The International Media Diplomacy Programme, the latest in the Government of Dubai Media Office’s, GDMO, series of leadership development opportunities created for members of the Dubai Media Diplomacy and Communication Network, has started in Washington.

Developed in partnership with the Protocol School of Washington, the programme is being held from until 16th November 2017 in Washington DC. The course aims to help communication leaders in the UAE’s public and private sectors lead in today’s globalised environment, and respond innovatively to the challenges of communicating in a changing media landscape.

Mona Al Marri, Director-General of GDMO, said, "The UAE has emerged as one of the leading countries of the world in just over four decades. It has also become a global model for tolerance, peaceful coexistence, gender equality, cultural diversity, innovation, and a future global nation. Communication leaders in the UAE need to find creative new ways of telling this story powerfully to audiences across the world. The International Media Diplomacy Programme teaches participants strategies to become more effective as communication leaders who can represent the UAE internationally. At the same time, it helps them draw from global best practices to look at communication from a completely new perspective and create new strategies and approaches."

"The programme has been designed to address the opportunities and challenges the participants face in their leadership roles. I am confident this Programme will help participants gain a new level of creativity and innovation in their communication practice and a deeper understanding of how they can become more effective strategic leaders," she added.

The programme is delivered by world-class faculty who are thought leaders and skilled educators in the field of media diplomacy and international relations. The Programme aims to prepare the participants to think proactively on how to engage, communicate, react, and adapt to the strategic media challenges of today’s world. Participants will gain a stronger understanding of public diplomacy, international relations, cross-cultural communication, international protocol, leadership, executive presence and messaging skills.

The first session of the programme focuses on public diplomacy, international relations and cross-cultural communication. It closely examines the need for public diplomacy at a time when the changes resulting from the spread of democracy and education, technological revolutions, growth of NGOs and emergence of civil society have raised the importance of understanding public opinion. The session also covers soft power and citizen diplomacy. The initial session further looks at the vital role of communication specialists and how they are responsible for communicating human stories that reflect their organisations and the UAE locally and internationally.

Participants will be guided to understand their communication style through an assessment and learn how to deal with various stakeholders, colleagues from different nationalities and international government representatives. The session also provides a list of guidelines on how to improve cross-cultural communication.

The second session of the programme covers the vital subjects of leadership, protocol and executive presence. Participants learn the key components of emotional intelligence, the importance of protocol tools to enhance relationships by understanding the proper precedence when hosting events or welcoming delegations.

The third session features best practices in media relations and skills for communicating effectively with local and international media. Participants explore ways to craft and communicate powerful key messages, and how to communicate effectively using different channels in a crisis. Participants also practice the techniques of successful interviews through interactive role-playing.