- Tariq Saeed Allay: “The most important tool we have is communication, which unifies efforts and turns ideas into collective achievements.”
- Professor Oussama Khatib: “The internet has let us see and hear each other. Now robotics is allowing us to touch and feel remotely, to work in dangerous places without being there.”
- Hillary Yip: “Technology can open doors, but what makes the difference is the human connection. Education must put humans first in a tech-driven world.”
- Dr. Karan Rajan: “One video can reach millions. Even if just a handful take the advice to change their diet, or check for cancer early, it can save lives. That is the power of digital communication.”
Sharjah, 11 September 2025
His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, attended the opening of the second day of the 14th edition of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2025), held at Expo Centre Sharjah on 10–11 September under the theme “Communication for Quality of Life.” The forum gathers more than 237 speakers from around the world.
Setting the tone, His Excellency Tariq Saeed Allay, Director General of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), told the audience that global challenges, from food insecurity to sustainability, are not the result of limited resources, but of poor communication and coordination. “According to the UN, around 600 million people are expected to face hunger by 2030. In the Global Report on Food Crises 2024, 258 million people are already living in acute food insecurity. At the same time, more than one billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted every year — about one-third of all global production,” he said. “Are these figures due to soil, climate, geography? No. The answer is miscommunication, lack of dialogue, poor coordination, and failure of collective management. Life brings both challenges and opportunities, but the most important tool we have is communication, which unifies efforts and turns individual ideas into shared action.”
He added that the UAE’s and Sharjah’s own development experience proves that putting humans at the centre of planning is not a slogan but a strategic approach. “When governments and communities communicate clearly and intentionally, they can turn crises into opportunities and create a more just and sustainable future.”
The audience was then taken beneath the sea and into the future of robotics by Oussama Khatib, Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and President of the International Foundation for Robotics Research (IFRR). Sharing footage from deep-sea expeditions using the humanoid robot OceanOne, he described how new interfaces in vision and haptics are allowing humans to “touch” and “feel” through machines. “The internet has let us see and hear each other. Now robotics is allowing us to touch and feel remotely, to work in dangerous places like the ocean — without being there. This is a real breakthrough to operate in real time in the real world,” he said. He noted applications not only in underwater archaeology, where his team has discovered Roman ships dating back 2,000 years, but also in remote surgery, medical robotics, environmental protection, space exploration, and disaster recovery.
Shifting the focus to education, Hillary Yip, founder of MinorMynas, a global kids community app from Hong Kong, reflected on her entrepreneurial journey that began at age 10. “Technology can open doors, but what makes the difference is the human connection,” she said. “We need to put humans first in a tech-driven world. If students grow up relying only on generative AI, they will never develop critical thinking or understand the subtleties of culture, history and philosophy.” She highlighted her work to build educational tools that introduce children to programming and creativity from an early age, noting that her initiatives have engaged families across the world and included AI competitions that drew participants from 55 countries.
Closing the morning session, Dr. Karan Rajan, a medical doctor, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and one of the biggest health & science creators on social media, spoke about the double-edged power of digital media in health communication. While misinformation remains rampant, he stressed the potential for positive impact. “In a clinic, I may see 15 patients in three hours. But a video watched by 500,000 people can inspire thousands to go for bowel cancer screening, for instance, and that saves lives,” he said. Dr. Rajan also highlighted the darker side of social media, where nearly 80% of nutrition and health content is produced by influencers without proper expertise, often using fear-based tactics to push harmful or profit-driven products. He warned of the dangers of misinformation, deepfakes, and the ethical challenges faced by platforms and influencers alike.
Together, the speakers illustrated how communication and innovation can either divide or unite, mislead or empower, depending on how they are used. The forum’s message was clear: progress requires dialogue, innovation needs human purpose, and in every area from food security to robotics, from classrooms to clinics, communication remains the most powerful tool of all.
In total, IGCF 2025 is hosting over 110 events, 51 sessions, 7 inspiring talks, and 22 workshops, with 30 local, regional, and international partners across 22 interactive platforms. The programme addresses five global priorities: food security, public health, education, environmental sustainability, and the green economy, reaffirming the strategic role of communication in shaping policy, inspiring action, and driving a more sustainable future.
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