UAE university students compete for government communication award

Sharjah: Media and communication students from various universities in the UAE are pitching their ideas on government communication for the first-ever competition organised by the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF), whose 11th annual edition will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah on September 28 and 29.

The competition, designed to discover exceptional talents in the field capable of building successful careers in government communication, is part of the pre-forum activities being held on September 26 on 27, and will be staged at the University Challenge Hall.

The top three winners of the competition will receive the Sharjah Government Communication Award (SGCA) in the “best university initiative to qualify future employees in government communication” category on the final day of IGCF 2022.

Panel discussions

There are also panel discussions that will cover a variety of topics including skill sets required for the digital age, the role of social media platforms in the communication ecosystem, the future of media faculties, the impact of communication on educational outcomes, and more.

IGCF 2022 is organised by the International Government Communication Centre (IGCC), an initiative of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau. The forum’s programme will be led by 160 senior public officials, thought leaders and experts who will highlight the role of government communication in overcoming local and global governance challenges.

Future of media

Prince Saad bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud, Dean of the College of Media and Communication, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Saudi Arabia; Dr Heba Al Samri, former Dean of the Faculty of Mass Communication at Al Nahda University, Egypt; and Dr Tahseen Mansour, Dean of the Faculty of Mass Communication at Yarmouk University, Jordan, will lead a session titled ‘The future of media faculties and impact of means of communication on educational outcomes’.

Along with moderator Dr Aisha Al Busmait, Director of Government Communications at the Federal Transport Authority - Land & Maritime, the panellists will discuss the importance of advancing the curricula across communication departments, highlighting the importance of practical training opportunities to build successful careers in the field.

Digital communication

On September 28, a talk titled ‘Digital communication and prospects for institutional cooperation’ organised by the Arab Administrative Development Organisation’, will explore the most effective ways to advance communication tools and highlight best practices in institutional cooperation and networking with different stakeholders to ease access to beneficiaries and achieve public satisfaction.

Moderated by Dr Rania Abd Razek, head of General Secretariat, the Arab Network for Communication and Public Relations, the session will host Dr Nasser Al Hatlan Al Qahtani, General Director of Arab Organization for Administrative Development; Sultan Al Bazie, CEO of the Theatre and Performing Arts Authority and Chairman of the Arab Association for Social Responsibility; and Christophe Ginisty, International Public Relations expert and crisis management specialist.

Media employment

In a session titled ‘The Requirements of the Media Employment Market and the Concept of Inclusive Media’, panelists including Wedad Bu Hamid, Director of Government Communication Department, Dubai Health Authority; Mona Khalil, Director of Government Communication Department, Ministry of Community Development; Naglaa Doukhi, Director of Government Communication Department - Nationality and Residence; and Major Dr Reem Sabah, Deputy Director of the security media department, Ministry of Interior, will highlight how government communication cadres must have multiple skills to be comprehensively able to move from performing the tasks of gathering, transmitting and editing news to analysing and presenting them in attractive forms and templates. The session will be moderated by Prof Ghalia Al Ahbabi, Director of Government Communication Department, UAE University.