Registration for Sharjah Government Communication Award to Open from March 1

SHEIKH SULTAN BIN AHMED AL QASIMI: SHARJAH AWARD AN ENDEAVOUR TO SUPPORT BEST PRACTICES IN GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION

The Sharjah Government Media Bureau has announced the launch of registration for the eighth edition of the Sharjah Government Communication Award 2021 from March 1, 2021. This came during a meeting of the Sharjah Government Communication Award jury held today at the new House of Wisdom in Sharjah chaired by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council (SMC), in the presence of HE Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of the Sharjah Government Media Bueau (SGMB) and Jawahar Al Naqbi, Manager of the International Government Communication Centre, an initiative of the SGMB.

The meeting was attended by members of the jury including HE Mohammed Jalal Al Raisi, Director General of the Emirates News Agency (Wam), HE Hassan Yaqoub Al Mansoori, Secretary General of the Sharjah Media Council, and HE Ali Jaber, Director General of MBC and the Dean of the Mohammed bin Rashid School for Communication, Dr Ali Salem Al Lawati, Adviser on Studies and Research at the Diwan of the Royal Court, Sultanate of Oman, and HE Sami Al Riyami, Editor-in-Chief of Emirat Al Youm newspaper, HE Shehab Al Hammadi, Director of Sharjah Media City (Shams) and Fadila Al Maeeni, Editor-in-Chief of Al Bayan, and Dr Yasar Jarrar, Strategy Adviser, International Advisory Group.

Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi stressed that the Sharjah Government Communication award is an endeavour to support the best international practices in government communication to develop the sector according to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. He expressed his satisfaction over the steady annual increase in participation in the award based on statistical indicators and figures, which points to increasing awareness of the importance of the award to promote government communication programmes.

The Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council stressed the award’s role since its inception in promoting positive competition and launching institutional and individual innovations among specialists in the government communication sector, attracting expertise to transfer their experiences and benefit from them and enhancing awareness among community members about the importance of this sector and its developmental role.

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi pointed out that the Sharjah Government Communication Award works annually to review its objectives according to the developments in the international arena and to develop mechanisms and categories that keep pace with regional and global events and changes related to government communication, in order to achieve its development vision.

The jury members discussed the impact and prominent positive changes brought about by the Award, its future goals and role in supporting the steps of the Emirate in building a system of government communication thinking, and developing the communication experience in the region, according to the vision of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah in making the Emirate a regional and global centre that supports everything related to the renaissance, prosperity and development of society and the strengthening of communication means.

The Sharjah Government Communication Award has worked since its first session to consolidate the concept of government communication among local authorities and institutions, by focusing on best practices and disseminating their experiences, with the aim of making government communication a practice and a development tool, which has resulted in positive results over the past years.

It is worth noting that the Sharjah Government Communication Award was launched in September 2012 following the directives of HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The award works to consolidate and document the best professional practices in the government communication sector in the UAE, the Arabian Gulf region, and the larger Arab world from by highlighting the achievements of individuals and institutions in this field.