16 GIS IN ACTION GIS Applied in E-engagement A Hong Kong Experience of Citizen Engagement in Public Affairs Highlights „ Web 2.0 with GIS encourages public sharing of opinions through an online platform. „ A virtual district council office is powered by ArcGIS Server 9.2 for the Java Platform and SQL Server. „ The Web site dynamically generates maps with different layers and symbology at different scales. Web 2.0 has caused a paradigm shift in the way we communicate and share information on the Internet with the proliferation of Web applications, such as social networking sites, blogs, chat rooms, and video-sharing sites. Governments and many public service organizations have captured the essence of Web 2.0 and integrated it into their current infrastructures, which are enhanced to offer more effective and timely services to their citizens. The Washington State Department of Transportation (United States) has pioneered the use of Twitter to deliver traffic information and updates. Its use of social networking technologies has facilitated timely dissemination of useful information across different communities. Similarly, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also tapped the intelligence of Web 2.0 technology to exchange dialogs with Internet users via two national news portals, www.gov.cn of the central government and www.xinhuanet.com of the Xinhua News Agency, in February of this year. GIS Combined with Web 2.0 Engages Hong Kong Citizens in Community Affairs Engaging community involvement is at the heart of the Web 2.0 concept. Combined with GIS, Web 2.0 technologies present users with added convenience in the global village. Dr. Winnie Tang, CEO of Esri China (Hong Kong) Limited, as well as a district councillor of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, made the first attempt in Hong Kong to use “crowdsourcing” via her personal Web site www.winnietang.hk. The built-in functions of the site help raise public awareness of information and communication technology (ICT)-related community affairs and encourage public sharing of opinions through the online platform. Hong Kong, also known as the “Pearl of the Orient,” is located at the southern tip of China. With a land mass of only 1,104 square kilometers (426 square miles) and a population of seven million people, it is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The city is geographically divided into 18 districts served by individual district councils responsible for coordinating administrative affairs and acting as bridges of communication between the local population and the government. In her role as district councillor for Kwai Tsing District, Tang would very much like to engage the general public to contribute their views and suggestions on district affairs and cultivate a strong sense of a close-knit community. Having a population of more than half a million in her district, Tang recognized the need for improving efficiency and transparency in the process of governance. “With over 4.8 million Internet users in Hong Kong,” Tang says, “the 70 percent penetration rate ranks us second in household broadband penetration in Asia. Sitting on the Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee, I have advised on and advocated Gov 2.0 to our government when Web 2.0 clearly has set the trend and expectation of people in this digital era. I believe Gov 2.0 would set some successful examples.” Keep GIS Workflows on Schedule GeoRover Products — speed and e ciency really matter. GeoRover® software products provide fast, exible tools and enhanced capabilities within the powerful Esri® ArcGIS® Desktop application. Get up to speed with GeoRover software. Visit www.georover.com to download a free trial today. SAIC selected as 2009 Esri Federal Business Partner of the Year SmartBUY Schedule #GSQ0009AE0022 Join us at the Esri International User Conference in San Diego, 12-16 July 2010. We will be located in booth numbers 2601 and D331. Energy | Environment | National Security | Health | Critical Infrastructure © Science Applications International Corporation. All rights reserved. GeoRover, SAIC, the SAIC logo, and “From Science to Solutions” are registered trademarks of Science Applications International Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Esri, ArcGIS, and the Esri logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Esri in the U.S., the European community, or certain other jurisdictions. 10-2514 A NYSE: SAI