Thierry Libaert, Director of organizational communication and Public Relations studies at the catholic university of Louvain (UCL, Belgium), publishes three new books (in French) on 8 September 2010.

The three books are published by Dunod publisher (Paris) in the "Topos" collection. Here you are the titles:

• "La communication interne", by Thierry Libaert and Nicole d'Almeida (professor at Celsa/Université Paris IV), 6th edition.

• "La communication de crise", by Thierry Libaert (3rd edition).

• "La communication corporate", by Thierry Libaert and Karine Johannes (research assistant at UCL).

Comparing the three books, the reader realises that:

• We cannot think communication as a collection of separate fields. For example, suffering at work is linked to internal communication, but it also transforms itself in a form of crisis communication, and it influences deeply corporate communication.
• 2.0 is by now a basic aspect of all communication strategies; it is not well managed still, and its consequences are not sufficiently anticipated.
• The basic questions, often forgotten, on these themes are: which is the stake and which are our middle- and long-term goals? Which is the central message we want to transmit?

Conference will take place on November, 25-26th, 2010
Urals State University, Russia.

Paper submission

Works for participation in conference are accepted till October, 10th, 2010.

Themes

• The basic trends of business communications sphere development.
  - Directions of IMC concept innovative development : the international and regional aspects;
  - Actual problems of business communications sphere institutionalization (mass-media, marketing, public relations, advertising);
  - Strategic priorities of business communications in the IMC context: imagemaking, reputation management, branding;
  - Transformation of mass communications in a modern society: tendencies and perspectives analyzing;
  -Socio-cultural status of professions in business communications sphere professions in Russia and abroad;
  - Social stereotypes in perception of professions in business communications sphere in Russia and abroad.

• The complex approach to business communications management: traditions and innovations.
  - Methodology and a technique of an IMC efficiency estimation;
  - Approaches to application of IMC methods in practice of business communications;
  - Branch specificity of tools of strategic communications management Internet technologies in sphere of business communications.
  - Communicative potential of new Internet technologies directions;- Blogs sphere as the channel of multilateral business communications;
  - Skills of representation and production/services advancement in social networks and forums;
  - Preparation of experts of business communications sphere for IT business "ready to operate": branch preferences.

• Professional experts’ competence: society requirements, potential of high school and expectation of the employer:
  - The concept of experts’ preparation: specialization or universalism?
  - Problems of experts’ speech preparation for business communications sphere;
  - Problems of experts’ professional standards working out in business communications sphere: foreign experience and the Russian practice;
  - A problem of ethical requirements transformation to the expert of business communications sphere;
  - Branch specificity of IMC: the order for the expert?
  - Corporate universities as the form of graduates’ adaptation to the specialization.

Contacts

Novoselova Olga
La_cigale_15@mail.ru
International project leader PR & advertising department
Urals State University
www.uralbrand.ru

The annual IAMCR (International Association for Media and Communication Research) conference «Communication and Citizenship» took place at the University of Minho on 18 – 22 July 2010. More than 1200 researches from 75 countries participated in the conference.

The whole working group was represented by communication management specialists. The working group business meeting was held on 21 July 2010 within the framework of the International Communication Section chaired by Sujatha Sosale (the University of Iowa, USA) and was named “Communication management in information warfare: New opportunities and new threats for the defense of public interest in times of crisis”.

The meeting was headed by the director of ICSPSC, the head of CMC at RGGSM at ANE under the RF Government Prof. DSc. E. Pashetsev and the senior researcher of the National Center for Crisis Management Research and Training (Crismart), a part of the Swedish National Defence College, Dr. Greg Simons. The spesialists from Russia, the USA and Sweden contributed their papers to the work of the group:

• Valentina Panferova and Yulia Zvereva (Sholokhov Moscow State Humanitarian University) «Mass Media as a Tool of Communication Management in Time of Civilization Crisis»;
• Vladimir Suchan (University of Maine, Fort Kent, USA) «The Anima and Strategic Communication: La Femme Éternelle et Fatale»;
• Olga Polunina (Lomonosov Moscow State University) «Communication Functions of the Supranational in the Foreign Policy of the EU»;
• Darya Bazarkina (CMC at RGGSM at ANE under the RF government) «The Governmental Communications and Mass Discontent under Conditions of a World Economic and Social Crisis: The Case Study of Germany and Sweden»;
• Svetlana Zudochkina (Lomonosov Moscow State University) «How BBC Covers Economic Crisis in Russia and East Europe»;
• Greg Simons (National Center for Crisis Management Research and Training (Crismart), a part of the Swedish National Defence College) «Attempts at Controlling the News Flows: The Good News Wars» Besides.

