The General Directorate of Sharjah Police has announced its endorsement for the ICDL global IT Literacy standard for its police force, civilian staff and their families. An accreditation agreement in this regard was signed recently between Major Khalid Bu Hindi, Head of the Computer & Information Centre (CIC), General Directorate of Sharjah Police, and Mr. Jamil Ezzo, Director General, ICDL GCC Foundation, the governing body of the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) program in the Gulf region.
The signed agreement covers the accreditation of the Sharjah Police in-house facilities to offer ICDL training and testing to employees and their families in accordance to the international standard of the ICDL program. This move makes the General Directorate of Sharjah Police be the first Sharjah government department to offer in-house ICDL training and testing to employees.
Commenting on the agreement, Major Khalid Bu Hindi, Head of the Computer & Information Centre, Sharjah Police, said, “Employing the latest technology and adopting the highest standards in our workplace are essential to our mission. Our endorsement and implementation of the ICDL global computer literacy standard will not only support increased productivity and motivate staff. It will also ensure effective utilization of the technology we have in place, including the use of databases and Internet being the primary research and investigative tools. The General Directorate of Sharjah Police is delighted to receive ICDL accreditation for our in-house training center, as it represents part of our strategy in furthering the development of our police force and civilian staff.
“We are proud to be taking part in the Sharjah government effort in furthering digital literacy within the police based on the ICDL standard. We welcome the joining of the Sharjah Police to our network of 820 accredited training and testing centres in the GCC. The ICDL program will guarantee the chance for everyone to acquire new skills as well as certify existing and new competencies in essential computer skills that will help in improving their quality of life and productivity at work,” said Jamil Ezzo.
“The GCC ranked third in the world during 2005 in the drive to create a digital society. ICDL GCC Foundation will continue to work closely with the government of Sharjah and all other governments in the GCC to realise the benefits of furthering digital literacy within the government workplace and society. The fact that over 37 per cent of government organisations in the GCC region adopted the ICDL program in 2005 is a clear indicator of the importance digital literacy is given by the authorities in the GCC member states,” said Ezzo.
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About ICDL
International Computer Driving License (ICDL), is an internationally recognized computer proficiency standard that is owned by the European Computer Driving License Foundation (ECDL) and introduced by the UNESCO's Cairo Office (UCO) for Arab states in 2001, is gaining increasing acceptance in the Middle East, with several governments adopting and prescribing it to their employees. The ICDL program exists in over 140 countries, and is offered in 36 languages, including Arabic. The programs offered are all based on one standard syllabus and question set. There are more than 26,000 centres worldwide, above 5 million candidates, more than 1 million issued certificates and over 20 million exams have been taken globally since the launch of the program year 1997.
About ICDL GCC Foundation
ICDL GCC Foundation was created by the ECDL Foundation, the not-for-profit global governing body of the ECDL and ICDL member countries dedicated to helping raise the general level of computer skills in societies and providing access for all to the information society, to serve the to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States with their implementation of ICDL and for providing them with localized support to ensure quality of ICDL programs. The ICDL GCC Foundation is the sole accreditation body that is responsible to support ICDL accredited training and testing centers in the GCC. It also acts as the reviewing and approving body for the local adaptation of ICDL programs.
