This year, the Forum will be held from 29 to 31 March 2021 as the region grapples with and tries to recover from a pandemic that has severely affected the lives and livelihoods of people from all social and economic backgrounds.

GEMS indicator aims to measure the maturity of government services provided through the portal and through mobile applications in the Arab region. It seeks to bridge the gap in most of the international indicators, related to service maturity, its use and user satisfaction. To this end, 84 government services have been identified, and it is necessary for each country to deliver them electronically for individuals and businesses. The principle of life cycle has been adopted in service selection; any individual needs these services at different stages of life, and each company requires them since its establishment to its close.

The open data toolkit is a brief guide for initiating, planning, implementing, and evaluating open data programmes in the Arab region. It includes five sections, covering planning and management, making and updating inventories and catalogues, developing platforms, evaluating, and ensuring open data quality. The proposed steps are fortified with examples from existing open data initiatives that help clarify the process based national experiences of developed and developing countries, including Arab countries.

The citizen engagement toolkit is a brief guide aimed at promoting engagement in and implementation of open government in the Arab region. Prepared as part of ESCWA open government initiative, the toolkit covers how to design, develop and implement citizen engagement programmes within the implementation of open government that contributes to better governance.

Decision-makers in the Arab countries should be aware of the importance and impact of technology and innovation so that they can better prepare.