PR gurus to meet in Bali this year

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The London-based International Public Relations Association (IPRA), which was established in 1955, will hold a conference in Bali on Sept. 4-6 to discuss the latest issues in the expanding public relations business.

Indonesia, a part of IPRA since 1995 with 22 active members, and Malaysia will jointly host the event, which is expected to be attended by some 100 international and 250 local PR practitioners, Elizabeth G. Ananto, the secretary-general of IPRA's Indonesian office, told reporters here Wednesday.

"IPRA, which has been slightly Europe centric, is now looking at Asia and giving Indonesia a chance to participate in the global public relations industry," said Malaysian IPRA member Millicent Danker.

The conference will discuss six key issues encompassing ethics in public relations, dialogue and diplomacy, intercultural communications, conflict resolution, country branding and corporate social responsibility.

Indonesian IPRA chairman Teddy Kharsadi said that 18 international and seven local speakers had confirmed their attendance at the conference.

The international speakers expected to attend are Philip Sheppard from Belgium, who is also the current IPRA president; Roger Hayes and Richard Linning (Britain); Alan Vandermolen, Paul Homes and Robert Grupp (the U.S.); Jim McNamara (Australia); Prema Sagar (India); Loula Zaklama (Egypt); C.T. Hew (China); K. Bhavani (Singapore); and Tunku Abdul Aziz, En Nick Affendi Jaafar, Tony Fernandez, Christian Murck, Dato' Zarir Cama and Millicent Danker (Malaysia).

IPRA also expects that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will officially open the conference, with Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda delivering a keynote address.