As a knowledge partner, the Governance and Innovation Program (GIP) at Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government took part in the second GCC Government Social Media Summit, held at the Ritz Carlton Dubai from September 2-3, 2013. The summit focused on the increasing relevance of social media as a communication and engagement tool between Government and its citizens.

 

In the Arab region, and the GCC specifically, social media has been growing exponentially – reaching 55 million Facebook users and 3.7 million active Twitter users in the first quarter of this year, according to the GIP’s latest Arab Social Media Report - with various implications for its uses and benefits for government-citizen engagement. GCC governments have, in fact, started utilizing social media platforms to offer public services to their citizens and engage with them for better provision of these services. The summit utilized the GCC experience, along with best practices and international expertise to inform social media strategies for government.

 

The GIP team presented relevant research findings from their Arab Social Media Report Series at the summit. As conference chairman, Fadi Salem, Director of the Governance and Innovation Program discussed the latest social media trends in the region, with a focus on social media and government services, while Racha Mourtada, Research Associate, discussed Arab women’s use of social media and its potential for their empowerment.