Sharjah24: His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairman of Sharjah Media Council (SMC), honoured winners of the 9th edition of the Sharjah Government Communication Award (SGCA), Thursday, September 29th, during a special ceremony held on the concluding day of the 11th International Government Communication Forum (IGCF) organised by the International Government Communication Centre (IGCC), a subsidiary of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), at Expo Centre Sharjah.

In his keynote speech, His Excellency Tariq Saeed Allay, Director General of SGMB, said: “By highlighting the latest innovations and creative thinking across several disciplines in government communication with the announcement of the winners of the 9th edition of SGCA, our ambitions led by the IGCC to advance government communications and its tools regionally and internationally, is renewed year after year”.   

“Today, we celebrate institutions, initiatives and individuals who have made a tangible impact on communities by effectively utilising government communication tools, reiterating its power to change perceptions, build future visions and influence positive change,” Allay added. 

“Every institution, initiative and individual we honour today is an example and a model of success that Sharjah is proud to highlight on our international stage,” the Director General further noted, stressing that building a strong government communication ecosystem begins with highlighting such exceptional journeys and expertise of various government communication departments and experts, by studying its impact and measuring results in order to identify people’s perceptions of the discourse practised by official institutions. 

Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, Director-General of the Emirates News Agency (WAM )and Chairperson of the SGCA jurors committee, thanked His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, for his patronage of the award. She also thanked His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman of Sharjah Media Council, for his efforts to successfully realise an exemplary media and communication vision for Sharjah, which combined a purposeful messaging with an effective mechanism.

He said: “SGCA is an incubator of successful communication experiences locally, regionally and internationally. Since its inaugural edition, the award has turned the spotlight on fearless communication ideas and strategies that are ahead of the times and that serve societies to the fullest. Each edition of SGCA has promoted modern concepts of government communication, encouraged their uptake and raised its own evaluation bar to ensure nominated projects do well practically in ensuring the well-being and happiness of humankind.”

Al Rayssi also pointed out that the SGCA jury committee has put forth recommendations to add two new award categories, namely, ‘Best Cultural Initiative in Government Communication’ and ‘Best Government Communication Supporting Humanitarian Initiatives’, in addition to changing certain award criteria in the partner categories. They have also recommended moving the ‘Best Photo in Government Communication’ under the Direct Application category along with suggestions to develop the entries for the 'Best Economic Organisation Supporting Emerging Projects – Global', after the jury decided to withhold it due to failure to meet the award's criteria.
He added that the 9th edition of the Award added the 'Best Challenge for the Future in Government Communication,' in partnership with 01GOV and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the 'Best university initiative to qualify future employees in government communication' in partnership with the UAE University.

Winners of the 9th edition of SGCA
The jury decided to withhold the 'Best Economic Organisation Supporting Emerging Projects – Global' award due to failure to meet the award's criteria.

The winner of the 'Best Public Communication by a Government Agency – Emirate of Sharjah' award is Sharjah Digital Office, while the 'Government Communication Model Employee – United Arab Emirates' award went to Fatima Al-Sharqi from the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund; and the 'Best Crisis Response – United Arab Emirates' award winner is the Emirates Red Crescent Authority. 

As for the 'Best Government Communication Systems' award, which comprises four subcategory awards, the 'Practices' award went to Sharjah Media City (Shams); the 'Training and Education' award was bagged by the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development while Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters was announced the winner of the 'A System for Persons with Disabilities' award. The subcategory of 'A System for the Elderly' was won by the Sharjah Social Services Department. 

The 'Best Government Communication in Digital Media' award went to the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, while the ‘Best Applied Scientific Research in Government Communication - Global’ was won by Alaa Mustafa from Al Azhar University, Egypt.

The award for the 'Best Environmental Policies and Practices' went to Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC); and the Department of Municipality and Planning in Ajman.

The 'Best Youth-targeted Government Communication' category comprises two subcategory awards. The winner of the 'Best Youth Initiative in Government Communication' award is Basil Al Madani, Syria, while the 'Best Initiative for Influencing Future Generations' award went to the National Youth Program for Skills Development, Oman.

The 'Programme with the Greatest Influence on Social Responsibility' award has been won by the GCC Health Council initiative 'Ma Yensaket Anha'. 

The winner of the 'Best Photo in Government Communication' award is Giles Clark, USA.

The 'Best Innovations in Government Communication – Global' category has come to the Middle East for the first time in partnership with 01Gov and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is split into two awards. The 'Best Innovation in Government Communication', has been scooped by CitizenLab, Belgium, while the jury has offered the 'Best Challenge for the Future in Government Communication', title to the Ahlam team for their project ‘Your sleep is important’. 
The 'Best Social Media Influencer' award winner is Ihssane Benalluch from Morocco.

Exceptional Prize
The Exceptional Employee Prize award comprises two subcategories. The 'Best university initiative to qualify future employees in government communication' award comes in collaboration with the UAE University. Its winning initiative in the University Challenge organised during the pre-IGCF 2022 activities was the Smart Visitors System by the UAE University team.

'The Best Government Communication Initiative that Empowers Women' award went to the 'Hama’ initiative, to enhance the readiness of female soldiers for the future, in partnership with the National and Reserve Service Authority, the Government Development and the Future Office (UAE).

The ‘Best Media Content’ award went to ‘Kafu’ programme, Bahrain, while ‘Al Ekteyar’ series, Egypt, was the winner of the ‘Best Dramatic Work - ِArab Word’ award.

During the ceremony, jury members were honoured for their efforts during the 9th edition of the award.

A short film highlighting the history and goals of the award since its launch was presented on the occasion.