IPRA world president endorses Dubai PR congress

In a letter to the organisers, Mr Sheppard said the programme for the October 28-November 1 event at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel was "outstanding and the topics listed look both fascinating and relevant."

"As President of IPRA my theme for this year has been ethics in PR. We share a world in which too often differences and misunderstandings divide us, while we as peoples of the world share common values in our desire to live together in peace," he said.

"Public relations is the art of communication and communication is the root of understanding. Through communications we can help build tolerance and to respect differences of culture and heritage and Dubai is perfectly placed to facilitate this. Dubai has a unique place as a cultural crossroads. It has a rich heritage in trade and is rapidly developing to take that heritage to global standards."

Mr Sheppard said IPRA's new code of conduct, the Code of Brussels 2007, contains two articles that are key for Middle East practitioners to observe: "PR practitioners shall act with honesty and integrity at all times so as to secure the confidence of those with whom the practitioner comes into contact", and "PR practitioners shall establish the moral, psychological and intellectual conditions for dialogue, and recognise the rights of all parties involved to state their case and express their views."

Mr Sheppard said IPRA believes this code will help those in PR to secure the confidence of those to whom they speak, and to remind them to be as good listeners as they are talkers.
IIR Middle East's Public Relations Congress 2007 has established itself as a highly strategic and informative event and is the region's premier annual conference for PR professionals. This year the event has two Gold Sponsors, Asda'a Public Relations and Cicero & Bernay.