National IT Board and Facebook host workshop in Islamabad

On directives from the Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Media, Mr. Iftikhar Durrani, the National IT Board held a workshop (Connecting With Communities: Social Media for Government) in Islamabad in collaboration with Facebook.

“I am indeed very happy to share the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan that we must do good governance through e-governance, resolve citizens’ problems and use social media to present a positive image of Pakistan,” Durrani said.

Imran Ghazali, a digital media strategist, who worked closely with Facebook and NITB to help organize the workshop shared a local case study featuring the effective use of digital media by Alif Ailaan – a campaign on education reforms. He said it was important for the government to organize digital media assets as it will provide an opportunity for the government to have an authentic voice and show the positive side of Pakistan to the world.

“Governments around the world are using social media to better inform and engage with their citizens. From the passing of new legislation and policies to large-scale developments, the government must now actively participate in the public conversation which is why embracing this new era of social media discourse is critical,” Nasir Naqvi, Executive Director at the National Information Technology Board (NITB), said. “We have various programs with tech startups, SMEs and civil society groups in Pakistan who have successfully used social media,” said Roy Tan, Facebook’s Politics and Government Outreach Manager in Asia-Pacific.

“It is equally important for the government to engage on social media to help create an informed community in Pakistan,” said Tan.

The workshop saw good attendance with participants from various ministries who said they gained valuable insights.