Social Media - The Future of Government to Citizen Communications:Region is not far Behind

Dr. Saeed Al Dhaheri

Advisor to the Minister,

Ministry of Foreign Affairs - UAE

Kingdom e-Government Summit Riyadh 25 - 26 Sep. 2012

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View points

Drivers

e-participation: why is it important, what tools are there, and ranking of

GCC governments

Social Media in GCC Governments: numbers, potential use, status,

channels, and examples

conclusion

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Drivers

Open Government:

participation and engagements

Transparency

Innovation

Improve service delivery and usage

e-participation is essential for Open Government

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Why e-participation is important

Enhance trust between government and people through engagement and transparency

e-participation is a criterion in the UN e-gov survey

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Country Rank

UAE 6

Bahrain 8

Qatar 9

Saudi Arabia 9

Oman 16

Kuwait 25

Extent of e-participation

UN e-gov Survey 2012

GCC Governments e-participation ranking

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How to e-participate

Forums

Blogs

chat

Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Polls

Feedback forms

Main stream Social Media Platofrom (Facebook, Twitter, youtube, LinkedIn,,etc)

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Potential of Social Media in Government

Improve reach, accessibility and

targeting

Meet expectations and enhance

reputation

Improve cost-effectiveness

Accelerate response

Support deeper relationships

Social Media is an opportunity for Governments

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Social Media population in the GCC

Facebook Twitter PR%

5.5 M 3.2 M 19

3.29 M 263,070 40

992,200 370,987 34

567,680 59,835 29

482,680 16

352,520 29

Saudi Arabia

U.A.E

Kuwait

Qatar

Oman

Bahrain

Arab Social Media Report 2012

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Status of GCC Governments adoption of Social Media

More than 75% gov orgs are using SM

More institutionalized, but still developing

Mostly one way communication

Many in the trial phase

Few with Social media strategy and policies

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Bahrain gov portal:

Kuwait gov portal:

Oman gov portal:

Qatar gov portal:

Saudi Arabia gov portal:

UAE gov portal:

GCC Governments portals and Social Media

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GCC Governments and Social Media: Twitter examples

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GCC Governments and Social Media: UAE examples

Professional and Personal Use

– UAE Leadership is driving SM in Gov

– Interacting with people

– Receiving ideas and suggestions

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GCC Governments and Social Media: UAE example

Official Government-to-citizen communication

Facebook and Twitter channels

Communicate news, announcements

Listen to citizens and receive feedback

create awareness about e-services

Other uses

Crowed sourcing and idea contest

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GCC Governments and Social Media: UAE MoFA example

–Official Government-to-citizen communication

Twitter channel

Communicate news, announcements and alerts

Listen to citizens and provide assistance in

emergency situations

Creating awareness about MoFA e-services

Broadcasting events – Ambassadors Forum

Crisis updates

Polls and Forum

– Professional and Personal use

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GCC governments and Social Media: UAE example

Emirates e-government

guidelines for social media usage

in government entities document

Workshops with government

organization to help develop

strategies and policies

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GCC Governments Plans to adopt Social Media: examples

2nd e-government Action Plan for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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GCC Governments Plans to adopt Social Media: examples

Qatar Supreme Council of ICT

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SM will play an important role for government engagements with its citizens

and people

Governments should assess their capabilities and develop SM strategies

and policies and monitor performance for an effective engagement

Develop capabilities and use the right SM platform for the right audience

Governments must be prepared to respond

Conclusion

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Thank you