with these digital services with ease and convenience.”     

The forum, which brought together experts and speakers from the UAE and beyond, featured several sessions and topics dealing with the emirate's efforts to join the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities after having completed the necessary procedures  to be accredited. Many government agencies expressed their willingness to provide all what makes Sharjah an age-friendly city.