A high-level delegation of senior civil servants drawn from the Government of Kenya is among a select team of delegates in South Africa, to attend the first Samsung Smart Government summit. The Kenyan delegation comprises of senior officials from the Ministry of Education, ICT Delivery officers from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), a representative from Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat among others.

During the visit, the Kenyan delegation alongside other delegates from Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda among other African countries will get a first-hand experience on the use of Samsung Solar Powered Laptops, which encompass the Samsung Smart Education solutions. While in Cape Town, the delegation will be conducted through a guided tour of the Samsung Solar Powered Internet School, that is, a Computer learning centre housed in a 40 feet container and power by solar panels.

Speaking from South Africa, Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader Robert Ngeru disclosed that Samsung, as part of a strategic continental business partners' exposure programme, had sponsored the two-day Smart Government Summit.

The initiative, which is part of the Samsung Africa Forum programme, Ngeru explained, underpins Samsung's commitment to facilitate sustainable educational development investments in Africa. The delegates enjoyed interactive information sessions hosted by specialist trainers, who simulated real-life scenarios that showcased how technology can enhance the learning experience in the areas of mathematics, music, art and history among other subjects.

The first ever Samsung Africa business-to-government (B2G) Smart Government conference, Ngeru explained, focused on strengthening relationships with the public sector, creating a platform for debate on key service delivery issues as well as creating an opportunity to demonstrate and highlight how innovative technology solutions are designed and optimised to aid government in accelerating service delivery.

"Samsung understands that meeting the development needs of the country requires a number of players working together as well as tailored solutions to optimise this team work. We are therefore out to create this platform for discussion and to demonstrate how our comprehensive government based offering incorporates the latest technology innovation that is not only as energy efficiently as possible but also takes cognisance of the unique challenges of the public sector," explained Ngeru.

Covering several areas such as Health, Education, Job Creation, Safety and Security and Communications, Samsung aimed to engage with government stakeholders as well as develop a platform for these stakeholders to come together to understand the needs of the country from a broad perspective, what is expected of them and which solutions and partners can help them achieve this. For Samsung, this was a keen opportunity to not only demonstrate their solutions but to partner with government in the provision of a complete set of solutions that cover critical touch points to assist it in meeting these objectives.

When it comes to solution provision by Samsung for the government sector - the below describes the refinement of Samsung's government solutions and the well thought out offering, in aiding enhanced service delivery through technology.

Samsung Smart Government solutions transform internal and external relationships through the use of technology meaning citizens are able to engage with government more easily than before. By facilitating technology-driven government processes, productivity and efficiencies are improved while saving costs and enhancing service delivery.

Under Smart Education, the Samsung Smart School mobile learning solution establishes an interactive multimedia classroom environment by leveraging Samsung smart devices and e-board solution. Additional features let teachers monitor learner's devices and provide for resource sharing and management of assignments.

Smart Comms harnesses the various Samsung unified communication and collaboration solutions to bring elements such as Web conferencing and instant messaging to a mobile workforce. Desktop and file sharing across multiple operating systems provide for an integrated user experience further improving the internal efficiencies of government.