Islamabad (GNP): The Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) hosted a two-day Strategic Communications Workshop on August 24-25, aimed at connecting theoretical grounding with practical application in the field. The sessions were led by trainers Aamir Ghauri, Amber Shamsi, Usama Bakhtiar, Talha Ahad, Awais Abbasi and Ehtasham Abbas.
Organized by IPRI’s Advocacy and Communication Team, the workshop drew together policymakers, researchers, communication professionals, academics and media practitioners to sharpen their skills in navigating today’s shifting information landscape. The program blended discussion with hands-on exercises, reflecting IPRI’s broader effort to turn policy research into practical learning.
Opening the workshop, IPRI President Majid Ehsan remarked that strategic communication can no longer be viewed merely as articulating policy or managing public perception, noting that it now sits at the crossroads of information, perception, behavior and national power. He pointed to artificial intelligence as a major force accelerating change in the field.
Director of Advocacy and Communications Siddique Humayun spoke about the need to pair technical skill with deeper insight, drawing on Iain McGilchrist’s The Master and His Emissary to argue that effective strategic communication demands both rigorous technique and a more holistic understanding.
He described strategic communication as a long-term, audience-driven discipline that is relentlessly focused on impact, requiring careful alignment of words, images, symbols, actions — and at times, silence — to advance defined goals across all areas of life.
The workshop was structured around four core objectives: building participants’ grasp of strategic communication as a tool of national security, diplomacy, governance and public policy; examining forces reshaping the information environment such as AI, disinformation, digital influence, cognitive warfare and shifting media ecosystems; strengthening skills in designing communication strategies, managing information crises and countering disinformation; and applying practical tools spanning government communication, public diplomacy, media engagement, digital campaigns and behavioral insight to better engage target audiences.
Day one opened with a session on information as an instrument of national power, covering strategic narratives, perception management and communication’s role in foreign and security policy, featuring Aamir Ghauri, Amber Shamsi and Siddique Humayun.
This was followed by a session led by Usama Bakhtiar on advocacy for policy impact, addressing policy ecosystems, advocacy strategies and impact measurement. The day concluded with a session from Talha Ahad, founder of TCM, on AI, digital media and digital storytelling, exploring narrative-building across platforms, stakeholder and platform dynamics, and emerging trends like algorithm-driven distribution and generative SEO.
On day two, Awais Abbasi led a session on strategic communication in practice, covering government communication, public diplomacy, media engagement, digital campaigns and audience-influence strategies rooted in behavioral insight.
The final session, led by Ehtasham Abbas, examined disinformation, information warfare and crisis communication, touching on disinformation ecosystems, counter-disinformation approaches, crisis communication frameworks and relevant case studies.
The workshop unfolded amid a rapidly evolving information environment shaped by artificial intelligence, algorithm-driven content distribution and disinformation campaigns.
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By bringing together perspectives from government, media, academia and the private sector, IPRI aimed to equip communication professionals with practical, research-based tools to navigate this changing landscape.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
