Sharjah Media Centre Launches Weekly Column for...

Al Qasimi: Restoring trust between governments and people and building youth skills are key challenges in government communication

Sharjah Media Centre, organiser of the International Government Communication Forum, has unveiled a new initiative to empower young national talents in government communication and enhance their capacities and skills in tune with the aspirations of the UAE government. The move is designed to strengthen government communication systems with skilled nationals capable of handling communication operations.

The announcement was made by HE Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, during his meeting with editors in chief of UAE daily newspapers. The meeting saw the launch of the new initiative, which is titled The Green Chair: Students communicate', to be part of the Green Chair Initiative adopted by the International Government Communication Forum to allow university students to take part in the discussions on stage and express their thoughts and views.

Under this initiative, a weekly space will be allocated in all local dailies for communication students to air their views on the progress of government communication.

The meeting was attended by: Mohammed Al-Hammadi, Editor-in-Chief of Al Ittihad newspaper, Raed Berqawi, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Al Khaleej newspaper, Ali Shahdour, Editor-in-Chief of Al Bayan newspaper, Sami Al Reyami, Editor-in-Chief of Emarat AL Youm newspaper, Marwan Bourjas, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Al Roya newspaper, Aisha Taryam, Editor-in-Chief of The Gulf Today newspaper, Dr Abdul Rahman Azzi, Dean of the Communications College, University of Sharjah, and Osama Samra, Director of Sharjah Media Centre.

The initiative, which is aligned with the UAE strategy to empower youth and prepare them to lead the communication operations in the future, is part of the activities linked to the fifth International Government Communication Forum, which is scheduled to be held in March 2016 at the Expo Centre Sharjah. More than 2,500 local and regional leaders and experts, as well as communication students from across the country will attend the event, which will also draw the attendance of distinguished heads of states, government officials and media leaders.

HE Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi said: Not giving enough space to the youth is one of the hurdles of our times, especially in building their own professional future. The student columns in newspapers will help address the professional concerns of our youth and enable them to knock at the doors of the job market, besides sharpening their occupational skills.

He added: Through this initiative, the students will gain a platform to express their views about media and communication. This will undoubtedly enrich the knowledge corpus available on communication systems in the country. At the same time, it will also bring out the talents among the youth in this sphere, which is of utmost importance to the country. The centre will follow the participation of the students in the initiative and try to identify talented youths to take on future responsibilities.

The Pioneering Role of Media

The Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre explained that the media and communication sector is crucial to building ideas and culture in the society. The initiative of the student column in local newspapers will help develop the skills of our youth and prepare them for the future. I commend the cooperation of media organisations with the centre on this initiative. The success of this initiative is integrally linked to the sensitivity on the part of the media to the aspirations of the youth. The media has been immensely cooperative with us, he added.

The Role of Government Communication in Crisis Management

HE Al Qasimi said the government communication sector underwent substantial transformation over the past five years because of regional and global development. The centre has been assiduously focusing on this vital sector since the beginning. Government communication has a leading role to play in overcoming challenges and crises. Problems in many countries are due to discrepancies in the communication between the citizens and their governments on the one hand and between various components of the society on the other. Restoring trust between governments and the public and developing the skills of the youth are among the principal challenges before government communication systems in our times, he pointed out.

HE Al Qasimi said that the core message to be transmitted from all platforms was that of comprehensive development as it alone guaranteed an end to various economic, social and cultural crises and conflicts.

Nurturing Talents

Editors praised the new initiative of Sharjah Media Centre and stressed on the importance of preparing and nurturing talents in the domain of journalism in UAE. They assured that newspapers are in permanent search for good young journalists to train and prepare to develop their career in the field of journalism. Editors showed interest in nurturing promising talents through field training in media institutions.

LINK:	http://www.sharjahmedia.ae/en/media-centre/news/10/11/2015/????-??????...
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