Abstract

This study investigates to understand how the United Nations development organizations in Egypt can manage social media as a communication tool to achieve their development objectives. A case study of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Egypt, is introduced. Using the Excellence Theory in Public Relations developed by Grunig (2002), this study examines how social media can contribute to the strategic management of the organization, rather than being a messaging, publicity, and media relations function. Through a content analysis of a number of social media pages of the UN organizations in Egypt, and in-depth interviews with four senior communication officers in four UN organizations operating in Egypt, the research shows that most UN organizations in Egypt still struggle with using social media for development purposes. UNICEF Egypt proved to be an “excellent” model for other development organizations to follow by putting clear strategies, planning their social media platforms in the light of the development objectives of the organization, and maintaining a balanced two-way communication mode with stakeholders and target audience. The strategic management of UNICEF Egypt’s social media platform has contributed to the achievement of the organizational objectives, and enhanced its role as a development organization at both local and international levels.

School

School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Department

Public Policy & Administration Department

Degree Name

MA in Public Administration

Graduation Date

Fall 2014

Submission Date

2-1-2015

First Advisor

Bhuiyan, Shahjahan

Committee Member 1

Peuchaud, Sheila

Committee Member 2

Abdelhalim, Khaled

Extent

79 leaves

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

Download

Share

COinS