Dubai eGovernment announced its active participation in Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) 2005, which will be held from June 22 to September 2, 2005, by contributing to four major events focusing on Information Technology skills. The announcement was made during a press conference held today, (Tuesday, June 14, 2005), in Dubai. Saeed Mohammed Al Nabouda, Chief Executive Officer, DSS Organizing Committee was present at the press conference.
Dubai eGovernment will be involved in the organising of events such as, ‘Modhesh Friends Forum’, ‘Modhesh Website Creation Competition’, ‘Playstation Zone’ and Net Games Zone, where children can experience a range of exciting games.
“Our active participation in Dubai Summer Surprises reinforces our continuous commitment and support to various initiatives of the Government of Dubai,” said Salem Al Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment. “This event ensures a very high degree of visibility and exposure for Dubai eGovernment and increases awareness about our role and contribution to the overall productivity and efficiency of Dubai, in a technology driven environment.”
“We will be closely involved in a number of activities during the 10-week event, which aims to promote eServices and gives an opportunity to youngsters to demonstrate their IT skills and creativity,” he added.
The Modhesh Friends Forum, which is developed by eGovernment, is meant for children aged between 9 and 18. The forum will also give a chance for children to chat with Modhesh through this forum. Modhesh is the friendly mascot of DSS which appeals to all age groups, especially children. The forum, which will be hosted on www.emodhesh.ae gives an opportunity for participants to win iPods through a raffle draw.
The website creation competition, sponsored by HumanSoft, will be held in two phases over a period of five weeks each, with three winners in each phase. A joint committee from DSS and Dubai eGovernment will decide the winners of the competition, who will be awarded PCs, Laptops or Home Theatres.
As part of the playstation zone event, which is being sponsored by Jumbo Electronics and Sony Corporation, podiums will be set up in four shopping malls and in Modhesh Fun City, where visitors can enjoy games like Eye Toy, Brave, Singstar Pop and Gran Turismo 4. Participants have a chance to win prizes through the weekly raffle draws and are given complementary gifts of Playstation console with additional 5 games.
Saibal Banerjee, Marketing Manager, Jumbo Electronics, said, “Jumbo Electronics has been closely associated with Dubai Summer Surprises for several years now and this has become of the most popular events in the city’s events calendar. As a key sponsor for DSS we continue our efforts of promoting Dubai as one of the leading tourist destinations of the world with year round attractions. The event also serves as an ideal platform for us to build stronger relationships with our customers.”
For the Net Games Zone, which is also being sponsored by HumanSoft, PCs will be set up in a shopping mall with network games installed in them. Participants have a chance to win 10 DVD players through the raffle draw.
Dalal Hasan Sabti, Executive Manager, HumanSoft, said, “We are pleased to join hands with Dubai eGovernment to support a a range of exciting e-learning programmes that involve participants of various age groups. DSS is an ideal event to spread awareness about the wide range of initiatives undertaken by Dubai eGovernment which benefits a large section of the Emirate’s population.”
“DSS is one of the most important events in Dubai, focusing on fun, knowledge, entertainment and shopping, for children and adults alike. Today, the event has acquired the status of a brand and visitors from countries all over the GGC region take part in this with their families. DSS ensures that the huge inflow of visitors to Dubai is maintained even during the summer and it serves as an ideal platform for us to promote the efforts and achievements of Dubai eGovernment among a diverse audience. Through our participation in DSS, we will create more involvement from the public to try out the various eServices available on our portal www.dubai.ae ,” concluded Al Shair.
The concept of the Dubai Summer Surprises was introduced in the summer of 1998 by the Dubai Government in order to promote the emirate as an ideal family holiday destination and is currently held under the directives of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister. The success of DSS can be gauged by the visitor turnout in 2004, which touched 1.51 million and the total spend which amounted to AED 1.56 billion.
