Ruler of Sharjah to Open Fif Edition of...

Under the patronage of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the fifth edition of the two-day International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2016) themed Citizens for Prosperity, will commence tomorrow (Sunday) at Expo Centre Sharjah. The momentum of the forum will be set with the inaugural speech of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah at a grand inaugural session headlined by eminent personalities from around the world. Drawing the participation of 3,000 international leaders, media personalities and key stakeholders in government communication, the opening day's highlights will include an address by His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, followed by two keynote speeches by His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the National Media Council, and Amal Alamuddin Clooney, international advocate and human rights activist.

Under the patronage of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the fifth edition of the two-day International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2016) themed Citizens for Prosperity, will commence tomorrow (Sunday) at Expo Centre Sharjah. The momentum of the forum will be set with the inaugural speech of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah at a grand inaugural session headlined by eminent personalities from around the world.

Drawing the participation of 3,000 international leaders, media personalities and key stakeholders in government communication, the opening day's highlights will include an address by His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre, followed by two keynote speeches by His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the National Media Council, and Amal Alamuddin Clooney, international advocate and human rights activist.

At a special women only' session, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the NAMA Women Advancement Establishment will speak on the Woman Citizen. Helen Clark, Administrator of the UN Development Programme and former Prime Minister of New Zealand (1999-2008), Tina Brown, journalist, founder of Women in the World and CEO of Tina Brown Live Media, Dr Sakena Yacoobi, President and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning, and Lawrence Chickering, founder and President of Educate Girls Globally are also set to headline this session that will be moderated by Muna Abu Sulayman, media personality at MBC.

The opening ceremony of the forum will be followed by the first session on Government Communication and Building Knowledge Societies. Fredrik Reinfeldt, former Prime Minister of Sweden (2006-2014), Ziauddin Yousafzai, UN Special Advisor on Global Education, Jordan Casey, young entrepreneur, owner of Casey Games, and self-taught programmer, and Rajai El Khadem, Head of LinkedIn MENA - Public Sector LTS will headline this session to be moderated by Mayssoun Azzam, media personality at Al Arabiya News Channel.

The second session will tackle the theme Confronting Extremism: Government Communication and the Creation of a Humanist Culture. To be moderated by Mohannad Al-Khatib, media personality from Sky News Arabia, this session will be headlined by His Excellency Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France (2005-2007), Mohamed Benaissa, former Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (1999-2007), and Husain Haqqani, former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States (2008-2011).

Several unique events on the side-line events of IGCF 2016 are set to register high public interest, such as the Community Innovation Platform, where eight Emirati innovators from the UAE will showcase their projects and initiatives at four specialised sessions spread over two-days under the theme Luminous Reflections. Each speaker will be allotted a maximum of seven minutes to speak on his or her innovation. The purpose of the platform is to enhance dialogue and interaction between the audience and the speakers.

In addition, IGCF 2016 will include various workshops in collaboration with UNAOC, the Thomson Foundation and Sky News Arabia. The themes of the workshops include: Prevention of Violent Extremism and Hate Speech: Sharing Good Practices in the use of Social Media, Involving Youth in the Promotion of Tolerance and Diversity across the World, Investigative Journalism as a Governmental Tool for evolving wise decisions, and Government Communication and Strategies of Partnership with Public.

The International Government Communication Forum, the first-of-its-kind in the wider Arab region, is an important global event that convenes decision-makers, experts and stakeholders in government communication from around the world. Seeking to develop recommendations and resolutions to help governments and people involved in the field of government communication to enhance their performance and scope of work, the forum also aims to achieve greater convergence in the relationship between governments and the public to ensure sustainable development.

LINK:	http://www.sharjahmedia.ae/en/media-centre/news/19/3/2016/ruler-of-sha...
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