Barbados gets its own public relations association
Theorists claim that when an industry has an association of its own, that’s the day it becomes a profession. Well, the Barbados public relations industry will soon take that big step in heightening its profile, and creating a forum for public relations practitioners to network, collaborate, and access resources that will enhance their skills.
Members of the online forum, www.BajanPR.ning.com, will host their inaugural face-to-face meeting at 6– 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at the Small Business Development Centre on Fontabelle to discuss the establishment of an association. For the past seven months, these local corporate communications and public relations practitioners have been convening, as an Internet community to discuss matters relating to the profession and now are seeking to further the benefits of their collective association.
”The agenda for the meeting will include a discussion on establishing a local chapter of an international communications association and the election of a board of management including President, Vice President/ President-elect, VP Communications, VP Finance/ Administration, VP Professional Development, VP Membership/ Marketing,” says Christal P. Mc Intosh, a Corporate Communications Specialist with the Barbados Tourism Authority, who is leading this historic campaign.
Not many Caribbean islands have public relations or communications associations. While professional bodies in other regions such as America and the UK have developed steadily, those in the Caribbean have a different story to tell. Only two countries, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, have professional associations. The Public Relations Association of Trinidad and Tobago was formed in 1972, and the Public Relations Society of Jamaica in 1981. Both associations have had intermittent periods of development, and continue to strive to create a thriving, supportive network for practitioners. The Caribbean Public Relations Association was formed in 1984, with members from Barbados, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad and Tobago, but it eventually fizzled.
In 2000, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) created a presence in the Caribbean with the establishment of a Jamaican Chapter by Jamaican communicators, known as IABC Caribbean. In Trinidad and Tobago, entrepreneur and public relations consultant Judette Coward-Puglisi founded the IABC Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) Chapter with 22 other practitioners in July 2006. The IABC T&T Chapter once fell under the ambit of IABC Canada, but in 2007 it was reassigned to the Southern Region, joining Jamaica, and 25 American states (from Florida to Colorado).
Coward-Puglisi, President of the Trinidad and Tobago IABC Chapter will be a guest speaker at the Barbados Public Relations Association’s meeting.
All attendees will be required to pay an admission fee of $20 to cover the costs of the meeting and refreshments. For further information or to confirm attendance, contact Christal McIntosh at christalpm@gmail.com or (246) 230-8784 before 12 noon on Wednesday May 7, 2008. you can also visit www.bajanpr.ning.com.
To read more about public relations in the Caribbean, click this link, and look out for my article on social media in the Caribbean in the May-June 2008 issue of the IABC’s Communications World Magazine.
Sphere: Related Content
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
Hi, I am a Lecturer in Public Relations in a university in Ghana, West Africa, and read the news of the establishment of your association with great joy. The discipline needs to grow in every part of the world, so your association is a good thing to happen. Ghana has had its own association for over 40 years now and there is a Federation of African Public Relations Associations (FAPRA), an umbrella body of all PR associations in Africa which, recently held it yearly conference in Kumasi, Ghana’s second city. Wish you all the best of luck.
Kwame Bedu-Andor MA PGCE(PCET/FENTO) MCIPR
Hi, I am a Lecturer in Public Relations in a university in Ghana, West Africa, and read the news of the establishment of your association with great joy. the discipline needs to grow in every part of the world, so your association is a good thing to happen. Ghana has had its own association for over 40 years now and there is a Federation of African Public Relations Associations (FAPRA), an umbrella body of all PR associations in Africa which, recently held it yearly conference in Kumasi, Ghana’s second city. Wish you all the best of luck.
Kwame Bedu-Andor MA PGCE(PCET/FENTO) MCIPR