The Government Social Media Summit for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region will be held from 17-19 September, wherein social media uses for the government will be discussed by over 200 delegates representing GCC/MENA region and Commonwealth countries.
GCC is a political and economic union of the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf and located on or near the Arabian Peninsula, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
High-ranking ministers, senior public/private sector officials, internationally-acclaimed academics, communication gurus, social media and ICT practitioners and other specialists will attend the meet.
The Arab world in general and the UAE in particular, have enthusiastically embraced social media. The population has some of the world's highest usage rates for digital media.
Therefore, the over-riding objective of the summit is to keep governments in touch with their tech-savvy populations, culminating in closer, faster and more efficient interaction with the public.
Salem Al Suwaidi, Deputy Director General for Information and eGovernment Sector, at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said: "Social media has become an effective tool for channelling governments' official communications with the public. Therefore, I hope this summit will encourage governments to be more proactive, responsive and progressive."
Fadi Salem, Director of the Governance and Innovation Programme at the Dubai School of Government, which is the summit's Knowledge Partner, said the most precious tool of any government is information.
"Governments in the region are realising that information is no longer a one-way monologue but a two-way dialogue with the public.
"With more than 12 per cent of the young population in the Arab region actively using social media, governments can now actively engage with a fast-growing part of the society and stay updated on the public's needs and opinions, thereby responding with effective policies," he said.
The move assumes significance because of the fact that social media played an effective role in the Arab Spring protests last year.
The protesters used social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to communicate and organise protests and reach a wider audience.
