Oman Publishes Guidelines for Government Organizations on Accessible Social Media

December 24, 2019

The Accessibility Guidelines have been circulated across government entities in Oman in order to implement the practices included in their communications with the public. Centre of Government Communication will follow up and assess their implementation every 3 months.

These Guidelines are part of the Government Communication Plan for the years 2019 and 2020, which was approved by the Cabinet. The Centre of Government Communication works to spread awareness about the articles and practices included and follows up its implementation in cooperation with the Ministry of Information. The Government Communication Plan includes preparing, circulating and implementing the Guidelines of best practices in communications with the public because the way of communication between the entity and the community is as important as the content shared. These Guidelines are a practical reference for the government communication departments in order to maintain the best practices in their communications with the community and the media.

The Centre will issue a new version of the Guidelines every 6 months from the date of circulation to ensure that the practices are correct and up-to-date.

The Guidelines were prepared in compliance with specific work standards, as follows:

1. The Guidelines were preceded with a planning and research phase, which included:

• Collection of data, indicators and supporting studies;
• View of international best practices;
• Optimization of local practices - if any.

2. Ensuring that the final version is clear and applicable;

3. Including practical examples for easy implementation, such as correct and incorrect practices when communicating with the public;

4. Reviewing and testing the Guidelines with a focus group of entities and individuals in order to ensure that the Guidelines are comprehensive and understandable by all government entities involved.