Two more papers at the conference were introduced by

• Evgeny Pashentsev (“Information Warfare under the Crisis Conditions: The Experience of Russia”, The Emerging Theme “Crisis Communication”, heads – Sigurd Allern & Ester Pollack);
• Darya Bazarkina («Communication Aspect of the Activities of the Antiterrorist Structures of Germany under the Conditions of the Economic and Social Crisis and the Interests of a Civil Society», section “Political Communication Research”, chair – Philippe J. Maarek).

The seminar "Information and Media in Modern Conflicts" was held in the Military Academy in Lisboa, Portugal on the 16th of July.

The main paper was made by Dr. G. Simons, the senior researcher of the National Center for Crisis Management Research and Training (Crismart), a part of the Swedish National Defence College, the associated fellow of the Communication Management Centre of the Russian-German Graduate School of Management at the Academy of National Economy under the Government of RF. In his paper the Swedish specialist stressed the rising role of the informational warfare in the modern world and illustrated basic ideas by various examples of applying the communicational mechanisms both in the armed conflicts and large business.

The seminar was organized by the NGO Competitive Intelligence & Information Warfare Association for the researchers in the sphere of business information protection. The seminar showed the high potential of this sphere of knowledge both for business community and security bodies as the representatives asked for practical recommendations from the Swedish scientist.

The Russian specialists also took part in the discussion: the head of the Communication Management Centre of the Russian-German Graduate School of Management at the Academy of National Economy under the Government of RF, DSc. Prof. E. Pashentsev, associated fellows of Communication Management Centre Dr. D. Bazarkina and Dr. O. Polunina and Mrs. S. Zudochkina.

"Contredire l'entreprise"

Andrea Catellani, Thierry Libaert, Jean-Marie Pierlot
Presses universitaires de Louvain, 2010, 162 pp.

This book presents new looks on how firms are criticised and attacked today by publics, associations, stakeholders. Scholars and professionals from different countries (France, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Portugal...) introduce researches and reflections on polemic, contradiction, criticism around and about firms.

The volume presents the proceedings of the conference "Contredire l'entreprise" (Contradicting Firms), held in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) in October 2010, in honour of Prof. Axel Gryspeerdt, key figure of the Public Relations development in Belgium, now emeritus of the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL).

Order the volume (paper and electronic version)

Dates and venue

We are delighted to announce the 7th Thought Leaders International Conference in Brand Management taking place from Thursday, March 10 to Saturday, March 12, 2011 at USI Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland.

Call for Papers

Important deadlines:

• Paper submission deadline - October 1, 2010
• Notification of paper acceptance with feedback from reviewers - December 15, 2010
• Submit revised paper - February 1, 2011
• Confirmation of attendance and paper presentation - February 10, 2011

Special Edition of Journal of Business Research

Papers presented at the conference may be considered for a Special Edition of the Journal of Business Research. Authors will have the benefit of revising their papers after the conference, building on the feedback they receive and they might like to then submit their paper to a Special Edition of the Journal of Business Research devoted to the best papers from this conference.

More info

For further information, please contact Conference Manager, Jennifer Hayes at, +41 (0)58 666 4605 or go to the congress website.

In the past months we have been informed about difficulties in downloading the ebook “Institutionalizing PR and Corporate Communication”, containing the proceedings of the Euprera 2008 congress.

A more user-friendly version is now available and you can download it, free and without any password, at this link: http://www.hpe.pearson.it/euprera2008

Over 180 communications professionals gathered on May 6th 2010 at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne to participate in the Lac Leman Communications Forum. The theme for the day-long forum was Navigating the Social Media Jungle: Strategies for Corporate Communications.

With social media taking a prevalent position as a key communication tool in the professional world, leading experts from academia and the professional world discussed the relevant practices and issues of social media today.

Keynote speakers Professor Paul Argenti, Dartmouth College, Professor Bertil Cottier, Università della Svizzera italiana, Adrian Monck, World Economic Forum and Professor Andreina Mandelli, Università della Svizzera italiana, discussed topics from strategies for powerful corporate communications and internet governance to social media at the World Economic Forum to social media's role in transforming business and ROI in corporate communications.

Breakout sessions were also held, which focused on a particular organization and their social media experiences and challenges. Representatives from IBM, Google, Médecins Sans Frontiéres and the International Olympic Committee presented topics for an interactive discussion among participants.

