While governments have the responsibility of keeping themselves and their citizens connected inwards and outwards, the public must also be mindful of their internet use and question their objectives.Dr. Fahim Kibria, CEO of Kotler Impact, led conversations of how governments can establish a “people-focused” communication model, allowing both sides to develop a communication framework that is both constructive and responsible.

Speaking on the second day of the7^thInternational Government Communication Forum (IGCF), at Expo Centre Sharjah, in an interactive session titled “Government Communication Skills,” Kibria kicked off his discussion by questioning the motives of mobile phone users.He said: “Why do we all use cell phones? We spend most of our time checking the news aimlessly without taking anything new. What goes in our mind comes out immediately amidst the endless flow of information.”

He noted that while millennials are taking over social media use, digitalisation has taken the whole world in a cloud and has interfered in the way people rely on using their brains. Today, over 3 billion people are active users of social media, with information available at a click.  For Kibria, general users must invest their time efficiently, achieving something better away from their cellphones.