The newly elected board of directors who will commence their appointments 1 July 2023 were elected by the AGM. Global Alliance´s President, Justin Green, has been re-elected for a third two-year term. Silvia Arto from COM-ENT (France) has been re-elected Vice President. With 48% (13) female and 52% (14) male directors’ membership, Global Alliance´s new board has an excellent gender representation.
The saying ‘May You Live in Interesting Times’ has perhaps never seemed more like a curse than a blessing!
There can be no doubt that we continue to live through extraordinary times – times that challenge and stretch all of us as global citizens and as public relations and communications professionals.
At the time of writing, the war in Ukraine continues with terrible loss of life and livelihoods. So many people from that country are still displaced across Europe and beyond while others mourn the lives lost or changed forever since the invasion in early 2022. We also see terrible suffering in Sudan that again reminds us how fragile life is and how democracy and the settled rule of law are not things that everyone can take for granted.
Marta Perlado has a strong background as leader of a PR school. She holds a PhD in Information Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid and a degree in Information Sciences (Advertising and Public Relations) from the same university. After 29 years as a teacher and researcher at the Nebrija University of Madrid, she is currently the dean of the Faculty of Communication and Arts, an appealing combination of public relations and creativity.
It has been a great week for the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) as we welcomed you here in Manila!
On behalf of the PRSP Board of Trustees, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to you for accepting our invitation as a distinguished member of the Board of Jurors of the 58th Anvil Awards, the annual awards known to be the ‘Oscars of Public Relations in the Philippines’ being presented by our organization for the last 58 years.
HISTORICALLY, Public Relations (PR) practitioners have been viewed with a degree of skepticism.
Some people are of the view that the duty of practitioners is to conceal the truth from their organisations while others perceive PR as a tool for propaganda or disseminating distorted information.
To the contrary, PR ethics guide practitioners to disseminate honest and forthright information to their publics including employees, management, customers, investors, media, and the community, among others.
Does reducing plastics in its packaging make an oil company or meat processing company sustainable? Does a green image equal to sustainable business?
A typical example of greenwashing is a sustainability claim, which do not mention any environmental impacts the product or service may have. Another form of greenwashing is an environmental claim that is too general or slogan-like, and it does not justify on what basis the product or service is claimed to be environmentally friendly. The third form of greenwashing is intentional or unintentional lying, meaning that no reliable information can be found to support the sustainability claims.
Public Relations cannot shake off its relationship with persuasion nor should it be ashamed of it. Instead it should embrace it, with responsibility and accountability.
As a profession, officially, Public Relations has very quietly passed its 100 years mark during the COVID-19 pandemic. That is, if you take “Father of PR” Edward Bernays’s early writings, and claims in his autobiography as PR’s professional launch.
Ladies and gentlemen – friends and colleagues, peers in the public relations and communications profession…
I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak to you as we begin a new year. Wherever you are in the world, 2023 brings with it the promise of fresh opportunities and challenges, along with new horizons to reach for. I encourage you to look up, look forward and grab the new year, and all that it has to offer with gusto. Don’t just wait for good things to happen – go out and make them happen!
First and foremost, it was our great pleasure to welcome you as Global Alliance's representatives to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from November 10 to November 14, 2022. We hope that Vietnamese cultural and historical beauty and the enthusiasm of our PR practitioners have brought you an unforgettable experience.
I'm not going to draw you a picture of the current situation you know so well: pandemic, war, inflation, purchasing power and ecological problems. This affects governements, organisations, companies, and of course, the communication industry. How is our profession transforming? What are the main trends impacting our profession and how can we adapt to them?
In today's business world, individuals and their creative intelligence are accepted as the biggest capital. Although this fact, which forms the basis of the communication sector we belong is not new to us, it is becoming valid for all business life, regardless of the sector is of great importance. So, what connects a person to the company they work for and nurtures and activates their creative intelligence? Diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) is the answer to this question. Research shows that the leading companies in the Diversity and Inclusion indices have increased their market shares by 45 percent and their success rates in new markets are 70 percent higher than companies that do not adopt this principle.
It was visionary to have Global Alliance to designate a month in our calendar of activities to celebrate diversity. Therefore, as we navigate though the diversity, inclusion and equality month this June, can only be fully encouraged and motivated by the beauty that diversity bestows on us as PR and communication professionals.
When I wrote the equivalent message to this in the first half of 2021, we were all heavily focused on the COVID-19 global pandemic and the hope that mass vaccination held out. The outlook, however tentative, on that front has seldom been more favourable than it is today. However, we are now – of course – grappling with a new wave of global uncertainty arising from the war in Ukraine.
In Spain when a person is relevant we say that "he/she paints a lot". Elina Melgin paints a lot, not only in the Communication and Public Relations industry, but also as a hobby. If you think of a leader in PR in the Nordic countries, the name Elina comes up spontaneously. She is one of the most experienced public relations professionals in Finland and contributes to the development of the profession through her leadership of ProCom for the last 17 years and her academic activities. Her experience and intellectual capacity are reflected in the answers that follow, which share an ethical and committed vision of public relations and are a good guide for professionals in the sector to follow.
This year, the world’s PR professionals have shared their thoughts on key trends transforming our industry and shaking up our old ways of working and thinking. For instance, the effects of the pandemic on the workforce, the influence of artificial intelligence and big data with the digitalization and social media development, the impact of fake news and mis/disinformation with the rising crisis, plus the evolving role of communications with the increasing blurring lines between PR and marketing. This is pushing us to advance our skills.
Over the years, communication strategy has become more scientific in its approach. The use of technology, tools, data and insights has become a key part of communication strategy. ‘There is an app for that’ conversations are no more avoidable for those who keep track of the comms tech space development.
For rapidly growing numbers of increasingly well-informed and environmentally-conscious consumers, the environment - and environmental accountability – are important concerns. These consumers will only support transparent, authentic and honest companies that are environmentally accountable and do not harm - or profit at the expense of - the environment or people.
Lisbon, 01 March 2022 – The leadership of the Global Alliance for Public Relations & Communication Management has witnessed with growing horror over recent days as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has continued with mounting loss of human life and a growing humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.
