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Dubai, February 10, 2015:Even as the world is witnessing an erosion of trust in governments, the UAE has been able to stay ahead of the curve by adapting an innovative approach to government functioning, noted Her Excellency Mari Kiviniemi, Deputy Secretary General, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), while giving the main address on the second day of the three-day Government Summit in Dubai today.

The OECD countries are witnessing only 40 per cent trust in governments. Governments must need to change their functioning as they face challenges in creating inclusive citizens. In order to achieve this purpose, it is critical to take steps to restore trust in public entities, H.E. Kiviniemi said.

Explaining the process, H.E. Kiviniemi said trust can be restored by creating greater openness with the adoption of innovation in the functioning and implementation of government policies. Technology has therefore become an enabler for the government. The UAE has been successful in this domain with a strategic approach at all levels to achieve cohesive implementation of policies, H.E. Kiviniemiadded.

H.E. Kiviniemi said citizen engagement with open data and social media is driving considerable change in the way governments function. Governments need to integrate digital strategies in their functioning to create new interaction as the UAE has shown, she said.

The deployment of innovation in government functioning requires a strong leadership which will help create citizen driven governments. Such governments will adopt innovative approaches such as making use of existing unexploited resources to provide best services to people, H.E. Kiviniemi added.

Organized under the theme Shaping Future Governments, the Government Summit in Dubai is being held from February 9 to 11, 2015, to discuss the future of government services in the world.

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