Regional experts discuss security aspects of media spokespersons

A three-day workshop on enhancing the security sense of media spokespersons was organised by the Police Academy in co-operation with Naif Arab University for Security Sciences and the Technical Secretariat of the Arab Information Ministers Council recently.Several experts, specialists, and academics from Arab countries and relevant international organisations took part in the workshop. The workshop focused on the concept of the official spokesperson according to modern media studies. It was also aimed at identifying the spokesperson’s mission, tasks, and responsibilities. It highlighted the characteristics required for the specialisation, as well as learning about the spokesperson’s proper management methods during times of crises and the role of universities in forming spokespersons and their mission in society.The first session was closed with a paper presented by Maj Gen Dr Saad Maan al-Musawi, director of Public Relations and Information at the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, entitled ‘Identification of typical management methods for a Spokesperson during a Crisis’.Events on the second-day concluded with a paper presented by Dr Ali bin Shwel al-Qarni, member of the Shura Council, Professor of International Media and Journalism at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia, entitled ‘The Skills of the Security Speaker in front of the Media’.On the closing day, the workshop presented three working papers. The first was on ‘skills of the official spokesperson in front of the media’, while the second was on ‘improving the image of the various state institutions and sectors - governmental, security and civil Institutions and the private sector’. The third paper discussed the role of the media and social media in enhancing the societal sense to prevent and combat terrorism and implement the discourse of violence, extremism, and hate in the Arab region.There was also a special interactive session for questions and discussions. Some participants highlighted the need to improve the security awareness of media spokespersons and the importance of organising more interactive workshops. The workshop also discussed topics such as the language characteristics, skills of the official spokesperson in front of the media, mastery of the body language, improving the image of government institutions including security and civil institutions, the role of the media and social media in enhancing social awareness to prevent and combat terrorism among others.