MUSCAT: “The approach adopted by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos — through his continuous communication with the people — comes within the framework of established policies which are currently being implemented on the ground through communication between the government and citizens.” This was stated by His Highness Sayyid Shihab bin Tareq al Said, Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan, while inaugurating the second Government Communication Forum, held at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, on Monday.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the forum complements this march in light of the world’s development in the area of communication. More than 1,200 participants from public relations and media units in government institutions, as well as experts, academics, media professionals and students, are taking part in the forum. HH Sayyid Shihab stressed that the government communication works to frame policy in an integrated system which is affiliated to the government, and interaction and communication with the community are the policies followed in most countries of the world. He wished the forum a success.
In a statement on the sidelines of the forum, Shaikh Al Fadhal bin Mohammed al Harthy, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, said the achievements of the government call centre would have not been possible without the encouragement given by the Council of Ministers, the active response from all government institutions, and the efficiency of the cadre. He added that this forum reflects the role of the centre in enhancing the efficiency of government institutions in the field of communication, and this forum will provide a platform to discuss new practices and trends in government work.
The activities of the forum kicked off with a speech by Dr Abdulmunim bin Mansour al Hasani, Minister of Information, in which he said: “The second edition of the government communication forum comes in a new and more interactive form to benefit from the expertise, listen to experiences and learn about developments in the media sector and government communication, in addition to other tasks.” He added that the Government Services Communication Centre at the Secretariat General of the Council of Ministers has since its inception in 2017, sought in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Information and the Public Authority for Radio and Television and officials of public relations and media departments in government institutions, to regulate communication between government institutions and society, interaction on current issues for a clear and interactive government media message on issues in the country.
He added: “We will carry on with continuous meetings, workshops and media campaigns, training, development and rehabilitation of communication activities for government institutions in 2019 and 2020 to integrate the efforts and distribution of roles based on terms of reference of each party.”
He said that the communications centre is looking forward to the future through several seminars and dialogues in which we have involved academics, specialists, experts, professionals and students, hoping that these meetings will result in the formulation of the National Media Strategy 2040, which coincides with Oman Vision 2040 and the pace of implementation.
He added that the media is present in the sectoral committees and participates in the preparation and formulation of Oman Vision 2040.
The minister said: “It is necessary to prepare a National Media Strategy which explores the future, and is based on the themes and pillars of the vision.”
Badr bin Mohammed al Hinai, Director-General of Communications at the Secretariat General of the Council of Ministers, stressed that the communication centre is working on employing advanced systems to monitor the views and aspirations of the community through various media channels and communication.
He added: “They are sorted, analysed and categorised by intelligent machines and human intuition, share them with stakeholders to look at the various topics and issues and take the appropriate action.”
The first day of the forum included a session entitled “Managing Reputation of Government Institutions” presented by Dr Ali al Oufi from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU).
The second session entitled “Media and the Enhancement of National Security and Current Challenges and Future Perspectives” was presented by Lt Col Anwar al Huraibi of the Moral Guidance at the Ministry of Defence. The third was entitled “Media Communication as a Soft Power for Countries” presented by Dr Abdullah BaAboud, Dr Nawaf Yousef al Tamimi and Hani al Bassous. The evening session was entitled “Digital Media and Social Media Journalism”. The forum also included an exhibition entitled “Excellence in Communication” reviewing the experiences of a number of government institutions and companies in communication and institutional media, in addition to the projects that qualified in the best graduation project competition for students of mass media. — ONA
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