SHARJAH, Sharjah Government Media Bureau, JAN 14, 2019 - The Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB) is hosting training workshops at Al Majaz Amphitheatre for senior Sharjah officials and members of various government organisations in the Emirate to demonstrate the use of the Smart Media Platform (SMP) developed by the Bureau.

The first-of-its-kind Smart Media Platform, unveiled by the SGMB at the GITEX Technology Week in Dubai in October, is aimed at helping government officials in the Emirate build professional skills and capabilities and enhance the media discourse and interaction with the public. The platform helps monitor media content, publish and archive photographs and follow news across various media and social networks.

The SGMB training workshops are being conducted in three stages. During each phase, members of 20 government entities are trained to use the Smart Media Platform in order to standardise the media work according to a unified editorial policy. The Platform has three components – Smart Media Publisher, Smart Media Monitor and Media Centre. 

The SMP helps in rapid response to and management of media crises as it forms an integrated network of government entities and media. It taps the Artificial Intelligence in the media work, which is a trend pioneered by the Emirate of Sharjah in the media sector pursuing a futuristic vision. Besides monitoring the media content, the platform also helps in analysing the capabilities of employees in the government media departments and the training needed to hone their professional skills. 

Hessa Al Hammadi, Manager of Government Communication Department at the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, said that the project translates the vision of the SGMB in digital transformation and use of latest technology and tools to serve the objectives of the Emirate. She pointed out that the Smart Media Platform helps in monitoring and analysing what is published in both traditional media and social media.

"The platform will play a key role in building strategic relationships with various media by connecting them with the platform that will benefit all government institutions and departments in the Emirate," she emphasised.

The project offers users both negative and positive feedback and inputs so that the right media plans can be developed and media crises can be anticipated and managed in a manner that helps strengthen positive media perception.  

Al Hammadi expressed confidence that the SMP will strategically serve the needs of government agencies and institutions in the Emirate. It will work as a platform through which government entities can easily and quickly publish their news as well as make it available for the media for wider dissemination. It will also help in organising the internal work of news and media monitoring and Photo Library.