DIMAPUR: Election Commission of India (ECI) organised a one day Conference for Media and Communication Officers at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), Delhi, on June 12.
The programme brought together over 350 Media Nodal Officers (MNOs), Social Media Nodal Officers (SMNOs), and District Media Nodal Officers/District PROs from all 36 States and Union Territories, including poll bound states and those undergoing Phase III of the Special Intensive Revision. From Nagaland, 12 officials from the Department of Information & Public Relations (DIPR), the Chief Electoral Officer’s Office, and the district administration, led by deputy CEO Alila Chang, attended the conference.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, addressed the participants. The Chief Election Commissioner emphasised the importance of timely, clear and fact based communication, while the Election Commissioners highlighted impactful communication and effective dissemination of the Commission’s rules, guidelines and initiatives.
Sessions during the conference covered communication strategies across the electoral cycle, media engagement, social media outreach, tackling misinformation, voter awareness initiatives, and recent constitutional and legal developments.
The event also provided a platform for experience sharing and dissemination of best practices from states that recently conducted elections. The conference concluded with an interactive question and answer session chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner.
