Joseph Nye called soft power "the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments" (Soft Power, 2004). Attraction, in other words, instead of sticks and carrots. What interests me about the UAE is not that it accepted that idea. Plenty of governments say they believe in it. The UAE gave it an institution. A Soft Power Council was set up in 2017, and the national strategy it produced rests on six declared pillars of public diplomacy.

The future of public relations will not be shaped by technology alone. But to understand where the profession is going, we should also be careful not to speak of “African wisdom” as though Africa represents a single cultural tradition. The continent contains distinct societies, languages and ways of understanding relationships, communication and community.

Emma Duke, CIPR International committee member who works with communicators across the globe through her consultancy business, Emma Duke PR,

This is your opportunity to participate in ground-breaking research looking at how prepared PR is becoming an AI profession.

Ayeni Adekunle, entrepreneur, writer and published author, and founder of Black House Media Group, headquartered in Ikeja, Lagos,...

The panel of four judges for the 2017 Douglas Smith Student Award has now been finalised. We have hand-picked the judges who all have...

CIPR International is excited to invite students on BA and MA Public Relations university courses in the UK to submit their entries for...