SGCA’s ‘Voice of the People’ – UAE Award Seeks Community Engagement in Online Nomination and Voting Process

HE Tariq Saeed Allay: The new Award category seeks to engage members of society in developing government communication standards

The International Government Communication Centre (IGCC), an initiative of Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), has called on the public to participate actively in the online nomination and voting process for ‘The Voice of the People’, an important new addition to the Sharjah Government Communication Award (SGCA) in its UAE category.

‘The Voice of the People’ – UAE’ Award has been launched to strengthen community partnership in advancing government communications, and will be presented to a national entity that has made the biggest impact on its audience through government communication campaigns.

The Award, organised by IGCC and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, is a global platform to promote best practices in government communication.

"This Award category seeks to engage members of the society in developing government communication standards by measuring results and their impact on people's lives. We also aim to motivate institutions to engage more with the public by taking into account their needs and opinions when designing communication campaigns," said HE Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB).

Allay pointed out that when individuals communicate with institutions to exchange opinions and proposals, it improves the overall performance levels of institutions, in general, and their government communication units, in particular.

He stressed that SGCA has bolstered its position as an international platform to advance the culture and practices of efficient communications and activate the roles of all stakeholders in the development process.

As per the rules and regulations for this newly introduced category, the UAE community can nominate an entity on the SGCA website, and follow it up with the voting process.

Following the posting of a question on its website about an initiative  related to government communications that has made a positive impact, the public can nominate a campaign from the options provided. Once the nomination window is closed, 10 candidates will be selected for the public to vote on.

The International Government Communication Centre, is organising the seventh edition of SGCA on the sidelines of the ninth edition of the International Government Communication Forum, and is positioning it as an international award with a more global outlook and reach.