“Letter From Brazil”

Dear GA partners

“Public Relations must support the promotion of democratic values based on free expression, free will and free flow of information, including on the Internet and new technologies.”

On that note, the curtain came down on a successful 3rd World Public Relations Festival in Brasilia, Brazil, on 28 June 2006. This commitment is one of several contained in a statement - Letter from Brazil - co-signed by the GA and Conferp in the presence of delegates from18 countries assembled in Brasilia for the historic event.

Giving substance to the festival theme, Public Relations – The Voice of the World, the letter also stated that:

	The practice of Public Relations is an instrument for the development of people and nations in the construction of just societies
	Public Relations professionals should be engaged in the fight against injustice, discrimination and social exclusion of men and women as minimum standards to assist development and support human rights
	The Public Relations profession has a responsibility to lend its voice and talents in pursuit of the freedom of individuals, the acceptance of individual differences, as well as diversity in all its forms, be it ethnic or cultural, for the greater good of society
	Public Relations professionals should pursue the establishment and enhancement of relationships with all stakeholders in order to break down or reduce the barriers that hinder the access for millions of people in the world to minimum conditions to sustain themselves

I hope that the statement sends a clear message that public relations professionals around the world are no longer prepared to “just do our work” and stand on the sidelines of world issues that affect their profession and their lives. They are prepared to employ their skills and talents to make a contribution to global efforts to make the world a better place for all of us. I urge our partners to encourage their members to internalize these sentiments so that they form an integral part of the culture of public relations around the globe.

The Festival and GA Annual Meeting

To this end, let me say that the executive board and I would have liked to see most of our GA partners represented at the festival and during our council meeting in Brasilia but for various reasons, that was not to be. I believe that the relatively late invitation with vital information about the festival had a lot to do with the poor attendance by members. We regret this and I promise that, in future, we will do all in our power to ensure that members are well informed in time about GA events. While 18 countries were represented at the festival not all of them were members of the GA.

I could go into detailed explanations as to why things turned out the way they did this time, but that would be like crying over spilt milk. On the other hand, I would really like to thank the members of the executive board who made it to Brazil, even after many of us had to cope with the uncertainty of how we would get to Brasilia due to problems with Varig, the Brazilian national carrier on which many of us were booked. To our credit, we persevered and got there.

I would also like to thank our GA partners and hosts, Conferp, for their hospitality and excellent arrangements made for the GA executive board and council meetings. Both meetings were highly productive. You should have received this information by now, but I would like to, formally, introduce to you our two new members of the executive board: Dr Ajit Pathak of the Public Relations Society of India, secretary; and treasurer, Mr Furio Garbagnati of FERPI, Italy. We look forward to their contribution to the common good of the GA, our profession and the members of our partner associations.

The festival, attended by more than 500 delegates, followed the format of the two successful earlier festivals in Italy with plenary, breakaway sessions and several benchmark case studies. Something heartening about the delegates was that many of them were students in public relations from local universities. The inputs from speakers were of a high quality and I believe that the stature of our brand was enhanced by the event. As I pointed out during my presentation:

“In our quest to raise the quality and professionalism of public relations, the GA has developed the concept of world public relations festivals. These festivals bring together some of the best minds in the profession to share and explore the latest trends in the public relations and communication management industry. The GA is proud of this brand and we plan to refine the product as we gain experience to be the best practice for the world in this kind of forum.”

On a different note, I also made the following appeal to our members: “It is generally accepted in many parts of the world that most public relations practitioners remain outside the ambit of any public relations professional body. This is a serious challenge for the GA and our partners in the various countries because while this trend persists, we cannot mobilize and leverage the profession’s resources to the best effect. While we must give primary attention to our members, we must also strive to bring these ‘outsider colleagues’ into the extended public relations family. This can only strengthen all of us.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all increase of memberships by at least 5 percent by the end of 2007.

4th World Public Relations Festival

Which brings me to the 4th World Public Relations Festival. This event will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 13 – 15 2007 and our hosts will be PRISA, the Institute for Public Relations and Communication management in Southern Africa. You may expect to hear more about the event and arrangements for this festival in due course from our hosts. The executive board and the GA council meetings will also take place during the festival. I urge our members to make sure that they are all well represented in Cape Town to make sure that the decisions taken by the council serve their interests and those of our profession well. Enquiries about the festival may be referred to: margim@prisa.co.za or susanr@prisa.co.za.

Next GA meeting

In our effort to give substance to the GA mission to: “Leverage the work of associations and institutes for the benefit and growth of our member associations and institutes,” the executive has been invited and has accepted to hold its next meeting in Puerto Rico on 5 October 2006. This meeting will form part of the national conference of the Public Relation Society of Puerto Rico set to take place at the Dorado del Mar Beach and Gold Resort on 6-7 October.

I am sure Puerto Rico would like to host as many of our members at their conference as possible. Raquel Rivera is director national conference committee 2006 and she may be reached on: rcrivera@prtc.net.

World Congress on Communication for Development

I trust that by now you have received communication about the GA’s involvement in the World Congress on Communication for Development which will take place in Rome, Italy, from 25-27 October 2006. This promises to be an event of high significance for communication and development and the GA will take its role on the Advisory Council and the session on “The role of Public Relations in the New Development Paradigm very seriously. More on this congress in due course.

Let’s build the public relations profession together: One Profession One Voice.

Sej Motau, FPRISA
Chairman Global Alliance.