H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah today opened the 7th International Government Communication Forum, IGCF, at the Sharjah Expo Centre.

"New technologies represent a dangerous weapon that is being misused by powers of darkness to control young generations," H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan said in his inaugural speech of the global event.

"We have to safeguard our communities against the malicious propaganda propagated by powers of darkness by adopting a well thought-out approach to prevent a proliferation of such a dangerous weapon."

Underlining the importance of ensuring full protection for youngsters against the avalanche of new technologies, Dr. Sultan said, "We have to fulfill our responsibility toward our kids who have been isolated from society and got addicted to new technologies. I urge you all here to explore ways to prevent our kids from falling down from rational thinking to chaos."

Organised by the International Government Communication Centre, IGCC, the two-day forum is being held under the theme ‘Digital Millennium...Where To?’ and hosts more than 2,500 regional and international heavyweights representing both government and private sectors in a discussion on the rapidly transforming role of both public and private entities in the new digital age.

Over 40 speakers from 16 countries are participating in 11 discussion panels representing diverse themes like ‘Digital Diplomacy in Government Communication’, ‘Media Charisma,’ ‘New Media in Serving Humanitarian Issues,’ and ‘The Future of Communication.’ The forum’s programme showcases the best practices and pioneering expertise in this field. It comprises training workshops conducted by a host of global organisations’ representatives and many media companies.

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, SMC, delivered a speech in which he reviewed the fast-paced developments witnessed in the communications industry.

"A new era is dawning where all current means of communication are going to disappear and will be replaced by others whose extent we are not aware about," Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi said. "The digital revolution is developing in an impressive way and several governments have realised that and started to react. We are aware that digital revolution is reality and represents the future."

Addressing the forum’s first dialogue session titled "Government and Private Sectors. Responsibilities and How They Fit in the Age of Digital Communications", Sean Spicer, former White House Press Secretary said, "The private sector is creating technology so fast that it is getting more difficult for government sector to keep pace. And therefore there must be collaboration between government and private sectors to stop the negative impact of technology on young generations."

"However, governments are missing the point if they do more to regulate the new technology. There must be some sort of communication between government and the private companies. We should not stifle entrepreneurs’ innovative ideas. Instead, private companies like Facebook and Twitter must be transparent with their users," he added.

"It is amazing when governments speak to their people through new technology like Twitter. This is a very healthy and reflects positive approach that can meet the challenges of new technology.

Tanmay Bakshi, youngest Artificial Intelligence, AI, scientist in the world, speaking to IGCF 2018, said, "Technology must be utilised to deliver information in a more efficient way."

"The world needs more programmers and we should enable children to innovate and have access to the growth of 4th Industrial Revolution technology. Artificial communication should be used to enable those who cannot communicate naturally.

Doubling on the growing importance of Artificial Intelligence, Bakshi said," AI is going to empower us more and it means augments intelligence."