Day- of IGCF 04 to Bring Communication Formulas between Governments, Public and Private Sectors into Focus

Sharjah Media Centre (SMC) has announced that Day-3 of the upcoming International Government Communication Forum, that is set to be held this year under the theme Different Roles Mutual Interest' at the Expo Centre Sharjah from February 22-24, will feature presentations from a constellation of eminent media personalities. Day 3, will commence with a keynote speech by Kathleen Carroll, Executive Editor and Senior Vice-President of Associated Press (AP).

The speech will be followed by a session titled: How are government visions developed?' The discussion will turn the spotlight on the foundations that visions are built on, and debate what objective methods governments need to implement to understand the aspirations of their citizens. The critical role played by the media in establishing those methods of communication will also be examined.

John Kao, Chairman and Founder of Institute for Large Scale Innovation (ILSI), a leading authority on innovation, business creativity, organisational transformation and emerging technologies, will lead the debate. Kao has also served as advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative. Simon Anholt, Independent Policy Advisor, who helps national, regional and city governments develop and implement strategies for enhanced economic, political and cultural engagement with other countries, will also participate in the discussions. Amany El Khayat, a prominent presenter on Egypt's ON TV and the first Arab Non-Palestinian female correspondent operating from Palestine, will moderate the session.

As part of this year's Green Seat' initiative, Ahmed Mustafa, Chief Editor of Digital Sky News Arabia, will bring in the populist dimension to the discussions. Veteran television personality Giselle Khoury will also be on hand to moderate the session.

The second session of the final day will seek answers to the question: What can the public sector learn from the communication experiences of the private sector?'

The session will explore ways in which best practices from the private sector's rich experience in communicating with its stakeholders can be drawn upon to develop the nascent public sector's communication experience. As an important value-addition, the session will highlight the media's perception on the differences between the communication strategies adopted by the public and private sectors.

The interactive session will be steered by Bryan Dumont, President of APCO Insight, who is an expert in providing opinion research, message development and strategic communication services to corporations, governments and associations. Others headlining the session will include Marwan Zawaydeh, Chief Corporate Governance Officer at Etisalat, who holds 34 years of experience in the telecommunication sector and is recognised for his knowledge and expertise in strategic planning and business development. Representing the media at this session will be Nart Bouran, Head of Sky News Arabia, who possesses a record of more than 22 years of experience in journalism. Paula Yacoubian, presenter at Future TV and host of Inter-views', will moderate the session.

Alastair Campbell, Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003, will conduct a live one-on-one session entitled Internal communication between departments/ministries of the state'. The debate will offer a real-life case study outlining how strategic communication objectives can be defined in line with a government's vision and general policy of a state. This session will also explore how government communication teams can enjoy a consistent and balanced performance, while speaking in a conform language that reflects the general orientation of the state.

IGCF 2014 will conclude with a significant question for the audience on the relationship between the public and the government in terms of communication and interaction. Led by the leading Arab television personality and journalist Dawood

Al-Shirian, the conversation will seek the audience's perception on How they see the future of government communications?'

The first regional government communication event was organised by Sharjah Media Centre in 2012. The forum discussed relevant communication challenges that were triggered by the socio-political occurrences in the Arab world. IGCF 2014 is a first-of-its-kind event that articulates the SMC's efforts to develop government communication mechanisms for the benefit of government institutions in the UAE and wider region.

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