During the ird seion of IGCF 04

Nik Gowing: Governments cannot tinker with existing communication structures in the new, fast-changing realities

Eminent television personality and senior news anchor at BBC World News has urged governments in the region to accept that the public information space can no longer be controlled by the state as was traditionally possible.

At an interactive presentation on the second day of the International Government Communication Forum 2014 (IGCF 2014), Nik Gowing highlighted the acute vulnerability, fragility and brittleness of power, together with the new accountability and deficit of legitimacy in the dynamically evolving government communications landscape.

The session focused on how the new media landscape has highlighted the ongoing struggle by governments, public servants and high-level corporate executives to appreciate and embrace the new social realities.

Speaking on the vulnerability of governments in the digital communications landscape, Gowing said: What might have happened in 5-10 years in the past may now happen in 5-10 days. Today, governments need to recognise that events are communicated in real time through platforms such as twitter. Governments cannot control the public information space; this is an important reality that cannot be ignored.

However, most governments are simply not prepared to face the enormities of what can happen. It is no longer about traditional media, but the public information space, which everyone carries in their pockets. The public information space is a nervous system of the world that we have created.

Citing the example of Ukraine, he emphasised the need for governments to understand how to respond to such situations in an hour and said: You really need to think how you will reconfigure the whole system to respond in a timely, confident and savvy way. The existing structure and its relationship with the public is considered inadequate.

Today we have intrusive technology like the hexicopter that can evade into a place like Maydan Square and allow us to see what is happening even though the police has cordoned off the area. Although it may be shot down, it can snap the realities on-ground as they happen. While we were sitting in London, we knew what was happening in Ukraine as the people were recording and tweeting events such as when they were arrested. Today, governments may have facebook and twitter accounts, but it is not a profound solution to the issue - it is superficial. Technology is threatening governments and counter-measures have to be put in place urgently. We merely preempt a small fraction of what is coming - the change is coming really fast. The trouble is time is against governments in this new dynamic communications landscape.

He called upon governments to accept that everything that could happen will happen within a matter of seconds - without even their knowing. Citing several examples of the way some of the most horrific actions of the government were revealed, he said: Most people in positions of power and responsibility don't realise quite how short this is. You are engaged in a race of space and a battle for credibility in real time. You have no control over it. New media and technology have created a matrix of who is where and even while offering hardcore evidence. You never know now where cameras will be but you now need to know that cameras can be anywhere, this is what people want and it is creating accountability.

However, I am amazed at the way that governments continue to remain in denial. Those who are in power take things for granted just because they have been appointed or are in power again and again. However, this is a wholly irrational notion. 80-90 percent of people are still struggling and they can be called flat-earthers. There is now continuous feedback on the actions of governments and you need to respond immediately.

It is worth noting that Nik Gowing has extensive reporting experience in diplomacy, defence and international security. He also has much sought-after analytical experience on the failures to manage information in the new transparent environments of conflicts, crises, emergencies and times of tension. His peer-reviewed study at Oxford University Skyful of Lies and Black Swan' predicts and identifies the vulnerability, fragility and brittleness of institutional power in the new all-pervasive public information space.

The first regional government communication event was organised by Sharjah Media Centre (SMC) 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 SMC's efforts to develop government communication mechanisms for the benefit of government institutions in the UAE and wider region.

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