Government communicators looking to get a leg up on the latest trends and developments in the world of social media in the public sector are in luck. Several upcoming events being hosted by the Advanced Learning Institute will speak to the many challenges and opportunities facing communications professionals who have, or are looking to, tackle the rapidly evolving social media landscape.

Two upcoming conferences, one in Atlanta and one in British Columbia, entitled "Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results," will be three day events covering a wide range of issues in the communications realm.

The Atlanta event will be held from September 19 - 22 and will feature several speakers from the local, state, and federal levels who have dealt first hand with the power of social media in gov communications. Topics covered will include, but not be limited to, measuring the effectiveness of your organization's social media strategy and cultivating senior level support for agency social media programs. Speakers will include the Transportation Security Administration's Curtis "Blogger Bob" Burns and the e-communications team from the Atlanta Mayor's office in addition to several other experts.

The British Columbia event will be held September 26 - 29 and have a slightly more "north of the border" flare with speakers from several Canadian government offices as well as the U.S. Department of State and the city of Seattle. Topics will include ways to blend new and traditional media strategies for optimal results, and embracing and integrating mobile technologies.

From November 1 - 4, it's "Strategic Internal Communications in Government: How To Use Social Media & Traditional Communications To Engage Employees, Drive Performance & Add Value." This event will be held in Washington DC and feature speakers such as Department of Interior's Teresa Rivera and Department of Defense's Brian Drake discussing a wide range of social media related topics.

Finally, the institute will be holding one more Canadian event from November 14 - 17 in Toronto. This event will cover the same topics as the Atlanta and British Columbia conferences and feature speakers from both American and Canadian organizations.

And remember, since OhMyGov is a supporting organization for these events any reader who mentions OhMyGov at registration will receive a $200 discount. Space is limited so make sure to register soon!