Sharjah: The Sharjah Government Communication Award 2013, which aims at raising media performance in government institutions across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), was announced on Sunday.
Online submissions will open from October 25 and will continue until August 15, 2013.
The voting process will also be conducted online.
Winners will be announced on September 26, 2013 and will be awarded at a banquet on October 1, 2013.
The Sharjah Government Communication Award is organised under the patronage Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. The award is the first of its kind in the region.
Shaikh Sultan Bin Ahmad Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, said there were almost 20 categories, but for the first chapter of the Award there will only be 11, divided into three groups.
He said there will be cash prizes for some of the awards.
Some of the categories are open to the entire GCC, some are only for the UAE and some are specific to Sharjah.
The categories include GCC Countries Lifetime Achievement Award, Sharjah Young Journalist of the year award, UAE social commentary columnist, blogger of the year award and the Most Informative UAE TV Programme of the year award.
The judging panel, introduced at the press conference, includes Dr. Adul Rahman Azzi, Dean of the Communications College at The University of Sharjah, Dr. Abdullah Jawdat Rizkallah, Founding Member and CEO of Al Risalah Satellite Channel and Ebrahim Al Abed, Director-General of the National Media Council, among others.
Rizkallah, said that competition creates excellence. He said: “Continuous improvement is what any media personnel should have in mind, as it is not enough to be best-but one should take that best and make it even better.”
