HE's assertions came during the recent virtual session held by the Global Innovation Council of Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Governmental Innovation. The session titled "A New Perspective for Government Work in the Post-COVED- 19" Period, was broadcast via webinar live streaming tech. Alongside HE Dr. Al Awar, the event was attended by by Hoda Al-Hashemi, Assistant Director General of Strategy and Innovation in the Office of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers; Rodney Ghali, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet of the Impact and Innovation Unit at the Privy Council Office, Government of Canada; Marcus Bentouri, Director of Public Governance of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); Yohao Liban, CEO of    Demos Helsinki Think Tank; Lloret de Gong, Professor at John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Jeff Melvan, Professor of Community Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College, London.

HE Dr. Al-Awar explained that Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way governments can face disasters around the world, and forced them to adopt and implement new business models that are able to keep pace with challenges and contain the repercussions of the current crisis.

He added that the UAE Government has so far dealt with the pandemic with flexibility and professionalism, taking advantage of an advanced infrastructure in various fields. This crisis that overwhelmed the whole world,  did not affect business continuity and provision of government services, as in many countries of the world, thanks to our leadership’s wisdom and vision, which realized the importance of transforming all government services into smart since more than 20 years ago, he noted.

HE continued: “The UAE has benefited from the current crisis in speeding up the automation of government services and making them available to the public via smart and electronic channels, especially in light of the closure of government institutions and  implementation of the remote work system. On the other hand,  the UAE Government’s experience of remote work system deserves praise. Implementation of this system was experimental at first, in a number of federal entities and jobs since 2017.

“By time, the  experience has been established to become more mature with the recent adoption of remote work in the Federal Government in normal conditions, as one of the main work patterns  approved in the Federal Government.”

According to HE Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Awar, the new remote work system in normal conditions, will help in creating new unconventional job opportunities, as well as providing multiple work options for employees and their entities, to achieve a better work – life balance in a way that does not affect the achievement of the entity’s goals. He stressed that success of nations in implementing remote work system depends on the availability of digital systems and solutions that measure the productivity and effectiveness of both institutions and employees.

The Director General highlighted the consequences of Coronavirus  pandemic, which need investing in and enabling the government human resources and developing their capabilities. He noted that   as the Authority was aware of this fact from the very beginning, if  launched  in late 2019, the e-Learning Portal Initiative in the Federal Government Al-Mawrid, which played an important role in providing e-learning and training services for the Federal Government employees.

Participants unanimously agreed on the following: governments around the world must be prepared for the post-COVED-19 phase, as priorities will change dramatically. The focus will be on implementing governance, investing in innovation, and launching creative initiatives and policies. They stressed on closer cooperation between in facing global challenges and crises, learning from the current lessons and experiences of the past, such as the global financial crisis that hit the economies of the entire world in  2008.