Attendees also participated in a "Best Practice Forum", which included three 20-minute rounds where participans chose from 14 different "information stations" covering a range of social media topics from organizations such as, IBM, Google, World Wildlife Fund, ICRC, International Olympic Committee, Virtua, Dupont, (YWCA) Young Women's Christian Association, European Training Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontiéres, Burson-Marsteller, Geneva Communicators Network and UNAIDS.

To view the webcasts and Forum presentations, please go to:
http://www.mscom.usi.ch/index/events/events_gen_com.htm/event?id=66

CM technologies play an important role in various spheres of life from business to armed conflicts and terrorism combating. The truth of this statement was once again supported by a conference “War and Peace Problems” on 30th April 2010 in Prague which was organizes by an international research network «Inter-Disciplinary.Net».

The panel “Communication management in information warfare: new risks and opportunities” hosted the specialists from ICSPSC. Evgeny Passhentsev, Director of ICSPSC, Head of Communication Management Centre at the Russian-German Graduate School of Management – the faculty of the Academy of National Economy under the Government of RF and Greg Simons, ICSPSC consultant, leading researcher at the National Centre for Crisis Management Research and Training (CRISMART, Stockholm, Sweden) chaired the panel.

More than 35 specialists from the USA, Great Britain, the Check Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece took part in the work of the panel. The reports are:

• Evgeny Pashentsev. Information Warfare as Part of Communication Management in Contemporary Russia.
• Greg Simons. Media, Conflict and Narrative: Framing Afganistan and Iraq.
• Vladimir Suchan (associate professor at University of Maine at Fort Kent, ICSPSC consultant). Peace and War: Communicating Total Spectrum Dominance.
• Svetlana Zudochkina (ICSPSC researcher, lecturer at the Communication management specialization, Faculty of Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University). Communication Aspect of the Activities of MI-6.
• Darya Bazarkina (ICSPSC coordinator of communication management researches, lecturer at the Communication management specialization, Faculty of Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University). Information war against terrorism: New risks and opportunities: German Experience.

"Communication in a changing society; dynamics, risks and uncertainty"

Don't forget to submit your full paper for the Euprera 2010 Congress by June 1st and to register to the congress by July 25th to benefit of the early registration fees.

• Submit here your full paper
• See the programme updates
• Register to the congress
• Go the congress website

See you in Jyväskylä!

The specialists from the ICSPSC took part in a seminar on the communication mechanisms in anti-terrorist struggle which was held at Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE (Vienna) on 28th April 2010.

The seminar was organized with the support of the OSCE Action against Terrorism Unit. The seminar was attended by the representatives of the OSCE Secretariat and diplomats from the OSCE member-states. The discussion at the seminar The models of communication anti-terrorist struggle was devoted to the coverage of terrorist and anti-terrorist activity in Russia and Europe.

The purpose of the seminar was to analyze various ways of applying of communications which have became a main form of existence for terrorist organizations. Informational and communicational aspects which are powerful terrorists’ weapons can become Achilles' heel for them under certain conditions. In order to understand the generation of such conditions it is important to understand the role of information and communication management in current conflicts, war campaign and of course in terrorist attacks.

The participants of the seminar touch upon various aspects of this problem in their reports:

• Evgeny Pashentsev (Director of ICSPSC, Head of Communication Management Centre at the Russian-German Graduate School of Management – the faculty of the Academy of National Economy under the Government of RF): Communication management: terrorist action and media and authorities’ reaction.
• Greg Simons (ICSPSC consultant, leading researcher in the Centre of Russian and East European Studies (Uppsala University, Sweden): Global war against terrorism in the mass media.
• Svetlana Zudochkina (ICSPSC researcher, lecturer at the Communication management specialization, Faculty of Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University): On the warpath: recent terror acts in Russia in Russian and British media.
• Darja Bazarkina (ICSPSC coordinator of communication management researches, lecturer at the Communication management specialization, Faculty of Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University): Communication aspect of anti-terrorist actions in Russia and Germany in times of crisis: general and specific.

International Conference
"Communicating Green - Organizational Communication and Environment: Evolution of Approaches and Change of Practices"
November 18 and 19, 2010
Brussels, Université catholique de Louvain

On the initiative of the scientific pole of Public Relations of the Université catholique de Louvain (LASCO), a conference entitled ‘Organizational Communication and Environment: Evolution of Approaches and Change of Practices’ will be held in Brussels on November 18 and 19, 2010.

The conference intends to allow researchers who are working on organizational environmental communication to present their results. They will also compare their point of views on modalities and practices of the environmental discourse held by companies and associations with the view of professionals of communication.

