A team of female graduates from the Faculty of Computer Studies at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) is working to improve the efficiency of the local mayoralty through the introduction of technology. The team has beaten 210 other websites to bag Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Digital Excellence Award given to government websites. The team of 19 graduates, led by faculty dean Arwa Al-A'ama, was formed two years ago upon the establishment of the mayoralty's Electronic Communications Department to improve staff performance and increase communications efficiency between staff and visitors to the city of Jeddah, Al-Watan Arabic newspaper said. Although the mayoralty did not have a single woman employee when the team began its work, the department has since developed from a single windowless room at a private company to a main headquarters at the mayoralty and five female-only branches. Al-A'ama told Al-Watan that the setting up of the website passed through a number of stages, including design, identification of user-audience, and the organization of training courses conducted by companies such as Microsoft and paid for by the mayoralty. “The department has further benefited from the expertise of consultants from KAU and is in constant contact with Ministry of Communications and Information Technology concerning the latest technological developments,” Al-A'ama said “The winning of the award shows what has been achieved through the constant updating of information and interactive services, and the quality of the site's content with facilities such as the Jeddah Electronic Forum that was set up last year and has gone a long way to helping people have their voices heard by officials,” Al
