
The sixth edition of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2017) themed Societal Participation Comprehensive Development', held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, concluded yesterday (March 23) at Expo Centre Sharjah, with the issue of a set of recommendations aimed at activating community participation in the achievement of the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Convening more than 2,500 local, regional and international attendees, the Forum witnessed the participation of high-level officials from 16 countries and included five keynote speeches, seven main sessions, six parallel discussion sessions, five accompanying workshops and three interactive sessions. The list of participants included world statesmen, five UAE ministers, two Nobel Peace Prize laureates and representatives of international organisations and public and private-sector officials. Day one of IGCF 2017 saw the announcement of winners of the fourth Sharjah Government Communication Award.
His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Council, said: The end of each edition of IGCF marks a new beginning for the further advancement of government communication. Today, our efforts to develop a vital communication ecosystem are closer to accomplishment than ever before, due to the recommendations and insights of the international experts that we've hosted throughout this two-day Forum.
He added: We thank everyone who contributed to making IGCF's sixth edition a grand success, including sponsors, volunteers, and committee members who supported the Forum's work mechanisms and offered valuable assistance to the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB) in achieving the Forum's objective of realising Sharjah's vision for government communication.
Jawaher Al Naqbi, Manager of the International Government Communication Forum, unveiled the recommendations of IGCF's sixth edition.
The Forum recommended establishing scientific, cultural and spiritual centres for children and the youth to build responsible personalities who are committed to advancing their country's interests and social participation.
Secondly, it endorsed devising executive programmes to provide care for the elderly and ensure an environment that meets their needs.
A third recommendation was to enhance education, support scientific research programmes, and build capacities and skills that are vital to achieve the comprehensive development goals.
Fourthly, IGCF 2017 recommended the establishment of a joint Arab committee to support and launch initiatives that stimulate government communication programmes aiming to enhance the efforts of Arab countries towards sustainable development.
IGCF 2017 also called for active societal participation by families, schools, and media outlets in initiating progressive programmes to achieve the sustainable development of societies. In addition, the Forum called for the reinforcement of the media's role as a supporter of sustainable development programmes and human values. It encouraged the participation of people with disabilities in programmes and initiatives to achieve sustainable development in order to better integrate minority segments into mainstream society.
The Sharjah Children Shura Council session suggested embedding a smart alarm on the front doors of houses that would notify residents when exiting the premises about any electrical units that are still in use. Another recommendation of the dedicated session this year was to extend support to productive families in poorer countries, rather than offering direct financial assistance to the governments of these countries. Lastly, the children participating in IGCF 2017 proposed establishing a Children's Education Charity Fund to support the education of poor children across the world.
For its part, the interactive session for people with disabilities emphasised the need to teach sign language in schools to enable all individuals within a society to communicate with one another. It also recommended issuing the Emirates Code (UAE standard code for the comprehensive environment) for people, institutions and society.
Meanwhile, the Youth Council stressed the pressing need for government entities to familiarise themselves with the most common communication platforms and smart applications among the youth in order to converse better with them. In addition, it highlighted the significance of including community hours as part of regular working hours at government offices an initiative that will allow the youth to play their role in becoming change agents and delivering a positive impact in society.
The general recommendations of IGCF 2017 also included initiating conversation with government communication directorates at the level of the Arab region to form an Arab network of government communication based in Sharjah with representative offices across all member countries. Moreover, the Forum reiterated the importance of putting in place innovative and modern methods to survey Arab public opinion and public perception on government communication campaigns. The Forum articulated that in order for government communication campaigns to be more influential, they should enhance their presence across and utilisation of multiple social media platforms.
The Forum also called for launching a set of specialised training programmes for government communication professionals to equip them with the newest trends and tools in their field. It stressed the need to give them more flexibility in interacting with the public through social media platforms. Finally, several participating experts called for the launch of development circles to be held throughout the year to follow up on the public
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
09/09/2026
Sony Electronics has announced the SEL814G, the company's first fisheye zoom G Lens for full-frame Alpha E-mount cameras. The lens will be available in Octo...
09/09/2026
Telestream has announced an expansion of its Practical AI capabilities across th...
09/09/2026
Haivision and Chyron have announced a technology partnership integrating Haivisi...
09/09/2026
Omaha Productions has released ManningCast: Heist, a short film featuring Peyton and Eli Manning attempting to break into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's o...
09/09/2026
Imagine Communications will demonstrate the next evolution of XVR at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14).
XVR is Imagine's channel-in-a-b...
