As part of its continuous efforts to streamline the workflow of government communication departments in Sharjah and the UAE, the International Government Communication Centre (IGCC), a subsidiary of Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), has conducted a two-day workshop at Al Majaz Amphitheatre to assess unsuccessful applications submitted for the sixth edition of Sharjah Government Communication Award. Representatives of the applicant entities participated.

The workshop aimed to assist applicants to enhance their submissions and comply with the guidelines and standards in order to fare better at the next iteration of the award. The organisers reviewed successful submissions and highlighted their strong points to the participants.

The organisers held up the applications that had qualified for the awards’ 14 categories as examples that had a comprehensive and clear work strategy, including a mission and main messaging aligned with the applicant’s vision.

The workshop revealed the flaws in the rejected applications, notably the absence of a clear and organised plan for the project, lack of clear messaging and objectives and the dearth of data and statistics that charted the impact of the activity on the target audience, apart from a lack of innovative ideas.

Jawaher Al Naqbi, Manager of IGCC, commented: “This workshop is a part of SGMB’s mission to support and advance government communications, develop tools and nurture competition between government entities by highlighting the strengths in the applications from the previous edition of the award, and the challenges they faced.”

She added that the workshop was able to pinpoint the reasons why some of the applications had been unsuccessful. Applicants of those applications learnt how the successful candidates had been able to adhere to the prescribed standards and regulations. The workshop would ultimately help them to revisit their participations and enhance them in order to compete successfully in upcoming award editions.

IGCC received a record 250 submissions for the sixth edition of the SGCA - 192 from the UAE, including 74 from Sharjah, and 58 from other GCC countries.

Since its inception, the award has attracted 756 entries, with 337 from Sharjah, 255 from the other emirates, and 164 from other parts of the Gulf region.