Chair’s report at CIPR international AGM, 29th October 2024 Samantha Seewoosurrun, FCIPR

This has been my third and final year as chair.

As I'm now reaching the end of my own mandates, I'm delighted to say it has been another year where we've had the very active participation of committee members from across the globe, from the UK, from other parts of Europe, from Africa, from Asia, from the Middle East and the Caribbean, and a member based in New Zealand too.

CIPR International is one of the largest sectoral groups of the CIPR, and we're always happy to welcome PR professionals from across the globe into our midst. So, we have already passed the key milestone of 1,000 members of CIPR International last year, and I'm pleased to say that this year we have welcomed new members numbering 122, which continues to prove our international appeal.

In 2024, the Committee has:

- Held a series of webinars, starting with our chief executive, Alistair MaCapra, who discussed how well is the CIPR governed. In the same month, we held a webinar on doing PR In Asia, with the participation of our committee colleagues Ferds and Anjali. In April, we came back to the issue of governance, where we explored further the role of women in helping to shape governance roles. In June, we turned our attention to PR's transformative powers in the Gulf States, with the leadership and participation of Steven and Nooralhuda. In August, we held a webinar, led by Taazima as our vice chair and EDI champion on leveraging diversity and belonging to unlock impact in PR. Then, in September we held our annual flagship Maggie Nally Lecture. This year we had a fantastic speaker by the name of Cristiana Salvi, the regional advisor on risk, communication, community engagement and infodemic management at the WHO's European office. She was able to share her deep insights with us on how to communicate in public health emergencies looking at the vital role of community interaction, evidence and our digital environment.

- Issued flyers and blogs to our members around the world, some of which have contributed to Influence magazine. A few of the topics we've covered here include an interview that I did myself with Reem Masswadeh from the PR Academy MENA, who I had the pleasure to meet in Dubai. Back in February, we had a blog on leveraging public relations for global health awareness on World Health Day. We had one on leveraging public relations to foster anti-corruption efforts. We had a blog on tips on financial communication and another on ‘To AI or bye’. Also, our committee member Saad Al Rubaiaan reflected on his own journey of securing a B Corps certification for his PR agency CYLKA and provided insights to other agencies interested in acquiring the same certification. We've also looked at how cultural intelligence is a key capability for effective communications. We've had a blog on shifting from PR relations to purposeful relations. And the topic which is uppermost in our minds today is about PR's role in the biggest election year in history, on which again, we've had a very interesting blog from our colleague, Emma.

- We actively promote our activity and share content on social media.

- We liaise with other bodies inside the CIPR, including: 

• Committee member Professor Anne Gregory on the CIPR Board

• I myself am Group Chairs’ representative on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

• Taazima Kala-Essack is Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) champion.

- We are thrilled that two of our committee members were recognised in the CIPR Volunteer Awards this year.

• Professor Anne Gregory was celebrated for her contribution to the governance changes as one of 9 members taking part in the working group that really went above and beyond the usual level of volunteering.

• I was also honoured myself to receive an award for outstanding long service.

- We would also like to congratulate our colleague, Emma Duke, on being awarded a fellowship for her outstanding contribution to the CIPR and to the PR Industry.

- We're also very glad to note that our former committee member, Farzana Baduel, is going to become the President-elect of CIPR for 2025, and also CIPR President for 2026.

Looking ahead, we still have some great things to come for the rest of this year!

First of all, on the on the membership payment side, we have some excellent news for all of our overseas members.

Up until now, CIPR has asked for a single payment from you each year which has covered the entire year whereas, in fact, members in the UK were always able to pay in monthly installments in recent years. CIPR has now gone live with a monthly card payment option for all overseas members, whether you are an existing member or a new joiner. So, any credit card or debit cards can now be used for automatic monthly payments, and it also covers all grades, including global affiliates. What it does mean is that now, when your current membership ends, when you go to log on to renew, you will be able to select the option of monthly payments.

Do look out for the official CIPR announcement that will have all the finer details on how to how to renew your membership in this way! This is something which we have been lobbying for, at the level of the CIPR International Committee, for quite some time. I'm extremely glad to be able to announce that today as a really fantastic benefit for everyone, whether you're a long-standing member or a new starter with us.

On remaining webinars, in the spirit of Movember, we're going to be hosting one on the topic of Headsafe communicating a safer future for football. This webinar will be held on Thursday, the 7th of November, at 12 o'clock GMT.

Finally, as we round up the year in December, and start thinking more about the holidays, we will be hosting a webinar on the topic of redefining hospitality and tourism.