THE first day of the “Workshop on Mastering Government Communi­cation: Empowering Spokesper­sons for Effective Public Engage­ment” was held yesterday morning at Horizon Lake View Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw.

The workshop saw officials from the Myanmar Press Council, trainers and representatives from ASEAN member states including Cambodia, Thailand, the Philip­pines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Indonesia. Also present were representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat and observers from Ja­pan as well as officials from various ministries.

On the first day, represent­atives from ASEAN countries discussed the competencies and challenges of government spokes­persons, their roles in different countries, media landscapes and strategies for addressing misin­formation and fake news.

Trainers then led discussions and practical exercises on public communication and research, au­dio editing, media engagement, interview techniques, key consider­ations in communication, handling classified information and crisis management.

The workshop, scheduled to run from 26 to 28 February is tar­geting to enhance the capabilities of government spokespersons in the ASEAN region. It seeks to fos­ter effective communication be­tween the media and government officials, improve message dissem­ination and strengthen public trust. The workshop also serves as a plat­form for sharing expertise and best practices in crisis management.

Organised by the Ministry of Information and the Department of Media Development, the workshop is part of an ASEAN Communica­tion Committee initiative and is supported by the ASEAN Cultural Fund. — MNA/KZL