The International Government Communication Centre (IGCC), a subsidiary of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), has unveiled the shortlist for the seventh edition of the Sharjah Government Communication Award (SGCA). Among the 793 entries received, 40 finalists are competing to win the award’s 16 categories. Winners will be announced on March 5, on the sidelines of the 9th International Government Communication Forum, to be held on March 4 – 5, at Expo Centre Sharjah under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

Direct application categories finalists

In the ‘Best Practices in Government Communication – Sharjah’ category, the shortlist includes Sharjah World Book Capital, Sharjah Police and Sharjah Urban Planning Council. The ‘Best Media Crisis Management – UAE’ category shortlist comprises the Ministry of Finance and the Municipality & Planning Department – Ajman. Sharjah City Municipality and Sharjah Police have secured spots on the ‘Best Government Communication Coordinator-UAE’ category list, while the Securities and Commodities Authority, the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme, and Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) have made it to the shortlist for the ‘Best Support System for Government Communication Staff-UAE’.

In the ‘Best Media Programme that Made a Difference – The Arab Region’ category, the contenders include Dubai Sports Channel (UAE), Communication Agency at the Ministry of Information (Saudi Arabia), and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (UAE).

The Saudi Ministry of Justice and Health and UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention are the nominees for the ‘Best Government Social Media Engagement – The Arab Region’ category.

Shortlist of nominees selected by an SGCA partner

The shortlist for the ‘Best Government Communication Campaign – Global’ category features ‘Chat crecer-Argentina’, ‘How to collect waste like a behavioural scientist’, and ‘Seven behavioural insights tips from pioneering cities’, selected by A Political.

Nominees selected by the National Media Council (NMC) in the ‘Best initiative to Manage Fake News – Global’ category include: ‘No to rumours – Saudi Arabia’, ‘Don’t believe – Egypt’, and ‘You have a right to know – Jordan’. NMC also shortlisted: Rashid Al Rumaithi, Manal Rashid, and Khalid Ahmad Al Harithi in the ‘Best Influencer through Social Media – UAE’.

Meanwhile, ‘Buenos Aires’ open source platform is making public works transparent’, ‘INDIA WIRS’, and ‘The City Health Dashboard’ have been shortlisted by A Political in the ‘Best Use of Data | Best Data Visualisation – Global’ category.

The shortlist for the ‘Best Press Photo on Government Communication-Global’ category includes Lawrence Jackson for his picture of US President Barack Obama and Sirfaz Ali for Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi’s picture, selected by National Geographic.

The Federal Youth Authority nominated Abu Dhabi Police Youth Council, ‘Yaser loves University by Yasser Mohammed’, and ‘The filter is environment-friendly by Duha Madani’ for the ‘Best Youth Initiative in Government Communication – The Arab Region’ award, and ‘Youth print’ and ‘Mark mint’ for the ‘Best Idea to Increase Engagements (Influence) on Future Generations – Global’ category. LAWRENCE JACKSON LAWRENCE JACKSON

Online voting for ‘The Voice of the People’ category

IGCC has called on UAE residents to actively vote for their favourite public campaign from among the five finalists of the new public voting category ‘The Voice of the People – UAE’ – Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA), Kalba City Municipality, UAE Ministry of Finance, Ajman Municipality and Planning Department and Sharjah Police. The voting closes on March 3. The ‘Best Use of New Technology’ category has been withheld due to the applications not fulfilling the category’s requirements.

HE Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of SGMB, stressed that SGCA has achieved a qualitative leap in its seventh edition by expanding the award’s scope to include global categories that have helped it attract the best local, regional and global practices in government communications.

Allay noted that there had also been an impressive increase in applications for the 2020 edition that had exceeded the numbers generated by the previous six editions. He underscored the participation of notable institutions and individuals in this edition which reflects the importance of this award as a platform for exchange of expertise and knowledge.

He added that the reputed institutions, companies and individuals who have been nominated confirmed that the award has grown into a global platform offering important opportunities to exchange experiences in government communication, and an engine for creative thinking in this sector.

The seventh edition of the SGCA received 793 entries, including 53 submissions from Sharjah, 40 from the Gulf region and 700 from other emirates in the UAE.

The Voice of the People – UAE received maximum participation with 700 members of the community nominating 23 government campaigns. Best Government Social Media Engagement – Arab Region took the second spot with 30 nominations, while Best Support System for Official Spokesperson – UAE received 16 nominations.

Since its debut edition, SGCA has recorded 1,549 nominations so far.