International expert visits PRISA regions

Professor Sriramesh is considered one of the leading academics in public relations.  He is co-author of the Global Public Relations Handbook and was awarded the prestigious Pathfinder Award from the Institute of Public Relations USA for original scholarly research contributing to the profession’s body of knowledge.

He visited and addressed PRISA members in Gauteng, KZN and Western Cape.

Prof. Sriramesh gave a fresh and enlightening perspective on the role of public relations in different parts of the world, emphasizing the ethnocentricity factor.

All over the world practitioners are given both academic and technical information and training in PR and communication from a strongly Euro-American perspective. This comes in complete disregard for powerful influences on how nations communicate within vastly differing cultures, political and economic systems, different dominant forms of activism and widely divergent mass media. I left his talk with a new and fresh view on our role and function. We face wonderful challenges in the world of communication

He also highlighted the importance of promptly dealing with issues before they turn into crises. He concluded that the recession should not be seen as a time of “no business” for public relations professionals. 

 A special thank you to venue sponsors Eskom in Johannesburg, Independent News in Durban and the Network BBDO in Cape Town.

Photo: In Johannesburg, from left:  Adele Paulsen (PRISA), Professor Gustav Puth (University of Pretoria) Professor Sriramesh (Guest Speaker) and Professor Ronel Rensburg (University of Pretoria)