Sharjah Media Centre Announces Two-Day Agenda for First Government Communication Forum

The first Government Communication Forum to be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, will seek to benchmark the emirate’s government communication standards against global best practices and examine ways for infusing fresh methodologies into the communication mechanism among government departments in Sharjah.

The forum’s objective is in line with the overarching mandate of Sharjah Media Centre, the communications arm of the Sharjah government and the organisers of the two-day event.

Scheduled to be held from 26-27 February at Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, theGovernment Communication Forumwill witness dignitaries and experts in government communication as well as top-tier regional and international media headlining the workshops and panel discussions.Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, will deliver thekeynote speech during the opening session of the forum.

The first ‘Government Communication Forum’ will include eight sessions and two workshops. Globally accredited certificates will be given away to participants of the workshopscomprising mid-managerial executives from the Sharjah government departments.

Osama Samra, Director, Sharjah Media Centre, said: “The first edition of theforum willdeliberate upon a series of topics that focus on best practices for upgrading intra-departmental as well as external communication among government entities in Sharjah. Towards this purpose, the forum will highlight the latest tools, skills and applications topractitioners and professionals, besidesofferinggovernment institutions in Sharjahwith a guideline for improving its standards."

Day-1 of the Government Communication Forum will open with a sessionon ‘Management of Risks and Crisis in Government Media Communications’ that will include panelistsDr. Nabil Al Khatib, Executive News Director at Al Arabiya, and Brad Staples, President of APCO International, Chair of Global Development. In addition to outlining the strategies and mechanisms for risk analysis and crisis, the two industry thought-leaders will analyse best ways to build an integrated risk management system as a proactive approach to managing risks. The session will also tackle participants’ professional skills in crisis management and throw light on how to transform potential crises into real opportunities.

Dr Nabil Al-Sharif, Member of the Jordanian Senate, and Dr. RaficChlala, former Press Advisor to Presidential Office, Government of Lebanon, will lead the second session on ‘Spokespersons in Government Institutions – Fundamentals and Skills’. Substantiating their viewpoints with case studies and real-time experiences,the experts will underline the competencies required for communication practitioners and reiterate the importance of continuous training for the purpose ofstepping up the quality of government services.

Dr. Ahmad Al Dbeiban, Plenipotentiary Minister of the Secretariat General for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and Firas Al-Khatib, Media, PR and Information Officer, UNESCO, Beirut Office, will headline the third session on the opening day of the forum. Titled ‘Coordination Strategies of Communication Efforts among Government Institutions’, the distinguished speakerswill address decision makers in governmental departments and reviewinternational communication models that meet the gap forspeed, quantity and accuracy, as well as ensure seamless coordination between organizational units.

Samir Al-Baha’i, Policy and Government Affairs Manager of MENA at Google, will talk about the future of ‘Digital Media in the Government Sector’during the fourth session. The session comes at a time whenindustry experts are expecting digital content to be responsible for 17 per cent of the total media spending (around US$1.4 billion) in the UAE. Digital commercial ads are expected to increase by 3per cent to 5 per cent and reach 22 per cent of total commercials by early next year. Against such projections, the session will highlight the use of social media outlets and e-commerce practices as well as analyse emerging trends in the sector.

The first day of the forum will conclude with a workshop led by international trainer Arwell Owen. The segment will focus on ‘Skills of Dealing with Media for Senior Officials and Heads of Institutions’. It will primarily examine how public sector employees can develop their media-relationship skills. It will also look at best practices for building synergy with regional and global business leaders for the purpose of enhancing the government’s image and manage its reputation.

The second day of the Government Communication Forum will also host four sessions. The agendawill kick-off with a segment on ‘Case Study of the Governmental Awareness Campaigns in the US and UK’. Sue Wolstenholme, elected president of 2013 for CIPR, UK, and Gerard Francis, CEO of the Public Relations Society of America, will lead this session.

IlkerAyci, President of Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT), and His Excellency Abdul Qadir AlSheikh, Minister of Information, Malaysia, will take the podium in the second session. Both speakers will share Turkey and Malaysia’s experience in developing the government media sector.

