Chosen Among 170 countries and for the Third Consecutive Time: Bahrain is
on the Grand Jury for the World Summit Award
Bahraini IT and eContent expert, and E-Services Manager in Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), Mr. Waheed Al Balushi, participated in the Grand Jury sessions for the selection of the World Summit Award (WSA) recipients. The meeting convenedon the island of Brijuni, Republic of Croatia, under the patronage of theCroatian President, Stjepan Mesic. ( www.wsis-award.org)
The WSA, which is in its third session, has been held every two years
since 2003, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), and its
world-wide network of representatives. The award essentially recognises and honours the best e-products on an international level, in the eight following
categories: e-learning; e-government; e-culture; e-health; e-inclusion;
e-business; e-entertainment; and e-science.
The Grand Jury, which convenes every two years, is
comprised of 36 experts, technicians, scholars, diplomats and businessmen
in the field of information technology; chosen among over 1000 experts
worldwide. The Jury considers submissions from among 160 countries,
and selects the five best in each field, in adherence to strict international
criteria.
Award winners are invited to an official ceremony, which takes place in
the presence of several world leaders and heads of States. This year's
ceremony takes place in Venice, Italy, at the beginning of November, and
also includes an exhibition to showcase the winning entries.
Mr. Balushi was the first juror from GCC to join this international effort in 2003, and he is one of the few experts who has been selected by the WSA to join the Grand Jury for the third consecutive time. His selection for membership represents the
international recognition of Mr. Balushi's contributions to the WSA, and
to increasing the awareness of the award in Bahrain, the Arab world, and
the Middle East in general over the past two years, as the WSA official
spokesperson for the region. Mr. Balushi is also the founder of the Bahrain eContent Award which is deemed the local pre-selection of entries for the WSA. The WSA management also consults Mr. Balushi in matters related to the Arab world, and the Arabic language.
