The second day of the PRCI Third Global Meet on the 4th of April 2009 held at Lalit Ashok Hall started on a spiritual note with a session on guided meditation by Ms. Brahmakumari Yogeshwari. This was followed by the topical discussion on “Does PR require radical changes in the present economic and social scenario?” Mr, Rajeev Gowda, Professor IIM questioned the credibility of our leadership; he said that the business leaders have led us to this period of recession and our political leaders are unable to rectify the situation.
Next up were observations about the global economy made by Mr. Peter Yorke, Director Yorke Communications. He spoke about leveraging technology in business communications to fight the economics downturn.
Breaking away from the business discussions Sanjay Gubbi, Assistant Director, Conservation Science and Policy, Wildlife Conservation Society of India spoke about Wildlife Social Responsibility. He shed light on the deplorable condition of our national animal; the tigers.
An interesting presentation on the role of PR and communications during crisis and disaster management was made by Mr. Saikat Roy Chowdhury, Vice President, Business Continuity Management Institute. The session was bought to an end by the moderator, Dr. G. C Banik Director Western Institute for Integrated Learning in Management.
Media Ombudsman- is he required or not? New life was given to a very old debate. A panel discussion with renowned names like, Mr Varadarajan, Chief of Bureau, Hindu Business Line, Mr. Girish Ranade, Noted Film Producer, Mr. Yogesh Joshi, President, Association of Business Communicators of India, Mr. Shyju Varkey, National Marketing Head, Radio One, Mr Subir Roy, Editor, Business Standard, Dr. C.V Narasimha Reddi, Editor, Public Relations Voice, Mr. Rajayogi B K Karuna, Chief of Multimedia, Media Wing, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organisation, Mr. Krishna B. Mariyanka, Director, National Governing Council, PRCI, Mr. Yeshvanth Kumar, Director- Consultant, Apex Media and Dr. C. Manohar, Dean and Executive Director, Institute of Business Management and Research took part in the discussion.
The meet came to a close with a gamut of Case Studies on ‘How PR and Corporate Communications can contribute to Social Needs. Mr. Amardeep Sethi, CEO, Kirloskar Technologies defined CSR and steps taken by Kirloskar. Deepak Jolly, VP, Corporate Communications, Coca-Cola spoke about Coke and its efforts towards sustainability. Mr. Bhargava, Executive Director, Public Relations, Air India gave a talk on handling media effectively. Effective implementation of its ideals and continued activism by Body Shop was the topic of discussion with Mr. Ramesh Jude Thomas, President and Chief Knowledge Officer, Equitor Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
The curtains were drawn on this years global meet with the announcement of PRCI collateral Awards 2009.