After the inventory of present practices, researchers and professionals specialized in communication will try to analyze ‘green communication’ under different perspectives. Why? How? What values? For what results? From the modification of the logo to the relation with employees along with the creation of indicators to sanction unethical practices, all of the connections, strategies and implications will be closely examined.

The papers from the conference will be published in a special issue of the scientific review ‘Recherches en communication’.

Attention: the call for paper will end on Mai 15! If you want to participate as a speaker, send now your abstract to:

• Thierry Libaert: thierry.libaert@uclouvain.be
• Andrea Catellani: andrea.catellani@uclouvain.be

For all information about the call for paper, the provisional program, the location and the possibility of registration, visit the conference website.

Conference ‘Organizational Communication and Environment:
Evolution of Approaches and Change of Practices’
November 18 and 19, 2010
Université catholique de Louvain

On the initiative of the scientific pole of Public Relations of the Université catholique de Louvain, a conference entitled ‘Organizational Communication and Environment: Evolution of Approaches and Change of Practices’ will be held in Brussels on November 18 and 19, 2010.

The conference intends to allow researchers who are working on organizational environmental communication to present their results. They will also compare their point of views on modalities and practices of the environmental discourse held by companies and associations with the view of professionals of communication.

After the inventory of present practices, researchers and professionals specialized in communication will try to analyze ‘green communication’ under different perspectives. Why? How? What values? For what results? From the modification of the logo to the relation with employees along with the creation of indicators to sanction unethical practices, all of the connections, strategies and implications will be closely examined.

The papers from the conference will be published in a special issue of the scientific review ‘Recherches en communication’.

Website of the scientific call for papers:
http://www.uclouvain.be/309350.html

For further information, please contact:

• Thierry Libaert: thierry.libaert@uclouvain.be
• Andrea Catellani: andrea.catellani@uclouvain.be

Ultraleftist terrorism in the FRG: major trends in the activity of the Red Army Frac

by Bazarkina D.Yu.

The book presents the first attempt in the Russian literature to provide a systematic analysis of the programme, methods and the social and political consequences of the activity of one of the most notorious terrorist organizations of the second half of the XX century.

The book about the past refers to the current concerns. The world economic crisis caused the growth of protest tendencies in many countries of the world. These tendencies are used by the ultraleftist organizations whose activity is directed against the real democratic movement and the progressive changes in the society. Of special interest is the analysis of the communicational aspect of the ultraleftist activity, the book is the first attempt to describe this aspect.

The target audience of the book is researchers specializing in the problems of modern history and political processes, especially the problem of terrorism and its various aspects.

The book belongs to the series "Communication Management in World Politics and Business": a series of the International Centre of Socio-Political Studies and Consulting, Communication Management Centre at the Russian-German Graduate School of Management.

Communication management: the rising role in world politics and business

by Greg Simons and Evgeny Pashentsev

The authors of the book focus on such problems as the activity of transnational communicational groups, communication competency in business, the role of communication management (CM) in international affairs, military operations and “orange revolutions”, CM and terrorism, the problems of communication and information security, media wars, crisis communications including the role of CM in the world economic crisis, the communicational support of cultural activities, PR and CM MBA education and much more.

The materials published are characterized by original judgments and conclusions, thorough analysis of the international communication services market. The results of the work of researchers from Russia, Bulgaria, the USA, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey can be helpful in modern business and public administration practice. The foreword is written by Marco Ricceri, the general director of EURISPES (Italy).

The book belongs to the series "Communication Management in World Politics and Business": a series of the International Centre of Socio-Political Studies and Consulting, Communication Management Centre at the Russian-German Graduate School of Management.

The CIPR has launched a new Internal Communication Diploma - a 6-month specialist qualification, taught at Masters Level.

The qualification is aimed at experienced practitioners who want to develop their strategic internal communication and management skills, and will provide students with key theories and techniques needed to work effectively at a senior level in internal communications.

The course takes an in-depth look at organisational culture, how to use research to inform internal communication strategies and change management theories.

With the addition of the CIPR Internal Communication Diploma the CIPR now runs 5 professional qualifications: 3 PR qualifications and 2 specialist internal communication courses.

