Sharjah Media Centre (SMC), the media and communications arm of the Government of Sharjah, today announced the agenda for the inaugural International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2014) to be held under the theme ‘Different Roles…Mutual Interest’.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the forum will run from 22-24 February at the Expo Centre Sharjah bringing together more than 25 regional and international professionals from the government, private and media sector.

His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, shared the comprehensive agenda at a press conference held at the Al Qasba Theatre. The media briefing was hosted by Turki Al-Dakhil, an eminent television personality and journalist.

Day one of IGCF 2014 will feature two parallel training workshops for members of the media and government communication professionals. Donald Steel, specialist in reputation and crisis management, will conduct the workshop titled ‘Social Media in a Changing World’.

The second workshop ‘The Changing Role of Government Communications’ will be conducted by DrZaheraHarb, Senior Lecturer in International Journalism at the Journalism Department, City University London.

The second day of the forum will commence with the official opening ceremony in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last ruling President of the Soviet Union and Guest of Honour for IGCF 2014.

The forum’s first session will follow the opening ceremony. Titled ‘Role of government communications and reputation management in attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)’, the session will bring together leading lights such as Felipe Calderón, Former President of Mexico, James Wolfensohn, Former President of the World Bank Group and His Excellency Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs/ Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs. Tim Sebastian, former presenter of BBC’s popular ‘HARDtalk’, will moderate the session.

The second session elaborating on ‘The relationship between government communication and social media activists’ will be headlined by Jon Duschinsky, Founder & CEO, The Conversation Farm; Dr. Sulaiman Al Hattlan, Founder and CEO of Hattlan Media; and Fadi Salem, Director of the Governance and Innovation Programme, Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government. ZeinaYazigi, popular TV host at Sky News Arabia, will moderate the session.

An interactive presentation by NikGowing, renowned television personality and senior news anchor at BBC World News, showcasing ‘Acute vulnerabilities of power, politics and systems in the new public information space’ will wrap up the second day’s activities at IGCF 2014.

The final day of IGCF 2014 will commence with a keynote speech by Kathleen Carroll, Executive Editor and Senior Vice-President, Associated Press (AP). This will be followed by a session titled ‘How are government visions developed?’. The debate will be hosted by John Kao, Chairman and founder of Institute for Large Scale Innovation; Simon Anholt, Independent Policy Advisor and Amany El Khayat, Presenter at ONtv. Veteran television personality Giselle Khoury will moderate the session.

The second session that will seek to add value to Sharjah’s government entities will discuss ‘What the public sector can learn from the communication experiences of the private sector?’ will be steered by Bryan Dumont, President of APCO Insight. Others headlining the session will include Marwan Zawaydeh, Chief Corporate Governance Officer, Etisalat; and NartBouran, Head of Sky News Arabia. Paula Yacoubian, popular Presenter at Future TV and host of ‘Inter-views’, will lead this session.

Alastair Campbell, Director of Communications and Strategy for former Prime Minister Tony Blair (1997 and 2003), will conduct a live one-on-one session entitled ‘Internal communication between departments/ministries of the state’. The segment will offer a real-life case study on the subject. IGCF 2014 will conclude with a general brainstorming session that will be led by Dawood Al-Shirian, a television personality and journalist.

Announcing the agenda, His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi said SMC’s role in inviting international government communication experts to share their experiences and case studies at the forum complements Sharjah’s efforts in supporting regional governments to develop effective methods of communication between governments and different stakeholders.

HE further stated: "All governments around the world, without exception, face varied challenges in communicating with the public. The reasons are largely attributed to the change in communication methods and the emergence of new, diverse and fast-growing mediums to express and share ideas. This natural evolution of communication techniques makes it imperative for governments to explore and understand new methods.”
 

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