Afghan Biographies

Government Media and Information Center GMIC


Name Government Media and Information Center GMIC
Ethnic backgr.
Date of birth
Function/Grade Background Members
History and Biodata

Head of the GMIC:
Qari Yusuf Ahmadi (20220308, 20230531)

1. Former Member of the Afghan Government Media and Information Centre (GMIC):
GMIC interim director, Qari Mohammad Yousuf Ahmadi (20210928, 20211001)
Dawa Khan Menapal, head of the Government Media and Information Centre (GMIC), killed, (20210806)
Hakim Asher, director of the national GMIC (20091015),
Dawa Khan Menapal (20210806)
Omar Wahid Waheed has served as the Director of Government Media and Information Center before being appointed as Presidential Spokesperson (20091219).
Amin Shafiee, deputy director of the national GMIC,
Sediq Sediqi, head of the media relations and coordination department of the GMIC in Kabul (20091015),
Deputy head of the media centre, Sibghatullah Sahaf Safi (20110612)

Mohammad is a volunteer TOEFL/ESL instructor at SOLA. He is a public outreach officer at the Afghan Government Media and Information Center. Before working for the Afghan Government, he worked for six years with civil society institutions involved with education, child development, mental health and child protection in the provinces of Herat and Kabul. Mohammad is a freelance researcher and writer. He is an undergraduate student at the American University of Afghanistan
Baryalai Helali is working in a u/i function in the GMIC
+93 (0) 707 411 950 baryalai.helali(at)gmic.gov.af
Wali Arian is working in a u/i function in the GMIC

An official from the Government Media and Informationsaid Centre (GMIC)  that following a press conference by the families of the victims of a night raid by the foreign forces, which was held at the centre, the US embassy suspended its financial assistance to the GMIC.(20111227)
 

The Government Media and Information Center (GMIC) serves under the control of particular individuals and against the national interest of the country, said the head of Foundation for Civil Society and Culture, Mir Ahmad Joyenda. He also expressed concerns over neighbouring countries' influence in GMIC. Meanwhile, the head of NAI Media Support Agency, Siddiqullah Tawhidi, criticized the excessive influence from the Karzai’s Chief of Staff Office, Karim Khurram,  in GMIC.(20120326)

GMIC is no longer online.(20120326). Perhaps sponsors have withdrawn and the GMIC Website gmic.gov.af is down due to lack of funds.
 

Background of GMIC:

The Government Media & Information Center (GMIC) was established in 2007 to respond to the great information need of the Afghan public, media, and other national and international stakeholders. With the presidential decree enacted in 2007, Government Media & Information Center started operation robustly and immediately.

 

GMIC aims at building trust amongst Afghan publics and other stakeholders through provision of timely and accurate information, continuous and consistent information dissemination, facilitation of coordination and information sharing amongst acting agencies in the Afghan government, independent media, and capacity building for Government’s information and communication portals.

 

Government Media & Information Center consists of two pillars, program and administration. In Programs, Capacity Building, Media Relations, Media Monitoring and Public Outreach Department each play essential roles that serve the bottom line goal of GMIC. The Capacity Building Department (CBD) is determined to build communications capacity in the Afghan government communications offices and constantly develops and conducts educational activities tied to the needs of the Afghan government. The Media Relations Department (MRD) works to develop and implement a comprehensive communication and coordination mechanism in which information producing and distributing entities take active part and enhance the flow of information to and from the Afghan public and other stakeholders. The Media Monitoring analyzes the print and electronic media and provides the news and analysis of important national and international events, affecting Afghanistan to the senior government officials of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Public Outreach Department (POD) is the awareness raising unit within GMIC’s structure. POD aims at developing a national wide information collection and dissemination network through which, Afghan publics and other audiences are continuously informed about the progress of the government of Afghanistan.

 

Programs are supported by the Administration pillar which includes Finance, Procurement, Human Resources and Security units. The Administration serves as a strong actor in running and logistically supporting the programs of the Government Media & Information Center.(20170804)


More Background:
The afghan Government Media and Information Centre (GMIC) was established 2009 in a joint effort by the Government of Afghanistan and its international stakeholders (USAID) to coordinate media related activities for the government provide a single channel of information sharing with the public and develop government capacity in the area of media and public information.

GMIC's mission is to bridge the gap between the Afghan government, its stakeholders and the public by providing the government with a single channel of communications, coordination and information sharing with the media, stakeholders and the public at large. The GMIC is the central point of contact for Afghan Government communications. Register with Helali for inclusion in distributions and invitations to briefings. For English speakers, it is likely to be the most convenient way to access elements of the Afghan Government (e.g. Ministries of Defence and Interior, which are responsible for security).

Chief of the GMIC, Dr Hakeem Asher, said on 19 Jan 2011 he will establish provincial branches of the GMIC to better connect the Government and the people. Government Media and Information Center (GMIC) House No. 106, Shashdarak, near ISAF HQ, Kabul, Afghanistan Email: wali.arian@gmic.gov.af

Last Modified 2023-05-31
Established 2009-12-20