Enrolment is now open for courses starting from January 2010. For further details of where, when and how you can study visit www.cipr.co.uk/qualifications

Lugano, November 13-14, 2009

Photo gallery

• Friday pre-conference and opening session at Metamorphosis
• Saturday conference
• MScom10 graduation
• Gala Evening at Hotel Splendide Royale

The festivities for the 10th anniversary of the Executive MScom Program kicked off on Friday afternoon with a pre-conference session with John Hayes, Professor of Management at Leeds University Business School. Prof. Hayes held a workshop on “leading and communicating organizational change”. In small groups participants shared anecdotal stories of changes from their companies. Finally, he  lead attendees through a “perfect process” of change by walking through his model of change.

The evening highlight was the M\A\C\E surprise opening session at the new Metamorphosis Mediatic Event Theater in Lugano, where classmates gathered—many for the first time since their MScom graduation—to catch up and reminisce with one another, while listening to MScom faculty, USI Secretary General, Albino Zgraggen and members of the MScom professional staff share 10 years of MScom through live-interviews, videos and interactive picture presentations.

Kicking off the conference on Saturday morning, Piero Martinoli, President of USI Università della Svizzera italiana declared the Executive MScom Program as the flagship within the executive programs for the still young University. The Università della Svizzera italiana, with 2500 students and around 60% of its students coming from abroad, is the most international university in Switzerland.

The conference then began by crossing borders with Professor of Communication from  Massey University, New Zealand, Krishnamurthy Sriramesh. In his keynote address “Crossing borders: Globalization and Public Relations in the 21^st century", he pointed out the fact that  education, specifically in terms of public relations, is not yet crossing borders. This is due to the fact that most of the literature coming from the US and the UK are referring to case studies from these countries. In addition, countries such as France, Germany, Brazil or Chile which would have interesting studies to share are limiting their text books to their own languages. On the other hand, every communication professional would be interested to know now whether the tactic he plans to apply works in this environment when entering a new market. In other words, education has to become more global.

Participants also took part in the best practice forum, where they met experts to discuss and exchange ideas and experiences at “information stations”.

MScom10 participants then had their great moment when they were honored for their 21-months of intense learning during the  graduation ceremony. Yves Daccord, Director of Communications at the International Committee of the Red Cross reminded  graduates that this ceremony and conclusion of their studies  is only just the start of their career. Now being equipped with the tools und knowledge they have developed over the past 21-months,  they should go for a seat at the executive board table. That is where communication belongs as it is part of every organization today.

Markus Berger, Director of the Swiss Public Relations Institute (SPRI), presented the SPRI Award for the best average grade to Amanda Marlin. This is a new award developed by the SPRI to recognize outstanding academic achievements by a communications professional. Following the SPRI Award, John Paluszek, Chair of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management, presented  four Global Alliance scholarships for MScom12, which will begin in  January 2010.

Christof E. Ehrhart, Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications at Deutsche Post DHL kicked off the afternoon keynote. By having bought 200 different companies and integrating them, Deutsche Post DHL is a true global company crossing not only the borders of the 220 countries they are in, but also cultural borders. In the interview-based session with Vincent Lusser --serving as moderator of the two day M\A\C\E conference--Mr. Ehrhart pointed out that the importance of internal communications lies in finding intelligent ways to empower management to spread the message within the company. He also encouraged the MScom graduates to take risks as global communications means taking risk.

Participants then enjoyed a laughter session with professional trainer,  Francesco Muzio. This session and first meeting of the  “Lugano laughter club” set the tone for an entertaining and unusual experience. After having loosened the face muscles in the laughter session, participants were ready for the last academic part of the conference. As many say, “Save the best for last”.

Dr. Kjell A. Nordström got the full attention of the crowd with his presentation and participants were hanging on his every word. The co-author of “Funky Business and Karaoke Capitalism” offered a whole new approach to markets and views on capitalism. He proclaimed that Capitalism is a machine which sorts out the efficient from the inefficient and this on a global level, is more efficient than ever. Companies who do want to be on the efficient side of capitalism have to think “cities, women and single individuals”. This is where the world and  markets are heading towards.

The gala event at the majestic Hotel Splendide Royale marked a glamorous end to the two days of academic sessions and celebrations. During the dinner, alumni, families, children and friends and partners of MScom were entertained by local actors from the Scuola Dimitri and magician “Lip”. Following dinner, the Burson-Marsteller Award was presented to the winning MScom10 project team, LOEWE.  Following the presentation, guests enjoyed live music, dancing and desserts all concluding with an official Happy Birthday and wishes of success for another 10 years of MScom.

