News & Event

The Ministry of Education concludes the training program "The Official Spokesperson and Media Dealing Skills" today. The program is organized by the Training and Qualification Department of the Directorate-General of Administrative Affairs, for directors of the Directorates-General in the Ministry's General Diwan and in the governorates. The three-day training program is held at the W Hotel Muscat.

The program includes practical training and intensive practical exercises that help participants develop their abilities in public communication and public speaking. The program appoints the concerned and responsible persons to familiarize themselves with the basics and rules of dealing with the media in real circumstances, and simulates the management of permits, conferences, television, radio, and press interviews.

In addition, the program provides the participants with a lot of skills related to understanding media tools and the media in general and reviews the Omani experience in the media and local laws and compares them with international media. The program also and reviews the various types of press events that coincide with the official spokesperson in the Sultanate of Oman.

On the importance of this program, Saif Al Abdali, Director-General of the Directorate-General of Education in Al Buraimi Governorate, said: “This program comes to introduce many skills and mechanisms of official speaking in front of the public and the various media while making a media statement, so that the spokesperson's messages reach the public (the listener and the viewer) in a clearer, more accurate and credible way, drawn from their true source.”

Talal Al-Adawi, Assistant Director-General of the Directorate-General of Administrative Affairs for Human Resources Development, said: “The Spokesperson Program comes within the professional development plan of the Ministry of Education for administrative staff, which is supervised by the Directorate-General of Administrative Affairs. The Ministry of Education contracted with Al Jazeera Media Corporation to implement this program which developed several themes that included providing the trainees with the basics and skills that

distinguish the official spokesperson in order to deliver the achievements and the institution's message to the public in a clear and precise matter.”

Dr. Salwa Al-Qasabi, Director of the Individual Performance Measurement System Office at the Ministry confirmed: “This program is considered a qualitative experience for the official who is in a position of responsibility to help in the scope of dealings with different groups of the public, and to enable the spokesperson to acquire the arts of dialogue with the public and the mechanism of dealing with it and with the various media means. The official needs to show the Ministry’s efforts in the correct manner and in a way that befits the efforts of this Ministry. The method of presenting the topic differs qualitatively for those who possess these ingredients and capabilities in the presentation, the most important of which is the method of choosing vocabulary, the method of dealing with the camera, reactions, and questions.”

Dr. Intisar Ambosaidi, Director-General of the Specialized Institute for Vocational Training for Teachers, said: “When making an official statement to the various media, whether through press statements, telephone interviews, or television interviews, the official spokesperson represents the institution and conveys its message to the public, so this program came to enhance the skills of the official spokesperson by focusing on body language and choosing appropriate vocabulary and language for the audience. It has also been emphasized on that the spokesperson's argument is supported by evidence, statistics, results, and research studies, and seizes the appropriate opportunity to show the positive image and deliver the messages to reflect about the organization as it is an opportunity to promote the organization and refute any misinformation or any incorrect ideas that may have spread.”