Second Day: 5th Global PR Conclave

The second day of 5th Global PR Conclave early at 9am with a soulful, spiritual discourse on "Inner Empowerment" by the famous management trainer BK Usha ji from Brahm Kumari Ashram, Mt Abu, Rajasthan. Accompanied by Sister Sarla who is Hyderabad Chapter Chair of GFPR, and other local sisters from the Ashram, the morning was enlightening, as Usha ji unfolded the Eight Essential Elements of Good Leadership qualities which must be balanced with equally significant eight values.

The values are connected to spirituality, she pointed out, and if spirit is powerful and resourceful, the leadership abilities get strengthened.

Later, past president of PRCI Chandigarh Chapter, Jatinder Vijh proposed a vote of thanks, and PRCI Secretary General Vijaya Lakshmi presented a token of appreciation to Bk Usha ji.

The second plenary focussed on "Challenges of Changing Media Scenario" which was chaired by Mr. N.D. Rajpal, while Mr. Dinesh Kumar, Associate Editor, The Tribune, and Mr. Viney Sharma, Principal Correspondent, The Economic Times, formed the panel.

The third plenary threw up interesting discussions on "Digital PR, Convergence and Online Communication" which was initiated by session chair Vivek Atray, former Director IT, Chandigarh Administration, and ex-advisor to KPMG, who touched upon the growing convergence and the speed of communication brought about by rapid technological developments.  Mr. Nidish Tyagi, Chief News Editor, The Tribune, touched upon the rapidity with which online social media is providing feedback and truly making communication two-ways, and challenging.
The third panelist, founder and CEO of digital company, Interworld Comnet, J.K. Menon, spoke about the revolution in online search engines, and in a crisis situation, how "reverse PR" could be obtained through technology-led tactics.

"Streamlining PR Education" was the theme for the fourth plenary session which was chaired by counsellor of the Conclave and President of Chandigarh Management Association, Dr. Gulshan Sharma, with Dr. Ujwal Chaudhary from ISB&M, and Dr. Rajbir Singh, Director, Institute of Mass Communication, Kurukshetra University on the panel.
The panel agreed on need for refurbishing the communication education and need for training the teachers by exposing them to the corporate environment. There is a need for the public relations practitioners to rise from being mere vendors of press releases to domain expertise.

The post-lunch session on "Setting Standards for PR Accredition" was chaired by Krishna Mariyanka and had on the panel Dr. G.C. Banik and C.J. Singh. The session was followed by great participation from the floor, and though everyone agreed to the need for having a public relations accreditation process in place, the debatable point was to make client understand the different between a certified professional and non-certified.

The 5th Global PR Conclave also adopted the Chandigarh PR Declaration.

A Memorable Evening

The Chanakaya Awards were followed by entertainment in typical Panjabi style. Tall youthful Panjabis danced to the beat of dhol as they performed Bhangra.

The delegates joined the dance floor as they celebrated the evening.

Inaugural Session : 5th Global PR Conclave

'Change is the Biggest Challenge for PR', says Education Minister.

Hon'ble Education Minister Punjab, Shri Sewa Singh Sekhwan, was the chief guest at the inaugural function of 5th Global PR Conclave along with renowned journalist and author, Mr. Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune Group, as Guest of Honour and keynote speaker. 

The PR people are not only the catalyst of change but must work to manage change and make people adapt to the new realities, he added. He referred to the long history of PR practice while quoting from Indian scriptures and history much before the 20th century management professionals adopted it as an essential management function. He emphasised the need for constant training and education in the field and asked PRCI to work with the government of Punjab to upgrade the skills and knowledge of its own public relations department. 

Mr. Raj Chengappa, in his keynote address, pointed out the dire need for the new recruits in the PR field to learn the fundamentals of media operations, the nuances of ethical practice and raising the standards of their practice to save its diminishing image.

Referring to the corporate practices and the 'spin doctoring' by so-called public relations practitioners, he minced no words to suggest that ethical practices must form the key to professional practice of public relations. 

Shri Sekhwan gave away the Chanakya Awards and inducted several noted PR practitioners into PRCI Hall of Fame.  

On this occasion,  PRCI's research journal and newsletter 'Chanakaya' were also released. 

Download the full text of the address by Hon'ble Education Minister Shri Sewa Singh Sekhwan. 

5th Global PR Conclave

It was a two-days of extremely knowledge-packed conference at Chandigarh. The delegates and speakers started arriving on 16th March evening, including Mr. M.B. Jayaram, Chairman Emeritus and Chief Mentor of PRCI, Mr. N.D. Rajpal, President of the National Executive, Mr. Krishna Mariyanka, Vice Chairman, amongst others.
The Conclave opened in Hotel Mountview on 17th afternoon at 3pm with the opening addresses by Mr. M.B. Jayaram, Mr. N.D. Rajpal and Conclave Chair C.J. Singh, providing an overview of the PRCI plans as well as the theme of the Conclave, "PR in the Challenging Times of Today". Renuka Salwan extended a warm welcome to the delegates on behalf of the host, PRCI Chandigarh Chapter.

