Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, is continuing to work to make Dubai one of the most modern cities on Earth. According to the royal, his push to totally digitalise the Emirates is going exceptionally well.
Launched in 2018 by Sheikh Hamdan, the Dubai Paperless Strategy is a mission to make all government processes within Dubai run as smoothly as possible and completely digitally. Part of this ambitious mission is the ‘Dubai Now’ app which puts all fundamental Dubai government services into one place on your phone.
Since its launch, the strategy has seen 88 Government services now integrated into this app, with Dubai residents already conducting over AED 4 billion worth of transactions and services on the app so far.
According to WAM, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said: “I am proud of the accomplishments of my team, which has successfully delivered on the challenge of transforming the Dubai Government to become paperless. The inter-government cooperation between Smart Dubai and 15 partnering entities to provide government services digitally is a testament to Dubai’s firm belief in what a city can achieve in less than two years with strong collaborations.”
“Following the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, we have successfully transformed the working culture and service delivery model in the Dubai Government to ensure customer happiness is always at the core of all government services,” he added.
As His Highness explains, his paperless vision ties into the wider vision of Dubai’s, namely ‘Smart Dubai’. Smart Dubai is a city-wide initiative to turn Dubai into the world’s smartest and happiest city. This is being achieved by implementing technology into public services, a focus on interconnectivity, and even applications of artificial intelligence into everyday life.
So far, the 15 entities that have made progress in their digital transformation as part of the Dubai Paperless Strategy are the Dubai Land Department, the Roads and Transport Authority, the Knowledge and Human Resources Authority, the Dubai Airports, the Dubai Police, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai Courts, the Dubai Municipality, the Dubai Public Prosecution, the Dubai Health Authority, the Community Development Authority, the Federal Authority for Identity & Citizenship – Dubai, and Dubai Customs.
Click here to read about Sheikh Hamdan’s Fitness Challenge!
It is hoped that by 2021 and beyond, Dubai government entities will no longer issue or request paper documents. It is said this can save up to one billion pieces of paper a year, saving 130,000 trees and 40 hours per year of citizens’ time.
