His Highness (HH) Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman of the Sharjah Executive Council, honored winners in the first edition of the Sharjah Government Communication Award (GCA) at a ceremony held on Sunday.Under the patronage of HH the Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, the honoring ceremony was organized by Sharjah Media Centre (SMC) to recognize the media role in all aspects of the political, economic, cultural and social life and to value the contribution of local and regional media institutions and individuals to the development of a distinguished media industry in the UAE, GCC and Middle East.
Present at the ceremony were Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of SMC; Osama Samra, Director of SMC, and a number of thought leaders, senior government officials and public figures from the UAE and Arab region, as well as local, Arab and international media representatives.
HH the Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah stated that the emirate, through the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has always adopted government initiatives that would promote the human element, the basis of the development process in all social, economic and political fields.
HH said: Today, we find the translation of that vision evident and clearly tangible in the first-of-its-kind initiative that Sharjah Media Centre - the media and communications arm of the Government of Sharjah - started through the launch of the Sharjah Government Communication Award, which values the efforts of government institutions and aims at developing the media competencies within them.
Expressing his happiness over the efforts put into supporting and developing government communication according to the strategy of Sharjah, HH Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi said: On this occasion, I cannot but thank Sharjah Media Centre and all of its employees for their initiative and efforts that serve the government communication sector. I also thank the judging panel, which did not spare any effort in developing the award and determining its standards and categories; and in evaluating the entries to the first edition of the Sharjah Government Communication Award.
The Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah also expressed his wishes of good luck and success to all participants and said: I congratulate those who will have the privilege of winning the award. The biggest win, however, is this gathering, which brings us all together with its blessed initiatives in the emirate of Sharjah.
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, on the other hand, asserted the significance of the GCA, which is one of a series of initiatives launched by SMC for the purpose of building an integrated system within the concept of government communication. The most prominent of these initiatives is the launch of the International Government Communication Forum, which, according to the Chairman of SMC, asserted the seriousness of its message through the rapid implementation of the recommendations it produced and the subsequent launch of the Government Communication Unit, the first active government communication network in the region.
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi expressed his deep gratitude to HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and the Sharjah Executive Council, under the chairmanship of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, for their continuous support to SMC's initiatives.
His Excellency said: Through our programs and initiatives in the field of government communication, we, in Sharjah, aim to give more attention to this field, develop it and honor its innovators. What we aspire to achieve through the Sharjah Government Communication Award is hard work, not slogans. What we seek is stimulating creativity and accomplishing achievements, one after another.
Towards the end of his speech, the director of SMC congratulated the GCA winners, saying: The fact that you have won the Sharjah Government Communication Award is a source of pride for all of us.
With you, we commence our journey towards an annual occasion that brings together leaders of government communication from across the region.
For his part, Samra extended his sincere thanks to His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi for patronizing and attending this seminal event and for his continuous support to SMC.
The director of SMC clarified that the GCA emanated from Sharjah's vision to convey its meaningful message to the world and, therefore, build a new government communication scene in the region.
Samra finally expressed his appreciation to the members of the GCA's judging panel for their role in the success of the award.
As a member of the GCA's judging panel, Rawan Al Damen, Senior Producer and Director at the Programs Department- Al Jazeera News Channel, presented the panel's statement, saying: Over the year, Sharjah Media Centre received more than 300 entries from institutions and individuals from the UAE in general and Sharjah in particular. After verifying the conformity of each entry to the criteria of the corresponding category, a
mini-committee collected and classified all conforming entries. Consequently, the six-member judging panel received over 160 entries to the award's nine nominated categories. Then began the examination, analysis and evaluation phase, which was followed by the mathematical calculation of the grades and unanimous decision of the panel.
Expressing her happiness to work as a key member of the GCA's judging panel in an atmosphere of total integrity, independence and quiet contemplation for a confident decision, Al Damen said:
