Dubai to move all government documents onto Blockchain
By GovInsider
It could unlock 25 million hours of economic productivity, announces Crown Prince.
The Dubai Government will move all its documents onto Blockchain and go paperless by 2020, the Dubai Media Office announced yesterday. Blockchain is a digital ledger that is held across a distributed network of computers.
Records are logged in real-time and are irreversible. “The strategy aims to make life and work easier for people in Dubai; users will only need to enter personal data or business credentials once”, tweeted Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai.
“The Dubai Blockchain Strategy also aims to unlock 25 million hours of economic productivity annually in saved document processing time”, he added.
In February, Dubai’s Museum of the Future Foundation - the country’s innovation incubator - first established a “Global Blockchain Council” among private firms, government agencies and startups to research the potentials of the technology.
The council presented seven pilot projects in May: using Blockchain in health records, securing the diamond trade; recording title transfers, business registrations and digital wills; and boosting tourism.
So far, governments globally have been using Blockchain to improve its public service delivery. Australia plans to use it in elections voting; the Republic of Georgia and Sweden are exploring Blockchain in its land registry system; while Singapore is trialing the tech to prevent freight firms from defrauding banks.
GovInsider is running a strategic foresight breakfast on 28 October where Australia's CSIRO will present on plans for blockchain in the public sector.