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Arab content digitalization
and knowledge economy
There is no doubt that language is the vessel of culture, and people’s key to progress and creativ-
ity. The Arabic language has impressed Arabic speakers with its linguistic, poetic and prose gems
for long ages. In modern times, the Arabic language has equally impressed non-Arab speakers
in the cyberspace. It grew 50 times more online, i.e. over 5000% until 2013, thus exceeding the
growth rate of other major languages such as Chinese, English, Russian and Portuguese.
These advancements and achievements called for focus on the quality of online Arab content,
and quality of browsing. Online Arab digital content currently suffers from many issues, such as
the redundancy of content, and writing in spoken and slang dialects, which reduce the value and
spread.
mGov 24th issue reports thoroughly on the 3rd Arab Digital Content Forum, to take place in Dubai
during the period from 19 to 20 October 2015. The forum will be held under the theme “Arab
Content in the Era of Major Digital Transformations”. Statistics show that Arab digital content con-
stitutes 3% of the entire content on the Internet, while Arab region population constitutes 5.1% of
world population, and Arab GDP constitutes 4% of global GDP.
The forum will shed light on the importance of Arab digital content and its positive impact on the
knowledge economy and information society. It will further highlight the role of youth in online
creativity and enriching the technology inventory with applications, software and tools that should
enhance online Arab digital content in quantity and quality.
In the “QR” section, you can find a video where His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai launched the UAE Govern-
ment programme “The 21st Century Leader Model”.
The capacity building programme seeks to build effective networking between government lead-
ers and strengthen relations with the private sector.
The new leadership model aims to take the leadership skills of officials at the federal government
to the next level by strengthening the skills of the most promising young leaders.
Because innovation has become an indispensable Emirati component, this mGov issue reports
on the launch of the UAE Innovation Week, to be held from 22-28 November 2015, by Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
His Highness said that innovation today is not a luxury or an option, but a requirement and a life-
style. Governments and businesses that lack innovation and creation lose their competitive edge
and surely lack progress. “We have multiplied our investments in innovation, especially in terms
of equipping and training our national cadres because keeping pace with the rapid changes tak-
ing place in the world requires innovative cadres and an environment that supports innovation,”
Sheikh Mohammed said.
This issue further reports on the early intervention app developed by the Ministry of Social Affairs
(MSA), which detects disability in children aged less than 5 years at an early stage. The app is
scheduled to be released to the public this month.
The app enables parents to determine whether their kids are prone to disability, and helps them
identify the level of disability, address it and curb its development.
Editorial Team