Nine specialised workshops at International Government Communication Forum

Nine specialised workshops at International Government Communication Forum The ninth edition of the International Government Communication Forum, IGCF 2020, to be held on 4th and 5th March, at the Sharjah Expo Centre will host nine workshops targeting students, journalists, photojournalists and government communication employees. Bringing together 64 leading global thinkers, top government officials and communication experts from the Arab region and around the world, the region’s leading forum on government communication is centred around four key pillars: Embedding a culture of engagement in government; Technology as a community enabler; Communication through culture; and Holistic well-being. The nine workshops at IGCF this year follow on from its vision of enhancing government communication in the UAE and the Arab world and developing communication channels between governments and communities. Day 1 of the event will commence with two training workshops for students. ‘Innovation in the field of Government Communication’ will enable participants to create distinguished government communication programmes and activities and develop their skills in drafting impactful government communication messages. ‘Analysing Communication Research Data’ conducted by Dr Ahmed Farouk, Faculty Member at the Public Relations Department, College of Communication, University of Sharjah, will introduce participants to the tools and methods of analysing data…

IGCF 2020 to focus on advancing skills of communication professionals, students

IGCF 2020 to focus on advancing skills of communication professionals, students The robust agenda that forms the framework of the ninth edition of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2020) to be held from March 4–5, at the Sharjah Expo Centre will host nine workshops targeting students, journalists, photojournalists and government communication employees. Bringing together 64 leading global thinkers, top government officials and communication experts from the Arab region and around the world, the region’s leading forum on government communication is centred around four key pillars: Embedding a culture of engagement in government; Technology as a community enabler; Communication through culture; and Holistic well-being. The nine workshops at IGCF this year follow on from its vision of enhancing government communication in the UAE and the Arab world and developing communication channels between governments and communities. Day 1 workshops Day 1 of the event will commence with two training workshops for students. ‘Innovation in the field of Government Communication’ will enable participants to create distinguished government communication programmes and activities and develop their skills in drafting impactful government communication messages. ‘Analysing Communication Research Data’ conducted by Dr Ahmed Farouk, Faculty Member at the Public Relations Department, College of Communication, University of…

How the English Language’s Disproportionate Influence Skews Global Narratives

No one questions English’s status as the world’s go-to language for business, tech, tourism and academia, but that popularity has also made it disproportionately influential on news. In a chapter of Hostwriter’s Unbias the News: Why Diversity Matters for Journalism, journalist, writer and managing editor of the Global Investigative Journalism Network Tanya Pampalone looks at how English’s prominent status can lead to skewing of entire narratives. We break down an excerpt of that chapter published for GIJN and look at how this inequality also means missed opportunities for interactions between the non-native and non-English speaking world, creative or otherwise. By the Numbers Kai Chan, a distinguished fellow at the INSEAD Innovation and Policy Initiative, put together the Power Language Index in 2016, which measures which languages in the world hold the most influence based on five key factors. (G)eography: countries spoken, land area, tourists (inbound) (E)conomy: GDP, PPP, Exports, FX market, SDR composition (C)ommunications: Native speakers, second-language speakers, language family size, tourists (outbound) (K)nowledge & Media: Internet content, feature films, Top 500 universities, academic journals. (D)iplomacy: United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Supranational Organizations (SNOs). Based on these factors, Kai presented the world’s top 10 languages, their respective number…

Presentation – Kai Chan – Is the English language too powerful? / L’anglais est-il trop fort?

The below is my presentation at LangFest 2019. Le dessous est ma présentation au LangFest 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAET9DY2NOY English is the most powerful language from a global perspective (as measured by the Power Language Index). At the local level, even in places where it does not have status, English can still overwhelm the local language(s). This presents a dilemma for societies that want to participate in a globalised world yet retain and protect their local tongue. The power dynamics of Montreal are examined using the lens of the Power Language Index. L'anglais est la langue la plus puissante au niveau mondial (selon le «Power Language Index» ou «Indice des langues influentes»). Au niveau local, même dans les endroits où il n’a pas de statut, l’anglais peut toujours submerger la/les langue(s) locale(s). Cela pose un dilemme aux sociétés qui souhaitent participer à l'économie mondiale tout en conservant et en protégeant leur(s) langue(s) locale(s). Les dynamiques linguistiques de Montréal sont examinées en utilisant le «Power Language Index». Bio: Dr Kai L. Chan is a Distinguished Fellow at INSEAD. Previously he was a special adviser to the UAE federal government on competitiveness and statistics, where he focused on that country’s positioning on global performance…

Interview Kai Chan & María Ortega García

The below is an interview I did for the 2019 edition of LangFest (a polyglot conference) in Montreal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr79TLO2bX8 Kai L. Chan Bio: Dr Kai L. Chan is a Distinguished Fellow at INSEAD. Previously he was a special adviser to the UAE federal government on competitiveness and statistics, where he focused on that country’s positioning on global performance indices. Prior to his stint in the UAE, Dr Chan served as an associate and the in-house economist for a consumer finance merchant banking firm in Manhattan. Before that, he worked in the Singapore office of a global management consulting firm. Chan’s expertise/research cover education, income distribution, migration, government & policy, and performance measurement. He is the creator of the Power Language Index, Gender Progress Index, and Intelligence Capital Index. Dr Chan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and PhD from Princeton University. Kai grew up in Toronto, Canada, but currently resides in Montreal. He speaks English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin and German, and is currently learning Russian. Kai L. Chan, PhD est chercheur («Distinguished Fellow») à l’INSEAD. Il a été conseiller spécial en compétitivité et statistiques auprès du gouvernement fédéral des Émirats arabes unis, fonction dans le cadre de…