RIYADH:  Minister of Media Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad announced on Thursday the inauguration of the unified media center for the 88th National Day at a ceremony held in Riyadh, attended by a large number of journalists, the leaders of the Ministry of Media and official spokespersons of the participating government bodies. He affirmed that the progress made in consolidating the media discourse, as well as the growing integration and coordination among the governmental bodies, has been very visible. Al-Awwad added that those who walk in the streets of the Kingdom understand this through the unified visual identity of the streets of Saudi cities and buildings on the occasion of National Day. He said that “the success we are witnessing today could not have been achieved without the guidance, support and confidence of our wise leadership, God, and the cooperation, support, and commitment of government officials” adding that everyone is a partner in work and in achieving success. Dr. Abdullah Al-Maghlouth, Ministry of Information spokesman and director-general of the Center for Government Communication (CGC), said that the number of publications that were circulated marking Saudi’s 88th National Day in the media and social networking sites reached 221,000. He added that about 2,000 journalists participated in the National Day through the platform of the center. He pointed to the digital platform “Tawareel” as one of the initiatives of the CGC in the Ministry of Media to enhance achieve greater coordination between the center and government agencies. Those figures showed that the center was on the right track and that coordination was increasing day by day. The national media plan for the National Day for the first time created a unified visual and verbal identity for Saudi National Day 88. It also coordinated the efforts of various governmental agencies and the private sector through the establishment of a unified media center that brings together the participants in this event to ensure commitment to identity and the unification of media messages. The CGC aims to highlight the achievements of the nation in a year to achieve the desired impact and strengthen the national identity of individuals, enhance pride in National Day, and interact with its activities and programs and initiatives. Al-Maghlooth said that the inauguration ceremony of the CGC for the 88th National Day was a long process which had begun to bear fruit at the beginning of this year when the Ministry of Information announced the establishment of the governmental and international communication centers as strategic initiatives to adopt the best media practices worldwide. He pointed out that one objective was a united media message: Through strengthening coordination and information integration between government agencies. CGC will be providing support through training and development, preparing strategic plans and information campaigns, crisis management, and providing monitoring, analysis, data and information. Al-Maghlooth explained what the Ministry of Media had achieved since the launch of the centers of government and international communication in early 2018; a qualitative leap as illustrated by the statistics. He said that the Kingdom hosted more than 818 international journalists from more than 100 countries who participated in covering the Hajj and highlighting it in proportion to its important status and the Kingdom’s great efforts. The achievements and figures confirm that the center and other government entities work together well and will continue to make progress with the guidance, support and care of the country’s leadership, and with the cooperation and continuous support of the government bodies, to achieve the goals and aspirations of Vision 2030, which reaches the sky.