Contact: Ilaria Juon 
Program and Communication Coordinator
Executive MScom Program
USI Università della Svizzera Italiana
Lugano, Switzerland
e-mail ilaria.juon@usi.ch
www.mscom.usi.ch

CERRPMED - Study and Research Center on Public Relations in the Mediterranean Area, is a not for profit organization that aims at analyzing, monitoring and developing Public Relations and Corporate Communication practice in the Mediterranean area. CERRPMED also intends to create a network among public relations, institutional relations and corporate communication professionals as well as university professors and those stakeholders who consider communication and public relations as a fundamental strategic lever in building dialogue among people and countries in the Euro-Med area.

It is desire of CERPMED to publish articles and news on our website www.cerrpmed.it of those who have the interest in being part of the dialogue and debate on Euro-Med PR and communication by sending the info to info@cerrpmed.it

To carry out its goals CERRPMED has identified several actions, among which the research project “Public Relations in the Mediterranean area”, and the organization of MEDCOM – Inter-Mediterranean Symposium on Public Relations.

MEDCOM - Inter-Mediterranean Symposium on Public Relations will take place on the 13th and 14th of November 2009 at the University of Catania (Sicily - Italy). MEDCOM is therefore an articulated project with the aim of becoming a permanent observatory on public relations and communication as well as an annual Euro- Mediterranean appointment. Each year the theme of the Symposium will focus on a different and specific subject of interest regarding public relations. For information: www.med-com.it

Sage has created Methodspace, an online community for research methods. The website allows researchers to find resources in research methods and discuss approaches with other researchers. Methodspace hosts free content, including books and journal articles, upcoming events and workshops, as well as information on organisations and links to resources. This is a great resource. Visit http://www.methodspace.com.

Gloria Walker presented research findings at the International Mixed Methods Research Conference in Harrogate, UK on 8-10 July 2009. Mixed methods research uses both quantitative and qualitative methods in the same study and is used widely in other fields, such as nursing and social sciences. Walker's findings were based on an analysis of papers presented at the 2007 and 2008 EUPRERA Congresses and the 2009 International Communications Association Conference. Of the 386 papers in the sample, 28% used a quantitative method, 36% used a qualitative method, 13% used two or more quantitative or qualitative methods, but only 4% used mixed methods but did not use that term. This indicates that mixed methods is generally unknown among communications researchers. A copy of the presentation is available by sending an email to Gloria Walker - gloriawalkerabc@yahoo.com.

Public Relations Society of Serbia (PRSS), the organization of professionals who work in public relations, will organise for the first time an International Conference on Public Relations from 15 to 17 October 2009. The conference will be organized in Subotica, on the theme "Creating the image and reputation management". Speakers at this conference will be prominent experts in public relations from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and the USA. Part of the conference will be also a panel discussion with the theme "How to get a better reputation of Serbia?" and presentation from the winner of PR award "PRiznanje" in 2009. The conference is an opportunity to improve cooperation between national and international associations of public relations. For information and for registrations (by Thursday, 01/10/2009) write to drustvo@pr.org.rs.

To read Paul Capriotti's new book "Branding Corporativo" go to his blog: http://www.bidireccional.blogspot.com// .

