DIGITAL COLLABORATION IN THE COVID-19 CRISIS: TRANSFORMING SAUDI ARABIA'S DISASTER RESPONSE
Date
0023-09-21
Authors
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Publisher
Saudi Digital Library
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on a worldwide scale, which has
led governments to develop a variety of preventative and response measures in an effort
to lessen the severity of its consequences. The education system, particularly that of
Saudi Arabia, faced tremendous problems and was required to fast adjust to the new
conditions brought about by the epidemic. This dissertation analyzes the transformational
influence of digital cooperation in Saudi Arabia's reaction to the COVID-19 crisis, with a
special emphasis on education, health, safety, and security. The topic of this research is
COVID-19.
During the epidemic, Saudi Arabia, like with many other nations, understood the
significance of digital technology, particularly in the fields of public health, healthcare
services, education, telecommunication, commerce, and risk communication. Analysis of
publicly available official announcements, press briefings, published data, research, and
professional discussions were performed with the goal of gaining a thorough
understanding of Saudi Arabia's digital response.
According to the findings of the research, the pandemic prompted a faster adoption of
digital solutions across a variety of industries. The education system in Saudi Arabia has
shown resiliency by adopting online education platforms to guarantee that students
always have the opportunity to learn new things. The cooperation provided by
telecommunications firms was essential to the continuing efforts, and those working to
disseminate information about potential dangers made good use of websites, social
media platforms, and SMS text messaging.
This study comes to a close by investigating the role that digital cooperation had in
changing Saudi Arabia's emergency reaction to the COVID-19 issue. The research adds
vital insights to continuing worldwide efforts in harnessing digital collaboration to lessen
the effect of crises and influence future disaster response tactics by studying its impact
on education, health, safety, and security. These are only few of the areas that were
investigated in the study.
Description
The COVID-19 problem has had a significant impact on a worldwide scale, which has
prompted governments to undertake a variety of preventative and response measures in
an effort to limit the strain's contagiousness and reduce the severity of its consequences.
Education is one of the industries that has been greatly impacted by this catastrophe. As
a result of the epidemic, schools and universities have had to quickly adjust to the new
circumstances that have been placed on them as a result of the pandemic. Many nations,
including Saudi Arabia, have responded to these problems by embracing digital
interaction and online education as crucial ways to maintain the continuation of learning
in these particular circumstances. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the
transformational impact that digital collaboration had in Saudi Arabia's catastrophe
approach to the COVID-19 crisis. More specifically, the areas of education, health, safety,
and security will be the focal points of the investigation that will be conducted in this
research.
On March 3, 2020, Saudi Arabia verified its first case of COVID-19, which resulted in the
country-wide adoption of lockdowns, limits on both private and public facilities, and
mobility constraints for the people. These steps are in line with the measures that have
been enacted internationally. Because of these severe restrictions regarding mitigation, it
has become very necessary to make efficient use of technological and digital solutions in
order to continue delivering important services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi
Arabia, along with a great number of other countries, understood the relevance of digital
technology, notably in the fields of public health, healthcare services, education,
telecommunication, commerce, and risk communication (Marwah Hassounah,
Hassounah, Raheel, & Alhefzi).
This research paper focuses on publicly accessible government pronouncements, press
briefings and releases, news clips, published statistics, published research, and
professional debates in order to get a thorough glimpse of Saudi Arabia's digital response
to the epidemic. These sites offer extremely helpful insights into the many projects that
are being performed in Saudi Arabia by both the public and commercial sectors. Notably,
the efforts of both sectors working together resulted in the creation and deployment of
roughly 19 apps and platforms that effectively supported public health duties and offered
healthcare services (Gunther, September 2020).
In addition, the Saudi Arabian education system shown resiliency by capitalizing on an
existing online education platform to guarantee the consistency of instructional
procedures. As a result of this experience, potential new pathways have been created for
the widespread use of digital education techniques in the years to come. In addition, the
enterprises in the Saudi Arabian telecommunications industry have demonstrated
seamless teamwork and implemented new ideas in order to assist the continued efforts
being made throughout the crisis. In addition, risk communication initiatives corresponded
to best practice recommendations and made good use of social media platforms,
websites, and SMS text messaging.
The results of this study highlight the relevance of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which was
published in 2017 and which has established the basis for digital transformation in the
country. This change has been promoted and put to the test as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic, which highlights the possibilities for transformation. When looking into the
future, Saudi Arabia has the possibility to further study the use of artificial intelligence into
the process of merging different sources of information during potential outbreaks. In
addition, reducing the total number of mobile applications and consolidating their features
might improve both accessibility and ease of use (Marwah Hassounah, Hassounah,
Raheel, & Alhefzi, April 2020).
In conclusion, the purpose of this research paper is to conduct an in-depth investigation
of the contribution that digital cooperation made to the transformation of Saudi Arabia's
emergency response during the COVID-19 crisis. This research offers insight on the
revolutionary impact of digital technology by studying the activities performed in the
education, health, safety, and security sectors. The findings of this research can
contribute to continuing efforts being made by Saudi Arabia and other countries to
successfully use digital cooperation to lessen the impact of crises. These findings can
also be used to shape future plans for responding to natural disasters.
Keywords
IDC: Impact of Digital Collaborations CODC: Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Collaborations DRT: Disaster Response Transformation