Global accolades for SA

"We can be proud of South African public relations practice - our case studies became larger than life at the World PR Festival", said Margaret Moscardi, executive director PRISA.

Through the Global Alliance for Public Relations & Communication Management, PRISA negotiated for two of its award-winning PRISM case studies to be highlighted during the best practice sessions of the World PR Festival held in Rome at the end of June.

The case studies were: Re-building shattered lives, presented by Dennis Adriao, SA Police Services and the Ellis Park soccer disaster, presented by Merle O'Brien, director BlackRock New Era Communication.

These South African case studies attracted much discussion and media attention and became "larger than life". The Gauteng Commissioner of Police and the South African Ambassador to Italy were amongst the audience. The SAPS presentation has resulted in discussions with the Italian police on a possible exchange programme to share lessons in empowerment and compassion.

Through PRISA, networking contacts were made by Merle O'Brien to gain support of South Africa's bid for the 2010 world cup soccer from the football-enthusiasts in Italy, South America and other European countries. PRISA 's contacts through the Global Alliance have proved invaluable in this respect with both the Confederation of European PR Associations and the Confederation of Latin American PR associations representatives, as well as the various national associations which form the Global Alliance.

The World PR Festival was attended by representatives from 30 countries. It focussed on ethics - towards colleagues, clients, employers, the professional bodies, channels of communication, etc. The best practice case studies were presented throughout the festival.