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World citizens do not trust their governments

Dubai - Results of the study are announced ahead of Public Diplomacy and Government Commuication Forum

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Governments around the world failed to communicate with citizens and gain their trust, a new study has revealed. 
WPP's Leaders' Report: The Future of Government Communication, which surveyed communication leaders across 40 countries- including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon- showed that governments need to implement more efficient communication strategies and skilled teams to fill in gaps with their people. 
Launched in partnership with the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), the report revealed that government communication isn't fully utilised as 85 per cent of respondents believed communication with citizens is not involved in policy-making. 

The report revealed: Five key challenges emerged for the government communications sector worldwide: - Trust in government 75 per cent say the voice of the citizen is not taken into account in key decision-making - Fractured audiences 75 per cent don't believe senior leadership understands social and digital media. - One-way conversation (from organization to people) 60 per cent of today's government communication skews towards one-way communication 54 per cent say bureacracy is number one challenge - Low capability of government commuication teams 50 per cent do not believe government teams have the right skills for the job - Lack of influence 85 per cent say communication is not involved in policy development.

The results were announced ahead of the Public Diplomacy and Government Communication Forum that take place on Sunday where the report also revealed that 75 per cent believed the voice of the citizen is not taken into account in decision-making.
HE Mona Al Marri, Director General of GDMO, said that communication is a power that governments need to utilize especially with some significant events that the world has witnessed. She noted that a prevailing state of anger and security across the world.
"Brexit, the emergence of President Donald Trump [in the US], dangers of terrorism, fear of immigration, and perceived illusions of national identity threatened government communications. It is in this challenging context that communication should be viewed as a strategy tool from policy development and delivery," she said. 
The report highlighted that global government communication departments need to address key challenges to remain relevant to their audiences. 
The nature of governments' conversation was called into question as one-way conversations represented 60 per cent of today's government communication, the report revealed. 
Half of the respondents agreed that government communications teams lacked the right skills to operate effectively in a rapidly changing media landscape, citing bureaucracy as the number one challenge to overcoming this deficit.
A prevailing 75 per cent also believed that senior leadership did not understand social and digital media to address a fractured and increasingly polarized audience. 
"Governments have to change their communication method to include different segments of the society," said Sunil John, Founder and CEO of ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller that represented WPP Group. 
He noted that the results reflect a broader global trend rather than a local one, urging that the UAE, for example, represents how leaders effectively communicate with their citizens. 
Meanwhile, Dubai will hold its first Public Diplomacy and Government Communication Forum to explore global trends and challenges facing governments today.
It aims to support government organisations in enhancing their communication strategies through a discussion of global best practices and success stories from both the region and across the world. 
The full report will be available at the GDMO's dedicated stand at the forum. sherouk@khaleejtimes.com