Dubai Ports Authority CEO Jamal Majid bin Thaniah opens IPRA 2004

The revolution means that public relations will be critical to firms hoping to compete successfully on the international stage.

"Dubai is the regional capital of the PR industry in the region. The PR industry has a very important role to play in our globalised age. As news travels at the speed of light, it becomes critical to communicate the right messages." said Jamal Majid bin Thaniah, CEO, Dubai Ports Authority at the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) annual conference, which opened today at the Emirates Towers.

IPRA, which is held under the patronage of HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, has attracted over 400 delegates from 27 countries.

"Though not the 'natural approach' in the region, greater transparency is inevitable as trade is liberalised and firms have to adapt to new realities," said Roger Haywood, Chairman of the IPRA annual conference.

In his opening address, Haywood said: "One certain area of change we will see will be towards transparency in company structures, including the accountability of senior executives to their stakeholders; plus a widening of the understanding that the public relations professionals - and others in the organisation - have a duty to their organisation to say what needs to be said, rather than what they think their executives wish to hear.

"Transparency in company structures is not always the natural approach in the Middle East. Companies are not transparent by nature, whether it involves good news or bad news.

Haywood pointed to World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations due to be implemented that will have a dramatic liberalising effect on trade and business patterns.

"Regional business, protected for so long, is beginning to understand that in order to remain competitive and succeed in a global economy, the majority company ownership rule must go," he told delegates.

Haywood said that the 'bold competitive' environment coming to the region was "pushing businesses to become more transparent and, effectively, do whatever is needed to retain and grow their market share and attract investment."

He added: "As a consequence, the role of public relations will become more and more important. Companies will find it profitable to comment on company issues rather than electing to ignore the situation in the hope that it will go away."

Haywood said that the UAE government had set a great example in openness and transparency, candidly addressing a range of social issues from drugs and labour disputes to the performance of staff in the public sector.

"Here we have administrations that understand that an open and uninhibited media can perform far more valuable services than the small price all nations must pay for being embarrassed about publicising what has gone wrong," he said.

Meanwhile, IPRA president and keynote speaker Donald Wright told the annual conference that the traditional model of PR focused on one-way communications, while today's best practice concentrates on two-way communications or what he called 'behavioural public relations.'

Wright said: "People who practice behavioural PR are strategic thinkers and planners and their ultimate goal is to bring about change in knowledge, attitude or behaviour."

He added that latest research is showing a dramatic change in communications patterns according to age. It showed huge differences in the Middle East in how the "old" and the "young" generations are communicating.

During the recent United States elections, most Americans between the age of 18 and 25 received most of their election information from web logs, internet chat rooms and from comedians.

"To adapt to such trends, PR has a long way to go in the Middle East," added Wright.

"Those who have studied public relations in the Middle East suggest much of what is called PR is really publicity. There appears to be a greater emphasis on one-way communication than two-way communication."

"PR is not always part of organisational decision-making." He added.

Wright said that IPRA, with a 1,000 members in more than 100 countries, was on hand to help address communications issues in the new business environment.

The IPRA Annual Conference Dubai 2004 is organized by IIR Middle East and supported by Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB) and the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).