NEWS FROM SOFIA - from Minka Zlateva At the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication of the University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski” : AGM of European Journalism Training Organization(EJTA)- 15 of May 2009 The 19th EJTA forum was hosted by the Faculty of journalism and mass communication (FJMC) at the Sofia University (SU) “St. Kliment Ohridski” on 15 May 2009. The agenda of the Annual General meeting included the reports from members- Cross media conference in Mechelen May 2010, Conference on cross media in Utrecht, June 2009, The Mobility conference in Moscow, European project Euro radio and reports from regional European networks. AGM in Sofia elected Anna McKaine from City University London to be Present of EJTA in new coming year or the association. She substituted for Marianne Peters who was the present up to now. EJTA strategy discussion was launched of the Mobility Catalogue of international courses. During the AGM in Sofia the mobility catalogue was officially launched. It is available on wed address http://www.ejta.eu/mobility. With this catalogue the European students today are in contact motion as they traverse Europe in search of broader perspectives. The Mobility Catalogue which is administrated by EJC (European Journalism Centre in Maastricht) enables the students to identify the best programme of their interest and academic needs. On web pages of Catalogue the students can discover programmes with variety of topics: Media convergence, Multimedia journalism, international reporting. And also makes it easy to find the contact person for every school of journalism. The participants of EJTA AGM took part at the 12th International Conference of the UNESCO chair “Communication and Public Relations” at the FJMC of Sofia University to the topic “Communication and Civilizations”. In the frame of the conference EJTA organized special panel discussion on topic: “Reporting Diversity”. The guests visited Boyana church, Alma mater and the sights of the town Sofia too. XII international scientific conference Topic: “Communication and civilizations” (16 and 17th of May 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria) The UNESCO chair “Communication and Public Relations” of the FJMC of Sofia university realized on 16 and 17 of May 2009 at the Sofia university its 12th international scientific conferences to the topic “Communication and civilizations” and dedicated it to the UN global initiative Alliance of civilizations”. The events was organized together with the UNDP-Bulgaria and EJTA, with the kind support of the Ministry of of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and media partnership of the program “Christo Botev” of the Bulgarian National Radio. The President of Bulgaria, Mr. Georgi Parvanov, the General Secretary of ORBICOM, Prof. Dr. Claude -Yves Charron, and former President of ORBICOM, Mr. Alain Modoux , the a.i. UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Jene Jespersen, and the vice-minister of education, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vanya Dobreva, sent greetings paper to the participants of the conference- more then 100 lecturer, doctoral students and students on public communication from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia , Germany, Latvia , China and USA, researcher from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and delegates to AGM of EJTA from whole Europe too. The conference was opened by the Vice -Rector of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jelyu Vladimirov. The participants was personally congratulated by EJTA former president Ms. Marianne Peters, IPRA President Ms. Maria Gergova, vice-minister of the culture Yavor Milushev, national coordinator of the initiative Alliance of civilizations Mr. Ivan Piperkov from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from the Vice-Dean of FJMC Assoc. Prof. Dr. Teodora Petrova. The interesting and salutary discussion about the problems and the perspectives of the dialogue among civilizations, and the possibilities of academic education of public communication to realize the pluralism and the dialogue among cultures in the spirit of tolerance, democracy and culture of peace took place on the first day of the conference. On the second day of the forum the theoretical discussion had follow up with the papers about the challenges and possibilities of the media, PR and advertising in the communication process among different civilizations. Three other modules of the conference were realized: the round table between journalists and PR specialists, the seminar of doctoral students and the student’s workshop. Bachelor and master students of public communication under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Minka Zlateva represented three projects : “ The parents against violence in the net “(Student’s module in the national research project on the violence in the Internet) ;the Second Bulgarian-American Online Meeting between the students from Sofia university and Iowa state university in the USA to the topic Alliance of civilizations and “The students of Sofia University then and now “, dedicated to 120 anniversary of Sofia university. Creation of the regional network BALKANCOM On 16th of May, in the Hall 1 of Sofia University in the frame of the 12th international scientific conferences of UNESCO Chair “Communication and Public Relations” at the FJMC of SU to the topic “Communication and civilizations” was created BALKANCOM – the regional network of communication chairs in the Balkans as an international non profit making association of chairs/ departments on communication and communication specialists – lecturers and experts from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia (FYROM), Serbia, Croatia and Turkey with the aim to realize interdisciplinary scientific projects in the filed of public communication. The first president of BALKANCOM was elected: Prof. Dr. Minka Zlateva from the UNESCO Chair “Communication and Public Relations” of FJMC of SU - author of the idea and organizer of the three working meeting for the net’s creation since 2007. In his greeting paper to the participants of the conference and the co-founder of BALKANCOM the President of the Republic Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov underlined, that “for us, the inhabitants on the Balkans, the dialogue ant the communication amongst different cultures and traditions, ethnos and religions is not only the part of our political responsibility, but is a part of our everyday work for the confirmation and development of the European image and perspective of our region”.

2 new books which I co-wrote are published this week in France on PR. - "La communication des associations" written with Jean Marie Pierlot, fund raiser at Amnesty International and teacher at Louvain University. The topic is PR for NGO's "Communicator" which is the main manual in France on PR for students. More information on my web site: http://tlibaert.info

Thierry Libaert is professor at Louvain University (Belgium).