09/09/2026
swXtch.io has announced abbe, an AI-based orchestration layer for live media workflows, making its world premiere at IBC2026 (Meeting Room 5.MR13, Hall 5, Septe...
09/09/2026
NFL Films has announced the second season of Inside the NFL on X as an X Original, premiering Wednesday, September 9. The series marks Inside the NFL's 50th...
09/09/2026
LiveU has announced an expanded partnership with The Associated Press, deploying the largest fleet of LU900Q intelligent production units in the industry as par...
09/09/2026
Diversified has announced plans to consolidate its four existing New Jersey locations into a new facility in Newark, expected to be fully operational by the end...
09/09/2026
Wisycom will exhibit new RF products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D60, September 11-14), including the MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, PFL Portable RF over Fiber Box, and ...
09/09/2026
Guntermann & Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both Panoptec companies, will introduce vsNEO at IBC2026 (Stand 8.B63, September 11, RAI Amsterdam). Pre-orders open in ea...
09/09/2026
Mo-Sys has completed a business restructuring and relocated to a new facility in Canada Water, London. As part of the reorganization, Selin Kemal has been promo...
09/09/2026
Aicox has integrated TAG Video Systems' Core monitoring platform into Telef nica's TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure....
09/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a free update available now through the Blackmagic Design website. The release adds new AI tools, workflow ...
09/09/2026
ESPN and Apple Music have announced a collaboration on music curation for Monday...
09/09/2026
Sacramento Production Services has completed a wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, home of the Athletics during their three-year residency in Sacrame...
09/09/2026
NDI and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to develop AI-powered workflows enabling broadcasters to create and distribute multilingual content from a single ...
09/09/2026
Christopher Chip Adams, Troy Aikman, Jim Dove, Jim Eady, Bucky Gunts, Robert A. Iger, Charlie Jablonski, Robert Kraft, Tom Rinaldi, and Dick Stockton to be ho...
09/09/2026
ND2 returns as the primary unit, While FNIA gets SSQC and new flexible Rover...
09/09/2026
New parts aimed at hip-hop and pop productions
The latest update to Celemony's innovative virtual session musician expands the collection of built-in in...
09/09/2026
Save up to 40% until 21 September 2026
Sonarworks are currently running their Autumn Sale, with discounts of up to 40% currently available across their rang...
09/09/2026
Upcoming title officially launches in September 2026
Bjooks' celebrations for this year's 909 Day will be welcome news amongst drum machine lovers, ...
09/09/2026
NITV to bring First Nations netball to audiences nationwide
9 September, 2026
Media releases
Every match of the 2026 First Nations Tournament will be live ...
09/09/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites eligible Tier 1 and 2 South African production companies to submit proposals to serve as the Facilitating ...
09/09/2026
Italy launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA
Milan, Italy, September 9, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, ...
09/09/2026
Planned solutions tackle accuracy, cost and latency barriers to deploying AI at ...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, introduces its new Model 791 Control Console at IBC 2026 (N...
09/09/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, is headin...
09/09/2026
NUGEN Audio unveils DialogCheck v1.2, the latest evolution of its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at IBC 2026 (Pod P27). With a sharpene...
09/09/2026
Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Help the Entertainment Industry Tackle Everyday Security Risks
Industry-Wide Campaign Launches at IBC2...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
AI has moved firmly beyond experimentation in UK advertising, with more than eight in ten marketers (83%) now actively using or piloting AI in production, accor...
09/09/2026
IBC2026 - Stand 7.D22
At IBC2026, Pixitmedia by DataCore will showcase its latest capabilities designed to simplify distributed production, accelerate workflow...
09/09/2026
Stockholm, Sweden September 9th, 2026 At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live ...
09/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway is continuing the use of its Open Live Media technology for premium European football, deploying Nimbra 5...
09/09/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, will showcase four new AI-native capabilities at IBC2026, Hall 5, S...
09/09/2026
Limecraft today announces version 2026.6 of its AI-powered production platform, extending capabilities for connected media operations. An AI-assisted approach t...
09/09/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of its Practical AI strategy, evolving its comprehensive portfoli...
09/09/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
09/09/2026
LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliable broadband directly into LiveU's cellular bonding EcoSystem through a singl...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Wisycom is showcasing the latest additions to its ecosystem of professional RF technologies at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.D60). This includes its new MATF Wideband Anten...
09/09/2026
AMSTERDAM, IBC2026 VisualOn, Inc. and Cires21 today released an updated joint whitepaper at IBC 2026 demonstrating measurable, high-impact improvements in visu...