Microsoft recently hosted participants from the UAE’s Government Leaders Program (GLP) at its Envisioning Center in Redmond, USA, as part of its ongoing efforts to support government modernization. The participants, who are drawn from various government departments, were taken on a tour of Microsoft’s Envisioning Center to acquaint them with the latest technologies for smart governments and smart cities, as well as gain insights into the latest technology innovation for government entities. The move is part of a wider effort by Microsoft to facilitate modernization of governments through its smart technologies aimed at increasing efficiency in government and rise in quality of living. Abdullah bin Touq, Executive Director of excellence and leadership in the Prime Minister’s Office stressed that the creative leadership delegation's visit to "Microsoft" center of innovation reflects the keenness of the leadership of the UAE government program to learn from the best practices globally both in public and private sectors to help enrich leadership skills of government executives and expand their knowledge scope. This visit further promotes our partnership with Microsoft, which is considered one of the leading global companies in its field.” Bin Touq added: “The purpose of the visit to Microsoft by participant in the Innovative Leaders Program comes in the framework of the government's efforts to introduce young citizens in this category to new technologies and innovations through training workshops and field visits to institutions and countries that depend on innovation in their processes. This will effectively enable them to learn better practices and apply the gained knowledge into their respective departments to support government’s efforts in improving citizen service delivery with the help of smart technologies in line with the UAE’s Vision 2021.” Ibrahim Youssry, Public Sector Lead at Microsoft Gulf said, “Microsoft is committed to supporting government smart initiatives through our technology innovations that have the capability to empower government entities to enhance their productivity and efficiency. The visit by officials from the GLP to the Microsoft Envisioning Center has helped introduce them to some of our smartest technologies being created to make life easier for everyone and gain insights from experts that are behind these innovations.” The purpose of the Envisioning Center is to share Microsoft’s long-term vision on how our lives could be transformed at work, at home, and on the go in the future. The Center features three zones with immersive, scenario-driven concept-car-like demonstrations that range from productivity explorations to entertainment: • A series of dynamic work places demonstrate how people will work and collaborate in new ways • An 'on the go' environment features augmented retail and personalized, location-specific services • A domestic environment highlights a set of family, entertainment and home-productivity scenarios The Envisioning Center encompasses scenarios at home, at work and places in between, and is inspired by Microsoft product teams, Microsoft Research and by the trends across the industry, which makes it a center of excellence for officials seeking to leverage technology to modernize their governments. The officials who toured the Envisioning Center are participants in the UAE Government Leaders Program (GLP) which is run by the UAE’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and intended to prepare citizens for future leadership roles. The Program targets various leadership levels through four sub-programs; Strategic Leaders Program, Executive Leaders Program, Future Leaders Program and Innovative Leaders Program. The officials who visited Microsoft are part of the Innovative Leaders Program, which targets new graduates and employees in UAE federal ministries, authorities and corporations in third and fourth grade. This visit enlightened participants on how they can incorporate Microsoft innovation that helps drive unparalleled productivity to meet the needs of today’s government entities, and enables the leaders to take informed technology decisions. Microsoft has over the years used its technology solutions to support ongoing smart government efforts in UAE government departments. UAE Government Leaders Programme UAE Government Leaders Program was established in 2008, under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and includes four categories: Strategic Leaders Program, Executive Leaders Program, Future Leaders Program and Innovative Leaders Program. It aims to enable Federal Government Authorities to achieve its strategic objectives and ensure the promotion and support of citizen human resource through several training sessions that run up to 24 months and take part in various workshops and site visits to various centers of excellencewhere they learn best practices related to government operations worldwide. The Innovative Leaders Program targets new graduates and employees in UAE federal ministries, authorities and corporations in third and fourth grade usually with practical experience of 2-5 years and aged between 22-28 years. The program aims to train, rehabilitate and refine their leadership and administrative. It also specializes on innovations and the training period lasts 18 months.