Auckland, New Zealand, March 7, 2003 - The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) has announced that member organizations have unanimously approved its first global standard for the profession - a protocol to standardize by the end of 2005 the codes of ethics of the profession. The protocol was one of the key decisions of the GA council meeting that took place in Auckland last month.

The protocol prescribes the minimum elements that must be included in codes of ethics currently in use around the world. Member organizations can add other clauses at their discretion. This protocol can be viewed here. An international team of experts under the guidance of Mr. Jean Valin APR, Fellow CPRS and Chair–elect of the GA worked on this project for the past four years.

The protocol on ethics followed a benchmarking exercise led by the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) that revealed that there were more similarities than differences between in the fifteen codes that were submitted for analysis.

“The Global Alliance wants to continue to explore standards for the profession and we are proud of this first accomplishment” said Mr Toni Muzi Falconi Chair of the Alliance and head of the Italian PR association-FERPI. “Ethics have always been an important component of the practice and we must strive for better understanding and respect of this principle” added Mr Muzi Falconi. 

The Global Alliance is also announcing the formation of a new virtual ethics forum where practitioners facing ethical dilemma will be able to submit, on a confidential basis, a particular situation they wish to obtain clarification from experts from around the world. Initial nominations to this expert panel are: Mr. Jim Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA representing the Public Relations Society of Susan Davies FPRIA from Australia and Mr. Chris Skinner, APR, Fellow PRISA representing the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa.

This new service will be offered through the GA web site and will be available in the next few weeks.

Mr. Valin added: “The Global Alliance is about unifying the profession and adding value to our membership offerings by giving members access to global resources”. The GA is delivering on its first global standard and is embarking on an ambitious program to pursue its objectives.

The GA has undertaken work to benchmark certification and professional development processes, develop a platform for proactive cooperation with academia and research, perform a comparative analysis of regulation in different countries and international institutions, and further develop the Global Alliance Web site into an interactive environment. 

The next Global Alliance meeting will be held June 18 to 21, 2003 in Rome, Italy.

Formally established in 2000, the Global Alliance (www.globalpr.org) is composed of over 30 member organizations, representing more than 100,000 individuals, with a mission to enhance the public relations profession and its practitioners throughout the world. The Alliance aims to provide a forum to share ideas and best practice, seek common interests and standards, and provide a better understanding of the unique aspects of each culture in which practitioners operate.

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Contact info for Toni Muzi Falconi: FERPI, tel: 39 335 61000384, tonimuzi@tin.it