Tamkeen’s Facebook page wins Pan-Arab e-Government award

Tamkeen’s Facebook page won the ‘Best Interactivity’ category at the 5th Social Media e-Government Award ceremony held on June 29th in Burj Al-Arab Hotel in Dubai, UAE. The ceremony for the pan-Arab award, which exclusively targets Arab government agencies, was attended by senior officials and thought leaders of the digital sector in the Arab world. Tamkeen’s Marketing Communication Manager Hala Sulaiman, accepted the award on behalf of Tamkeen from Pierre Moukarzel, Founder and President of Tatweej Academy for Excellence Awards, and Salem Khamis Al Suwaidi, former Deputy Director General for the Information Sector and e-Government at the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. Tamkeen was the only Bahraini entity nominated for this prestigious award, which seeks to enhance creativity and innovation in the digital space, develop Arab e-Content, develop Arab talent and skills, promote awareness on electronic intellectual property, and encourage industries to engage in e-commerce. Commenting on this achievement, Tamkeen Chief Executive Mahmood Hashem Al Kooheji said: "Bahrain has always been a pioneer in the e-sector and is ranked among the world's top countries in this area. As such, we are honoured to represent the country in this leading event which seeks to enhance governmental communication in the digital realm to improve services to citizens, promote the creative spirit, and build knowledge-based economies; all of which are in line with Tamkeen’s objectives. We sincerely thank the organisers for selecting us for this award and wish them continued success." Tamkeen Marketing Communications Manager Mrs. Hala Sulaiman said: "Tamkeen strongly believes in direct and transparent engagement with all the stakeholders with a view to develop and improve the services it offers, and social media is an essential and effective tool in this regard. To date, we have launched our account (TamkeenBahrain) on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Linkedin to interact with Bahrainis and business owners in Bahrain and spread awareness about our support programmes. These channels have been well-received by the public as evidenced by the ever-increasing number of followers, and we encourage everyone to follow us to stay up to date about our services and share their feedback." The award covers five categories: Best Technical Award, Best Creativity Award, Best Structure Award, Best Interactivity Award, and Best Design Award. Five winners are selected in each category, with the overall winner also receiving the Arab e-Government Award. The winners were selected by an expert jury based on several criteria, including level of interaction, content quantity and quality, style and design, ease of user interface and searchability, and number of followers. The Arab e-Government Award is the third regional award that Tamkeen wins in the past year after the Mohammed bin Rashid Award for Young Business Leaders as ‘Best Initiative Supporting SMEs in Arab Countries’ and the ICAEW’s ‘Training and Development of Finance Professionals’ Award for the Middle East region. More than 77,000 Bahrainis and Bahraini enterprises have benefited from Tamkeen programmes to date, with the figure expected to rise to 150,000 in the near future.