Public Relations Practitioners Urged To Expand Reading In Order To Be Effective Partners for Social Change
Communications Specialist and book publisher, Glynis Salmon urged public relations practitioners to read more relevant material if they intended to contribute to society in a more meaningful way. She was speaking at a Public Relations Society of Jamaica (PRSJ) networking event in Kingston on October 28.
"People will always say and make the criticism of Jamaica, why is it that when you meet someone on an individual level or you meet them in varous groups or various sectors they seem to be so full of possibilities for greatness yet they fall strategically short because, again unfortunately, we do not go the distance for excellence and that is very often because of underdeveloped literacy. I am challenging you individually. If you are to be proud upstanding members of the public relations society, you must first make yourself a model for the behaviour that you want to change."
Ms Salmon noted the Society's goal to play a collaborative role for positive change in areas such as the promotion of literacy, practitioners needed to understand the policies that inform government.
"You want to create some kind of partnership and collaboration with civil society and government, but how can you do so properly and effectively when you remain outside of government? Have you read the 2030 vision? Do you know of it? Have you read it thoroughly? Have you read the UN Charter of Rights which informs the 20/30 vision? The global community have identified certain elements that must be cascaded throughout the countries of the world. So much of what informs government policies and decision-making have come from other sources. Are you familiar with them? How can you become an effective partner when you are only being superficial? So you have to deepen your reading, widen your connections so that when you sit at the table with Government as a meaningful partner, sit from a mutually informed position."
Ms Salmon said that a part of personal literacy development is anticipating global trends and preparing to meet them. She urged practitioners to learn other languages, particularly Chinese, as success in the international community demanded a knowledge of norms and languages of other cultures.
Communications Specialist and book publisher, Glynis Salmon urged public relations practitioners to read more relevant material if they intended to contribute to society in a more meaningful way. She was speaking at a Public Relations Society of Jamaica (PRSJ) networking event in Kingston on October 28.
"People will always say and make the criticism of Jamaica, why is it that when you meet someone on an individual level or you meet them in varous groups or various sectors they seem to be so full of possibilities for greatness yet they fall strategically short because, again unfortunately, we do not go the distance for excellence and that is very often because of underdeveloped literacy. I am challenging you individually. If you are to be proud upstanding members of the public relations society, you must first make yourself a model for the behaviour that you want to change."
Ms Salmon noted the Society's goal to play a collaborative role for positive change in areas such as the promotion of literacy, practitioners needed to understand the policies that inform government.
"You want to create some kind of partnership and collaboration with civil society and government, but how can you do so properly and effectively when you remain outside of government? Have you read the 2030 vision? Do you know of it? Have you read it thoroughly? Have you read the UN Charter of Rights which informs the 20/30 vision? The global community have identified certain elements that must be cascaded throughout the countries of the world. So much of what informs government policies and decision-making have come from other sources. Are you familiar with them? How can you become an effective partner when you are only being superficial? So you have to deepen your reading, widen your connections so that when you sit at the table with Government as a meaningful partner, sit from a mutually informed position."
Ms Salmon said that a part of personal literacy development is anticipating global trends and preparing to meet them. She urged practitioners to learn other languages, particularly Chinese, as success in the international community demanded a knowledge of norms and languages of other cultures.
A cross section of private and public sector practitioners attended the event which later featured a panel discussion on how to make the Society of PR professionals in Jamaica more relevant to the needs of the profession.
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