As former Eastern Bloc nations begin building democratic and
capitalist societies, the public relations profession there is
expanding, as last month's meeting of the International Public
Relations Association (IPRA) in Hungary confirmed.
Showing public relations' status in the region, meeting attendees were
treated to a presentation in Hungary's parliament chambers by the
nation's prime minister, Gyula Horn.
Another prestigious achievement for the profession was the
holding of the Golden World Award ceremony, recognizing excellence in
PR programs, in the nation's presidential guest house.
About 150 PR professionals from more than 30 countries attended
the May 25-28 meeting in Budapest. The United States, which has the
largest PR community, was relatively poorly represented, with about
six professionals making the trip.
Great Change in Region
The change in society and the practice of public relations are
"staggering" since IPRA held its last meeting in Hungary in 1988, said
Roger Hayes, IPRA's president-elect, who is director of the British
Nuclear Industry Forum, London.
"Given the process of democratization that's going on very fast,
the role of public relations there is becoming very important." A
measure of this, in addition to the briefing by the prime minister,
was the attendance of approximately 50 members of the press at a
briefing for the meeting, said Hayes.
Workshop for Eastern Europe
The first day of the IPRA meeting was a workshop on conducting
public relations in emerging democracies. According to Carolyn Fazio
of Fazio International, Boca Raton, Fla., the acting executive
director of IPRA, PR professionals from 10 former Eastern Bloc nations
attended. The session covered the role of public relations in
building a country image, as well as promoting a nation's trade and
investment opportunities and tourism industries, said Barbara Burns of
Consultants in Public Relations S.A., New York, one of the presenters.
In another indication of the region's hunger for PR expertise,
the national association of public relations agencies in the Czech
Republic, the Association of Public Relations Agencies, convened a
meeting in that nation with representatives of the Public Relations
Society of Japan just after the IPRA meeting, according to Burns, who
attend this meeting, as well.
Search for IPRA Exec Continues
Against the backdrop of a successful meeting, IPRA officers
continue to search for a full-time executive director for the group,
which has been leaderless since Dennis Clagett resigned last December.
Earlier this spring, a U.S. finalist for the position backed
out, opting not to accept an overseas assignment, sources told PR
NEWS. (IPRA's secretariat currently is based in Geneva, Switzerland,
but the group will move its office to London as soon as a new
executive director is hired.)
Acting director Carolyn Fazio said the search process is
continuing. After failing to meet an ambitious goal of hiring a new
leader by April 1, she said the group now is saying only that a hiring
will be completed before the end of the year.
Bombay Meeting in November
IPRA's next meeting will be ov. 8-9 in Bombay, India, soon to
drop the English-origin name of Bombay for the Indian name of Mumbai.
(Fazio Int'l, 407/995-8383; Hayes, 011-44-1-71-828-0116,
Consultants in Public Relations, 212/486-1140, IPRA Secretariat,
011-41-22-791-0550)