The Future Of Government Communication

The future of communication was discussed at the 7th edition of the International Government Communication Forum in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The meeting came as huge questions are being asked about how governments communicate with their citizens and what responsibilities lie with the technology giants like Facebook and Google? ENEX was participating in the conference as a media partner.

 

Some of the world’s leading names in the field spoke at the conference, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who is widely regarded as the creator of the world wide web.  Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak also appeared along with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and representatives from Google, Linkedin and many political leaders.

 

The first session, held Wednesday 28th March, focused on how Governments should respond to the fast pace of change in digital technologies? Appropriately, former White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer tackled the subject. White House communications were, and still are, often playing catch-up to President Trump’s direct Twitter feed.  Though revolutionary as his approach is, is it necessarily wrong?

Call for tighter regulation on social media platforms

The recent controversy concerning Cambridge Analytica’s mining of Facebook users data for political research and campaigning has led many to call for tighter regulation on social media platforms and technology companies. Sir Tim Berners-Lee said recently, “While the problems facing the web are complex and large, I think we should see them as bugs: problems with existing code and software systems that have been created by people — and can be fixed by people.”  Others remain more skeptical.

The Sharjah event was hosted by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah and took place at the EXPO Convention Centre in Sharjah until Thursday 29th March.

ENEX is conference media partner 

ENEX is producing content from the event and has mobilised over 20 television crews to travel to Sharjah.  Adrian Wells, Managing Director of ENEX was also moderating one of the conference sessions as part of the cooperation.