Egm report e-Government and New Technologies: Towards Better Citizen

Moderator: Dr. Alan R. Shark, Executive Director, Public Technology Institute,  

 

        Washington, DC 

 

Panelists: 

•  Mr. Ivo Ivanovski, Minister of Information Society (Former Republic of 

Macedonia) 

•  Dr. Hoda Baraka, First Deputy to the Minister, Ministry of Communication and 

Information Technologies (MCIT) (Egypt) 

•  Prof. Dr. Tino Schuppan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, IfG CC, The 

Potsdam e-government Competence Center (Germany) 

•  Mr. Yury Yaroshevich, Senior Expert, Policy Analysis Department, Ministry of 

Foreign Affairs (Belarus) 

 

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e-Government and New Technologies: Towards better citizen engagement for development 

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identified issues regarding managing citizen expectations which require an understanding of 

culture, civic responsibility, ethics, as well as broadband availability and adoption. The 

problem in most countries – both developed and developing, is the challenge of seeking 

meaningful ways to bridge the haves and have-nots, which have been referred to as the digital 

divide. Many people still suffer from the lack of accessibility, affordability, and availability of 

broadband access and or necessary computer equipment. Therefore, many citizens still lack the 

means to participate in the new and emerging connected on-line world.  

Governments across the globe report increasing problems with citizens who are frustrated 

with their governments and there has been a continuing erosion of public trust in government 

institutions. Many governmental bodies have begun to provide more information about their 

operations in what is referred to as greater transparency. While placing greater types of 

information regarding government operations is key, the next critical step is providing e-

government platforms that actually reach out and seek citizen input – and then acknowledge 

and act open it when possible.  

As citizens come to expect more from their governments, governments in turn need to 

expect more from their citizens. This provides a number of significant challenges. E-

government can be viewed as a being on a continuum of evolution. It begins with basic 

information that is posted, than evolved to transaction-based services, and then to the active 

participation (engagement) where citizens can actually weigh in on various issues.  

Figure one highlights the steady evolution of e-government in the public sector.