Turki Al-Dakhil, founder and owner of Dubai-based Al Mesbar research and study centre, along with ZavenKouyoumdjian, Lebanese TV celebrity, talk show host and producer of acclaimedprogramme ‘SiréeWenfatahet’, will highlight the ‘Role of Broadcast Media in Supporting Government Institutions’ Vision of Social Development’ during the third session on day-two of the event.

‘The Role of Caricatures in Correcting Misconceptions and Raising Levels of Awareness’ will be discussed during the fourth session that will draw out the perspectives of OmayaJuha, Chairman of Juhatoon, Rasha Mahdi, Egypt’s first female cartoonist, and EmadHajjaj,well-known cartoonist in Jordan and the Middle East.

Nicolas Georges, Founder of Reputation Institute, will host aworkshop on ‘Organizing the Government’s Image and Managing its Reputation’. This session will conclude the forum’s agenda on the second day and bring the two-day event to a close.

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Air Arabia announces third quarter 2011

Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced its financial results for the three months ending September 30, 2011, demonstrating sustainable profitability during the third quarter of this year.

Air Arabia’s net profit for the three months ending September 30, 2011, which was in line with analyst forecasts, stood at AED 100 million, a decline of 26 per cent compared to AED 136 million in the corresponding period in 2010. In the third quarter of this year, Air Arabia posted a turnover of AED 691 million, an increase of 22 per cent compared to AED 568 million in the same period of 2010.

The airline served 1,199,973 passengers in the third quarter of 2011, an increase of five per cent compared to 1,147,066 passengers in the same period last year. In the three months ending September 30, 2011, Air Arabia’s average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – stood at an impressive 81 per cent.

“Air Arabia is pleased to announce such solid financial performance despite continued challenging market conditions,” said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia. “Air Arabia’s sustained quarterly profits, high seat load factor and rising passenger traffic reflect the appeal of our services and demonstrates the strength of Air Arabia’s business model.

“The challenging markets conditions we have seen in the second quarter of this year continued in the third quarter, with a further escalation in the political turmoil in several countries and an upward trend in the average fuel bill. Despite these challenging market conditions, Air Arabia’s solid profits and steady growth reflect the airline’s commercial and operational strength.

“After crossing the 20-million passenger mark in the third quarter of 2011, we would like to thank all our customers for choosing to fly with Air Arabia. We look forward to serving many more passengers in the months and years to come.”

In the third quarter of 2011, Air Arabia took delivery of two new A320 aircraft from Airbus. The latest Airbus A320 arrived on schedule from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France, marking the delivery of a total of six out of 44 A320 aircraft ordered in 2007.

Air Arabia also started operation to the city of Gassim, Saudi Arabia, in the third quarter and unveiled plans to introduce service to a series of new destinations before the end of this year.

As further testament to its successful business model, Air Arabia won the top award in the category of “Innovation in Operations - Low-Cost Carrier Airline” at the recent Express Travel World Awards 2010-2011, held in New Delhi, India.

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United Arab Bank Announces The Lowest Home Finance Rate In The UAE

United Arab Bank has recently caused great excitement in the residential mortgage market by announcing the lowest interest rate in the UAE.

With an interest rate of 4.99%, this is a welcome addition to the mortgage landscape for customers who are looking for a sensible alternative to bring down their monthly commitments.

UAB offers this product to Salaried and Self Employed UAE Nationals as well as Expatriates with Conventional and Islamic financing options

Paul Trowbridge, Chief Executive Officer, United Arab Bank commented “This new initiative further re-emphasizes the bank’s overall strategy to focus on UAE nationals and committed expatriates and offer products that match their needs and aspirations. We strongly believe this will bring renewed impetus to the mortgage market and gives our target customers an opportunity to own their own home with the most competitive interest rate in the market.”

Tom Smith, Executive Vice President, Group Head- Retail Banking commented “Despite being a recent entrant to the residential mortgage market, UAB has quickly emerged as a prominent player. Our mortgage product offers affordability and flexibility while at the same time addressing the customer’s needs with an innovative risk-based pricing model.”

