Sharjah: The importance of partnerships between governments and all segments of society to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be the main topic in focus at the Sixth International Government Communication Forum (IGCF), it was announced on Sunday.
Under the new slogan, ‘Societal Participation…Comprehensive Development’, the two-day conference, to be held from March 22 to 23 at Expo Centre Sharjah, aims to shed light on how members of the community are an integral part of the solutions to the current global issues.
Around 2,500 leading local and international government officials, media experts, thought leaders and government communication professionals will gather at the global conference, organisers said, which will see 24 speakers from 13 countries share global best practices in government communication.
Albert Gore, former vice-president of the United States and Founder and Chairman of The Climate Reality Project and Kailash Satyarthi, the acclaimed children’s rights’ activist and joint 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner are among the main speakers this year.
Unveiling the details of IGCF 2017, Shaikh Sultan Bin Ahmad Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre (SMC) said the sixth cycle of the annual event, under the patronage of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, will leverage best practices in raising public awareness about sustainable development.
“The conference will pay particular attention to enhancing the spirit of community partnership and instilling a sense of responsibility in the present and future generations towards their countries and humanity at large,” he said.
He said it will highlight successful approaches that government communication practitioners adopt to drive public opinion towards a proactive response to current global issues.
“The partnerships between governments and all segments of the community form an integral part of people’s social responsibility towards the advancement of their countries.”
Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of SMC, said six main sessions, four interactive sessions and five workshops will be held during the workshop. The forum, he noted, is open to everyone, and people can register to it through the forum’s official website.
“The first day will start with a session on ‘Communication for Development (C4D) and Community Partnership’. It will highlight the purposes and goals of C4D programmes and ways of implementing them,” he said.
Day one of the Forum will also feature a panel discussion with Al Gore titled "Climate Change…Are There Real Solutions?"
Other sessions on both days include: ‘The Public and Private Sectors: Real Partnership towards Sustainable Development’, "Environment and Climate Change in Media Policies", "Role of Social Media Platforms – From Participation to Real Partnership", "Government Communication and Development Goals in the Arab World" and "Impact of Conflicts and Refugees on Arab Development".
Several events and workshops will be held on the sidelines over the two days of the forum, including a Youth Circle on the role of government communication in motivating youth in the achievement of SDGs.
“Two workshops will be organised by UN Foundation, one by LinkedIn, and one by the Sharjah Press Club. Some will be for the media and some will be for government communication specialists and government entities,” said Allay
The sixth edition will also conclude with a roll-out of recommendations and the announcement of the winners of the Sharjah Government Communication Award.
Al Qasimi said every year the recommendations that come out of the conference are taken up to the Sharjah Executive Council for implementation.
“We always ensure the recommendations are raised to the Executive Council, who issues the final approval for their implantation during the same year,” he said.
Speakers:
Albert Gore (Al Gore), former vice-president of the United States and Founder and Chairman, The Climate Reality Project
Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, UAE
Najla Bint Mohammad Al Awar, Cabinet Member and Minister of Community Development, UAE
Kailash Satyarthi, acclaimed children rights’ activist and joint 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner
Najla Al Midfa, General Manager, Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa)
Jeffrey D Sacks, Renowned Development Economist, Director of Earth Institute-Columbia University
Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, Nobel Peace Prize winner
Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises and President of Crescent Petroleum
Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE
Alexander Stubb, former prime minister of Finland, member of the Finnish Parliament
Khaled Issa Al Huraimel, CEO of Sharjah Environment Company Bee’ah
Safa Al Jayoussi, founder and executive director for IndyACT, Head of Climate & Energy Campaign in Arab World
Nicholas Christakis, Sociologist and Physician, Director of Human Nature Lab — Yale University
Saeed Saleh Al Remeithi, Member of the Federal National Council
Ashraf Zeitoon, head of policy for Facebook in MENA region
Ediola Pashollari, Secretary General of the World Assembly of Youth (WAY) and Director of World Youth Institute (WYI)
Abdul Latif Youssef Al Hamad, director general and chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
Mishal Kanoo, chairman of Kanoo Group
Dr Adah Almutairi, Saudi scholar, inventor, and an entrepreneur
Khaled Khalifa, the regional representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council
