Like many other digital initiatives launched by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) under Qatar Digital Government programme, Qatar Open Data is laying foundation of a knowledge-based society in the country.
In a short motion graphic shared on the Ministry’s Twitter account, MoTC said that Qatar Open Data is providing “the foundation for building a knowledge-based society.”
“MoTC launched Qatar Open Data Portal to facilitate the process of disseminating government data on the Internet through a single national platform, making it available to the public, and appropriately ensuring its quality and provision according to international standards,” the Ministry said in a recent tweet.
It is pertinent to mention here that in April last year, the Ministry of Transport and Communications had launched the Qatar Open Data Portal. The portal, a gateway to government data, makes it easy for all stakeholders to access, share and reuse the data.
The graphic shared by the Ministry on its Twitter handle said that Qatar Open Data Portal offers government data for decision-makers to set policies based on transparency; companies and businessmen to support knowledge based economy; program developers to create innovative digital solutions; and researchers and academics to empower the society and face challenges.
It further said that Qatar Open Data Portal is offering data to the public in creative methods and is an easy access to data through search, download and processing. The Portal also provides software codes to create innovative applications and offers services like analysing and processing data, as well as generating reports, and enabling datasets to be listed on geographic maps.
Qatar Open Data Portal last week won golden award in Qatar Digital Government Excellence Awards 2020. Qatar Digital Government Excellence Awards is one of the Qatar Digital Government (QDG) programme initiatives to value and recognise the efforts of government entities and organisations in developing and launching digital services and making them accessible for beneficiaries.
In the ‘Best Open Government Service’ category, awarded to the best digital platform or service that offers open data and/or e-participation to the public, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment had won the silver award for Qatar’s National Address ‘Unwani’, whereas the Ministry of Transport and Communications had received the golden award for Qatar Open Data Portal.
Last month, the Ministry of Justice had also joined Qatar Open Data, sharing its data with all the government and private bodies, whether a member or a follower of the portal, in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
With this step, the Ministry of Justice makes all data that serve the local and foreign public on the portal in both the Arabic and English languages, in accordance with international standards used in this field.
The sharing of the Ministry of Justice’s open data aims to confirm transparency in the implementation of transactions, enhance interaction and communication with the public, and activate all digital platforms to provide the Ministry’s services to the public electronically within an integrated step that is being implemented for this purpose.
