October 01, 2021

HSP Hosts Workshop on Effective and Responsible Use of Social Media in Malaysia

HSP recently hosted a virtual workshop titled Effective and Responsible Use of Social Media for Health Security Communication in Malaysia from June 14-18, 2021.  This workshop was organized in collaboration with the Malaysian Biosecurity and Biosafety Association (MBBA) and the Science and Technology Research Institute for Defense (STRIDE), and trained participants on how to effectively use social media for risk communication and countering misinformation and disinformation. Workshop participants included representatives from relevant Government of Malaysia (GOM) agencies, including Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and MOD, as well as university stakeholders and professional organizations. 

The workshop featured lectures from a variety of international and regional subject matter experts. Modules covered topics such as: Introduction to Social Media Platforms, Social Media Analytics, Countering Misinformation and Disinformation, Institutional Social Media Communications Policies, among others. Throughout the workshop, participants highlighted the timely nature of this training, providing participants with the skills and knowledge to enhance their risk communication capacity through the effective use of social media, including countering misinformation and disinformation during health security emergencies, including the COVID- 19 pandemic. The workshop also provided critical networking opportunities among the communications professionals of participating agencies and institutions, promoting sharing of best practices, information sharing, collaborative learning, and mechanisms to amplify key messages on social media.

HSP is grateful to have worked alongside MBBA and STRIDE to host and organize this timely and relevant workshop.