Government referees from The Executive Council of Dubai, Dubai Healthcare City Authority, Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority and the Department of Education and Knowledge are available on request. Freedom and Action have delivered communications programmes together since 2020.
06.
Public Relations
PR and media plan
FREEDOM X ACTION GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS
A collaborative partnership.
For Thara, proof is the communications plan. This partnership is built to produce it.
Freedom leads strategy, narrative, identity and the campaign, directs the PR programme and holds one approval route across six entities.
Action Global Communications runs the press office, Arabic and English media relations, spokesperson training, issues and crisis response, monitoring and reporting from Dubai Media City, under Freedom's direction. Action is a declared subcontractor.
Samer El Zein, Action's Communications Director and Head of Arabic, leads Arabic editorial across every public-facing word.
Together, one story, told by the people who benefit from it and not only by Thara.
ACTION GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS. CREDENTIALS
Best agency in the Middle East, 2025.
In the GCC since 1994.
01 PRESENCE
Founded 1971. Dubai since 1994, Qatar since 2004, Saudi Arabia since 2024. More than 150 communications professionals across owned and affiliate offices.
02 RECOGNITION
PR Week Global Awards 2025, Best Agency, Middle East. MEPRA 2025, Best Agency, UAE. MEPRA 2025 Gold, Best Crisis Communications Campaign.
03 GOVERNMENT CLIENTS
Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, retained since 2023. The Executive Council of Dubai, Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, Mubadala, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism.
04 CRISIS
Manuals and live response for British Airways in 42 markets, UFC Fight Island and the Yasalam After-Race Concerts. Scenario mapping, response teams, prepared statements, standby around the clock.
PR OBJECTIVES
Four jobs, four audiences.
Help them understand the three questions, the Residency, eligibility and the route in.
Founders and SMEs. The lead audience.
Evidence of the operating model and the cohort's progress, with introductions and completed investment kept distinct.
Investors, corporates and government.
Show how confirmed activity serves members, places students inside the Residency and supports Ajman's development.
Ajman Chamber and institutions, universities and students.
Move the right people to the questions, the applications, service enquiries and partner contact.
Applicants, partners and talent.
Audience selection reflects actual programme eligibility, including opportunities for Emirati entrepreneurs, women, young people, students and people of determination. Measured on what happened, not on who saw it: share of relevant titles, message inclusion and referral into applications. Never followers or impressions.
ONE STORY, SIX CONTRIBUTIONS
Each entity owes the story a different kind of evidence.
| COMMUNICATIONS ROLE | EVIDENCE TO DEVELOP | |
|---|---|---|
Thara Holding |
Sets the questions, hosts the gala, governs the record, publishes the result at the exhibition. |
The approved operating model, the challenge-setters, group milestones. |
Thara Hub |
The place the story happens: the gala at Al Zorah, the Residency base, the conference and the exhibition. |
Actual use of rooms and workspace by the cohort and members. |
Thara X |
Owns the challenge brief and applications, runs the ten weeks, carries alumni into the next cohort. |
Participant progress, completed pilots, applications to the next cohort. |
Thara Capital |
Signals what investable looks like, watches the cohort, invests at the exhibition. |
Documented activity, with introductions and completed investment clearly distinguished. |
Thara Xperience |
Licensing and setup for arriving founders, keeps them operating, the infrastructure founders trade outward on. |
Completed service delivery and founders operating in Ajman. |
Thara Foundation |
Brings students and local founders into the pool and places them inside the Residency. |
Verified placements, progression and inclusion outcomes. |
A shared message framework and one editorial calendar connect entity announcements to the Thara story, so each entity gains visibility while the master brand gets stronger.
THE MEDIA PROGRAMME
Named titles, matched to the evidence each one needs.
EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS, NOT PROPOSED OUTREACH
Arabic news and business
Al Bayan, Al Khaleej, Al Ittihad, Emarat Al Youm
Arabic founder stories, service explainers and approved economic-development updates.
English news and business
The National, Gulf News, Khaleej Times
SME features, participant profiles and interviews explaining the practical offer.
Business and investment
Arabian Business, Gulf Business, Economy Middle East, Forbes Middle East
Operating-model interviews, investment-readiness features and verified milestones.
Entrepreneurship and technology
Entrepreneur Middle East, Wamda
Founder journeys, venture-development stories and relevant technology use cases.
Broadcast and official
Dubai Eye Business Breakfast, Arabic broadcast desks, WAM
Practical interviews and confirmed institutional announcements.
Every title named above is an existing relationship our PR partner can activate, not proposed outreach. The working map names individual journalists, language, preferred format and the evidence each pitch needs. Targets are validated before outreach. Coverage remains subject to editorial interest.
REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
Reach is international from day one. Coverage is earned.
International media will not write about an ecosystem that has not done anything yet. So the campaign does not ask them to. Reach and coverage are separated, and each runs on its own clock.