UAB became part of a GCC regional banking alliance in December 2007 upon acquisition of a 40% interest in UAB by The Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ), Qatar’s largest private sector bank. With the Commercial Bank of Qatar concluding a similar alliance with National Bank of Oman (NBO) two years ago, all three banks are strongly positioned for future growth.

United Arab Bank has a network of 14 branches all over UAE, offering a whole range of attractive deposit and lending options. Online banking, SMS banking, ATMs and a state of the art call center offer round the clock banking services in a safe and secure manner. UAB’s ATMs are enabled with 24 hour cash & cheque deposit facility in addition to honoring all kinds of credit and debit cards for various types of banking services. In a challenging financial environment, United Arab Bank maintained earnings momentum recording a net profit growth of 10% for the year ended 31st December 2010. The bank is rated by Moody’s with a stable outlook.

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Shurooq Announces Three Ecotourism Projects

Marwan Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), has announced that the Authority is intending to launch three ecotourism projects in Sharjah that will be the first of their kind in the emirate.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the 18th annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM), which concluded yesterday at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The facility is part of a series of projects Shurooq announced during its participation in ATM 2011.

Said Al Sarkal: "Through the launch of projects such as the planned ecotourism facilities in the emirate of Sharjah, Shurooq aims to build on and maintain the natural beauty of the emirate of Sharjah. We are keen to choose the best possible sites for a tourism project of this nature, being rich in natural beauty and variety. These unique projects form an important part of our plan to boost the emirate’s tourism sector and to attract local and international tourists and investors, and will also have a positive impact on the UAE’s economic development process".

He added that Shurooq is working with various government entities in Sharjah to develop the emirate’s ecotourism sector, consulting with local and international ecotourism agencies to better protect chosen sites and preserve the emirate’s natural beauty. Studies are currently underway to ensure accurate selection of areas for such projects, with particular focus on the necessity to maintain the sensitive balance needed to protect the environment, while also developing an exclusive environment friendly tourism product.

Al Sarkal clarified that the three projects will be developed in a number of important natural reserves and islands in the emirate. Shurooq has finalized initial conceptualization of the three projects, which will be located in the city and the eastern region. Final details will be announced upon the completion and approval of the final master plan for each project.

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Air Arabia Announces First Quarter 2011 Net Profit Of AED 44.2 Million

Air Arabia (PJSC), the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier, announced today its financial results for the three months ending March 31, 2011, demonstrating continued profitability and meeting expectations during a quarter characterised by continuous challenges.

Air Arabia’s net profit for the three months ending March 31, 2011 stood at AED 44.2 million, a drop of 12 per cent compared to AED 50 million in the corresponding period in 2010. The solid results achieved in the first quarter of 2011 reflect the airline profitability path albeit the additional pressure on travel trends caused by recent regional uncertainty and sustained high oil prices.

In the first quarter of this year, Air Arabia posted a turnover of AED 513 million, an increase of 6 per cent compared to AED 482 million in the same period of 2010.

The airline served 1.2 million passengers in the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 11 per cent compared to 1.03 million passengers in the same period last year. In the three months ending March 31, 2011, Air Arabia’s average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – stood at an impressive 85 per cent, and increase of 6 per cent compared 80 per cent in same period of 2010.

“We are satisfied with our results for the first quarter of this year that is in line with our expectations, given the region’s uncertainty that has adversely affected the sector,” said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia. “Though the region has clearly shown positive signs indicating the emergence from the more serious effects of the global financial downturn, the rise in fuel costs continues to challenge regional carriers. Despite this, Air Arabia has shown strong resilience and remains on a path of steady growth”.

“As we continue to build on the success of the airline’s expansion strategy into new markets in Europe, Africa and Asia, Air Arabia remains committed to expanding the size and capacity of its fleet, while providing its customers the best value for money.” Sheikh Abdullah continued.

Air Arabia took delivery of the third and fourth of 44 A320 aircraft it has ordered from Airbus. The airline will receive 4 more A320 aircraft this year which is inline of its growth plan set to expand flight destinations and significantly grow the size of its fleet by 2016.

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