Sharjah 24: The director of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), Alia Al Suwaidi, honoured the graduates of the second edition of the Professional Diploma Programme in Strategic Government Communication, at the American University of Sharjah, on Saturday.

The professional diploma Programme, organised by the International Government Communication Centre (IGCC) of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), touched on a number of academic lectures on the latest government communication theories, strategies and practical applications, analysing case studies, leading to the final outputs by presenting applied projects by graduates of the programme to ensure the acquisition of practical skills that contribute to the development of the government communication sector.

Al Suwaidi affirmed SGMB’s keenness to continue its goals in supporting the government communication sector, and to adopt best practical practices and the latest development programmes, which will reflect positively on enhancing the competencies in the sector and developing public work practices to achieve sustainable development.

She stated that the programme, which was implemented in its second edition in partnership with the American University of Sharjah, has attracted the interests of workers in the government communication sector in various emirates of the country and beyond, pointing to future plans to generalise the goals and outputs of the programme to serve a wider segment of participants.

The IGCC has developed a comprehensive academic and practical programme in the professional diploma to introduce its affiliates from government communication employees, communication students, and those interested to all areas of government communication and government communication strategies at the national and international levels.

The Professional Diploma Programme covered 30 theoretical and practical hours within weekly lectures and several applied programmes that dealt with topics in government communication, including "government communication strategies, government communication in crisis situations, advanced content industry and strategic research, and social media campaigns in government communication."

At the close of the programme, graduation projects covering the theoretical and practical aspects of the programme, which dealt with initiatives, scenarios and media campaigns on various topics, were presented by the graduates.

Participants in the Professional Diploma Programme in Strategic Government Communication stressed the importance of the programme in developing work and supporting their skills in creating advanced content for government communication in accordance with best practices, tools and techniques, pointing out that graduation projects will be used within the development work plans to be applied in the concerned institutions to serve the objectives of the programme in supporting governments to develop communication programmes.

The Professional Diploma Programme in Strategic Government Communication serves employees of all public relations departments and departments of media and corporate communication in government and private institutions, as well as journalists and editors interested in the field of government communication.