UAE One of Most Hyper-Connected Countries on Earth in 21st Century
- 25 April 2015
Susan Pointer, Google Inc's Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Russia, will deliver a lecture titled ‘UAE Public Policy: New Frontiers in Government Innovation, Education and the Internet’ on Monday at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR).
In her lecture, Pointer will highlight the standing of the UAE as one of the most hyper-connected countries on earth in the 21st century where the web, for the country, has a vast untapped potential to accelerate key plans, boosting education, raising the country’s cultural profile and expanding government innovation.
She will also highlight ICT skills which have simply become life-skills and the new literacy, and Google's efforts to incorporate digital literacy in educational systems and roll out Google’s digital literacy programs in the US and globally.
"More than at any point in history, there is an opportunity to reinvent how government works. Data can help people create new services and solve big problems. The internet and ICT sectors are no longer ‘back office’ parts of government ministries; rather, they are horizontal enablers of numerous public services, including education, healthcare and government communications. Many of the UAE’s knowledge economy plans depend on connectivity," said Pointer in ECSSR's announcement of forthcoming lecture.
Governments, she added, are putting technology at the centre of their thinking. We’ve seen impressive examples of this in the UAE. The world described by Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt is already here: technology is completely woven into the fabric of everyday life.
"The internet has vast untapped potential for countries to raise their global cultural profiles. Culture is key to sustaining humanity. We have an obligation to preserve, celebrate and advance it. The internet helps bring amazing works to life for millions around the globe."
Pointer added that personal computers, tablets, smartphones, social networks and cloud computing have already transformed much of how we communicate, create, share, work and play. The pace of change is staggering. "We are excited about the UAE, and can’t wait to see what will come next."
Susan Pointer is responsible for Google’s public policy programs and elite government relationships, managing senior teams across four continents. She leads the company’s global public policy teams in Asia, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Australia, and regularly meets heads of state and senior cabinet ministers.
Pointer previously led Google’s Emea public policy from London. Now based in Hong Kong, she has worked for Google for over seven years. Pointer spent six years as International Director of Public Policy for Amazon, based in Brussels and London.
Pointer headed the Confederation of British Industry’s European Policy Team in Brussels. She also worked as a Parliamentary Advisor in the European Parliament and a key Adviser in the British Parliament.