REACHRUNS FROM
International from the start
The Global Founders Network across six regions. The three questions on facades and screens in Denmark, Nigeria and China, and in paid social and search. Owned and partner channels. The founder films, subtitled. A founder in Jakarta hears about Thara in The Signal, without a single international article.
The Signal, week minus eight
COVERAGERUNS FROM
Earned when the evidence exists
UAE Arabic and English media from launch. GCC and wider MENA as regional services, partnerships and participant outcomes support the story. International business and sector media when there is a cross-border transaction, a substantive market entry or a model with relevance beyond the UAE.
The Yield, on outcomes
Illustrative regional targets include Asharq Business, CNBC Arabia and Arab News. Illustrative international targets include Reuters, Bloomberg and the Financial Times. Editorial policies at these titles are strict, so we do not forecast coverage. We build the story that meets the threshold.
Source-market outreach follows reach, not coverage. The two are reported separately so neither is mistaken for the other.
PRESS OFFICE
A press office is a service level, not a promise.
Media monitoring
Daily working-day monitoring in Arabic and English. Immediate alert on material negative or inaccurate coverage.
Urgent issue
Immediate telephone and written escalation to nominated contacts. First situational summary within 30 minutes where information is available.
Monthly report
Coverage quality, message penetration, spokesperson use, inaccuracies, audience relevance, opportunities, risks and actions.
Routine enquiry
Acknowledged within 60 minutes in service hours. Response route confirmed within two hours. No substantive response without approval.
Press material
Native Arabic and English drafting, fact verification, approvals, distribution plan, targeted pitching, follow-up and coverage report.
Quarterly review
Narrative performance, stakeholder feedback, share of relevant voice, reputation risks and next-quarter decisions.
Arabic and English are developed together, with editorial adaptation and consistent meaning. Neither language is a translation of the other.
SPOKESPEOPLE
Trained by people who used to ask the questions.
WHO TRAINS
The team includes former journalists who have worked both sides of the microphone, and have trained heads of government departments, C-suite executives and senior managers.
WHAT IT COVERS
What makes a story newsworthy. Techniques for confident, purposeful media engagement. Delivering key messages under pressure. Message structure, tone and body language, practised in scenario-based exercises.
BILINGUAL
Training delivered in Arabic and English, for Thara spokespeople and entity specialists, with protocol-compliant handling for Chairperson, Board and government-facing moments.
Beyond training, a rolling programme of relevant and timely thought-leadership content, placed with the spokespeople best suited to carry it.
Founders, challenge-setters and participating businesses speak alongside Thara, not only for it. Their experience is the proof the leadership voice cannot supply.
ISSUES AND CRISIS
Four severities. One decision route.
Nothing is published without approval.
LEVEL 1 ROUTINEAGENCY ACTION
Ordinary complaint, service question, minor incorrect tag or non-material criticism.
Log, respond through the approved matrix, include in regular reporting.
LEVEL 2 ELEVATEDAGENCY ACTION
Repeated complaint, misinformation gaining attention, partner concern or local media query.
Alert the nominated lead, investigate, prepare response options, increase monitoring.
LEVEL 3 MATERIALAGENCY ACTION
Government sensitivity, investment allegation, data incident, beneficiary harm or significant negative coverage.
Immediate escalation, war-room support, verified holding statement, continuous monitoring.
LEVEL 4 CRITICALAGENCY ACTION
Threat to public trust, legal or regulatory exposure, major cyber event or national escalation.
Activate crisis leadership, 24-hour support if instructed, decision log, coordinated legal and protocol response.
WORKED SCENARIO
A founder posts that they joined Thara believing the Global Founders Residency would provide UAE residency and guaranteed funding. The post gains attention, others question the offer, a journalist requests clarification.
Establish the facts, then contact the founder directly. Agree one group-level response and consistent messages for media and customer-facing teams. Correct any misleading wording. Clarify publicly what the Residency includes, its eligibility and its limits. Update the FAQ and affected materials so it cannot recur.
This scenario is in the playbook from day one, because the word residency invites the assumption. The programme is named the Global Founders Residency, and the FAQ answers it before anyone has to ask.
THE PR TEAM
Named, bilingual, and senior where it matters.
Euan Megson
Managing Director, MENA
Senior strategic counsel and client oversight
Mai Ali
Head of Communications
Senior strategic counsel and client oversight
Ramzi Alabras
Communications Manager
Day-to-day communications leadership and delivery
Samer El Zein
Communications Director and Head of Arabic
Arabic editorial development and media relations
Gary Meenaghan
Chief Editor, English
English editorial development and media relations
Mohammed El Sawy
Media Monitoring Manager
Monitoring, reporting and delivery support
Supported by Juman Al Dabbagh, Sally Aziz and Yomna Essa on delivery coordination. Responsibilities may be combined where appropriate. The final team is confirmed on signing.