Leading Public Relations industry associations and institutions in Switzerland joined forces in Zurich mid May to inaugurate the «Swiss Corporate Communication and Public Relations Observatory». The key industry representatives (BPRA, HarbourClub, SPRG, SPRI), together with the University of Lugano have created a joint instrument, with the aim of providing annual comprehensive data on the PR industry. Industry polls and market surveys abound. At the same time, however, there is a lack of scientifically based information or broadly based market insight. Although the BPRA’s poll amongst its Swiss PR agency members and the survey conducted by the Swiss PR Association Professional Register contain highly relevant information thanks to the fact that they have been conducted annually for several years, these research findings cannot be transferred representatively across all areas of the PR industry. Initiative from Lugano The University of Lugano’s (USI), Institute of Marketing and Communication Management, has now responded together with members of the industry and developed a unified survey tool. The «Swiss Corporate Communication and Public Relations Observatory» was spearheaded by Prof. Francesco Lurati, supported by the Swiss Public Relations Institute (SPRI) and the leading industry associations SPRG, BPRA and HarbourClub (Association of Swiss Chief Communications Officers), with main sponsor Trimedia Communications Switzerland. Annual Representative Industry Survey It is planned to annually conduct a comprehensive survey of the entire Public Relations market in Switzerland. This will mainly consist of a broadly based opinion-poll, which will be supplemented by special reports on annually defined issues, ongoing practice monitoring as well as a perception barometer, which will seek to measure the perception of the PR industry itself. The quantitative and qualitative findings will be viewed and evaluated by the Observatory members. Afterwards they will form the basis for ongoing development of know-how and services in the in-dustry. At the same time, these survey results will influence the content and the main points of focus in higher education. The Observatory will also deliver the basis for further academic research in the areas of Public Relations and Corporate Communication. Further Development of the Industry The «Swiss Corporate Communication and Public Relations Observatory» partners are convinced that this joint initiative offers significant benefits. On the one hand it will provide unified and all-encompassing facts, findings and trends for the entire industry for the very first time. These can in turn be incorporated in consultancy, in quality management and education. On the other, it will not only contribute to the further development of communication science and practice in Switzerland, but also lending it a stronger and more unified public voice on the most important industry issues. For further information: Prof. Francesco Lurati University of Lugano via Giuseppe Buffi 13 6904 Lugano Phone: +41 (0)58 666 45 82 E-Mail: francesco.lurati@lu.unisi.ch

Communication practitioners working in organisations, agencies and evaluation companies are invited to join the second global study benchmarking Best Practices in the field of PR measurement and management. The research project offers a questionaire in multiple languages (English, French, Spanish, German, ...). It will take about 6 to 12 minutes to complete.

The survey is run by a group of researchers from Boston University (Prof. Donald K. Wright), University of Leipzig (Prof. Ansgar Zerfass) and the Association for MEasurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), supported by major branch associations worldwide. It builds on a previous global survey run five years ago and will provide valuable insights on developments in this growing area.

Results will be presented at the First European Summit on Measurement, to be held in Berlin June 10-12th, 2009, and made available to all participants afterwards.

The 2nd Edition of Online Public Relations, by David Phillips and Philip Young is published in May (http://xrl.in/13fl).

On the 26-27th of September 2008 the 5th Convention of the Russian International Studies Association (RISA), under the theme “World Politics: View from the Future” took place at MGIMO-University in Moscow, Russia.

More than 500 researchers attended the conference. The conference was divided into a framework of 24 sections, where various questions were discussed: the role of leading states in the world politics and international affairs, ethnic and religious relationship in XXI century, international law, local problems and development trends to name a few of the panels.

One of the sections at the conference, which turned out to be one of biggest, was dedicated to the problems of communication management. There were specialists from Bulgaria, Spain, Cuba, Russia, Serbia, the USA and Sweden. The discussants of this section were the specialists from Peru and Ecuador. The work of the section was managed by the Chairman Professor E.N. Pashentsev, Director of International Centre of Sociopolitical Studies and Consulting (ICSPSC), Head of the Communication Management Centre (CMC) at the Russian-German Graduate School of Management (the Academy of National Economy), professor at Moscow City Pedagogical University. He was assisted by two co-chairmen - S.A. Mozgovoy, PhD (History), Co-President of the Liberty of Conscience Institute, associate professor at Moscow City Pedagogical University; and Dr. G. Simons, Crismart (Crisis Management Research and Training) at the Swedish National Defence College, Stockholm and the Department of Eurasian Studies at Uppsala University.

The focus of the panel was on the mechanisms of communication management influence on the economic, political and social changes in the modern world, on the development of the international relations and the changes in the perception of the world and cultural trends in different countries.

The works of the participants from the permanent section in RISA on Сommunication management in world politics and business, includes five subsections: Crisis communication management, Communication management and problems of international security, Communication management for political purposes, Communication management as a key factor in world economic development, Communication management and problems of ethnic and religious relationships.

The section Сommunication management in world politics and business in RISA together with the ICSPSC organizes a number of seminars for MBA students. The first seminar «Reputation management of the organization and its top management in the event of information wars» shall take place on the 9th October at the Russian-German Graduate School of Management at the Academy of National Economy.