Under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Sharjah Media Centre launched the inaugural edition of the forum in 2012. A first-of-its-kind event, the forum aims to build a platform for better communication between governments and their stakeholders to support the government of Sharjah towards creating a participatory dialogue and to develop government communication mechanisms for the benefit of government institutions in the UAE and the region.

The event witnesses the convergence of local, regional and global media experts along with government thought leaders from all over the world in the emirate of Sharjah. By internationalising the title to ‘International Government Communication Forum (IGCF)’, the forum is set as an annual event to benchmark Sharjah’s media and communications mandate against global best practices, aims to bring the latest professional standards of various governments’ communication methods to the emirate, seeks to address and embed macro topics to develop a collaborative and participatory dialogue with opinion leaders, heads of government institutions, and other officials.

The SMC’s challenge for hosting this year’s event is to include issues that would be relevant to the Arab world while also adding value to the international community.

In addition to a series of panel discussions and workshops, the forum highlights Sharjah Media Centre and its role in developing and overseeing best practices in the field of media relations and communications for government institutions.