Ottawa, Canada, 8 February 2005

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) has announced that member organizations have established a task force to ensure that the power of public relations is harnessed to help re-build communities affected by the tsunami and to keep their needs on the global political and economic agenda.

The task force to be led by Michael Morley of Edelman Public Relations and Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Associate Professor at the Nanyang Technological Institute in Singapore, will report by May 2005. Its work will involve public relations leaders from every continent and will:

• Analyze lessons from the handling of this and similar disasters, including the way that communications during and after the disaster period were handled in different societies and under different conditions
• Suggest how long- term issues such as debt relief can be kept at the forefront of the public agenda so that poorer countries are better able to cope in such situations

“By taking leadership on this issue, the Global Alliance wants to demonstrate that public relations can be a powerful force to effect positive change in countries affected by the tsunami,” said Jean Valin Chair of the Global Alliance. “Our hope is that through a concerted effort with public relations leaders from affected countries we can develop a platform and strategies that can be used by all GA partners,” Valin added.

Work has already begun to set up the task force and establish a framework for collecting and analyzing information which will be discussed and distilled over the next few months. The task force will be based in Singapore and hosted by Edelman Public Relations. The final report will be presented and discussed at the annual meeting of the GA partners during the World Public Relations Festival in Trieste, Italy on 28-30 June 2005.

The Global Alliance mission is to unify the public relations profession, add value to our membership by giving members access to global resources and be an advocate for the professional practice of public relations.

Formally established in 2000, the Global Alliance (www.globalpr.org) is composed of over 60 member organizations, representing more than 150,000 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.

Contact info:
Michael Morley in Singapore: tel: 1 917 940 0822, email: Michael.Morley@edelman.com
Jean Valin in Ottawa: tel: +613-957-4215, email: Jean.Valin@justice.gc.ca