Dr. Mathew Hibberd, Director at the University of Stirling, UK, spoke on the "Challenges of Change" and said that damage to an organisation's reputation is the biggest challenge for the communicators especially with 24x7 tv news channels and online media. He emphasised the need for more technical expertise and extensive PR education for the PR practitioners in order to be proactive and more importantly, to professionalise its practice. 

"We need only the best brains to handle communication for organisations," he averred.
"Good Corporate Governance and PR" was the first plenary session in the afternoon that Deepak Jolly, Vice President Public Affairs, Coca Cola India, moderated. He had on the panel ABCI President Yogesh Joshi from Tata Steel, Renu Kakkar, Vice President Communication from Apeejay Group, and Dr. Pragnya Ram, Group Executie President, Corporate Communications from Aditya Birla Management Corporation.
Deepak Jolly deftly handled the session with incisive questions to the panelists that brought to the fore the demands on corporate communicators to the transparency, workplace ombudsman, code of business ethics, and CSR.
"Corporate communication is business of ideas, and a professional must be highly knowledgable about his/her organisation, the product/services, and the business environment in which it is operating," said Renu. Sharing her experience she emphasised that it is important for the communicators to be responsive with the minimum turn-around time to meet the deadlines of journalists, otherwise they would be bypassed for information. "The role of communicators is not to limit themselves to transactional communication which is more of an HR function, instead to focus on transformational communication", she added.
On the question of transparency and ethical business operations, Yogesh Joshi shared Tata's lone initiative way back in 1991 when it started publishing social audit report as a part of the annual report so as to communicate with all stakeholders, as well as institutionalise a process of establishing a strict code of business conduct in the group companies.
Dr. Pragnya Ram affirmed Aditya Birla's groups similar efforts of publishing its first report on Code of Business Conduct and now it also has an ombudsman to ensure its compliance.
How good it would do to make CSR mandatory for the corporates, as has been practiced in countries like Japan, and now India is also thinking about it? Dr. Ram underlined the need for such initiative to engage corporate in nation-building since the government alone can handle the vast plethora of socio-economic problems of the people.  Yogesh Joshi reiterated the Tata Group's long history of CSR about which it chose to be silent, and so had been Coca Cola India's similar initiatives through its foundation 'Anandana', said Deepak Jolly,
All agreed to have mandatory percentage of net profits of a corporate designated for CSR activities.

The Countdown Begins!

The countdown to PRCI's annual PR event, the Global PR Conclave begins. A large number of delegates are packing their bags and getting ready to take the next flight to reach the 'city beautiful'.  The infant Chapter of PRCI in Chandigarh, is eagerly looking forward to greet and welcome the delegates with open hands.
Mr.Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Minister for Education Panjab, will inaugurate the Conclave. Mr. Scott Slessor, Consul General of Canada would be the Guest of Honour.
One of the well-known journalist of the country, Mr.Raj Chengappa, who is currently the Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune Group, would be delivering the keynote address.
And of course there is a scintillating galaxy of personalities who would be decorated with Chanakya Awards, and nearly a dozen PR practitioners would enter the PRCI Hall of Fame.
Look forward to daily feeds now...direct from Chandigarh!

Direct from Chandigarh

The 5th Global PR Conclave would be webcast on this blog with photos and brief report of each sessions from 16th March onwards, when many of the members of PRCI Governing Council and national executive would start arriving in the city.  They would be meeting on 17th March morning to discuss business and plan strategies for future programmes before the Conclave.
But nothing would beat being present in this beautiful city personally, and interacting with some of the reputed names in the field of communication.
We are receiving enquiries and the registrations are already pouring in. And the PRCI team at Chandigarh is endeavouring to give its best for a rich and lively experience for the delegates.
Those arriving early or intending to stay after the Conclave must find time to shop at one of the biggest shopping centres in the north in Sector 17. Or pedal a boat at Sukhna Lake, or wander through the awe-inspiring Rock Garden. Possibilities are that you might encounter the creator, Nek Chand in some corner.

Call a Cab!

Get ready to experience Chandigarh. 
Even before arriving  at the Chandigarh Airport or the Railway Station, just call any of the Radio Cabs and they will be there to receive you.
Tricity Cabs : 0172-4242424
Mega Cabs: 0172-4141414
Indus Cabs: 0172-4646464

And if you wish to enjoy the cool breeze, hail a pink TukTuk 0172-4242424.