H.E.Dr. Tarek Mitri, Minister of Information of Lebanon opened the inaugural one-day ‘Beirut Public Relations Forum (BPRF)’, under the theme “Creating the Strategic Value” yesterday. The Forum was organized by Trans-Arabian Creative Communications (TRACCS) in association with the Institute for Media Training & Research at the Lebanese American University at the Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel in Beirut.
 
Commending TRACCS during his inaugural address for their pioneering efforts, H.E. Dr. Mitri said, “I am pleased to be part of this first-of-its-kind Forum and proud for being given the opportunity and responsibility of organizing this extremely important forum which is an excellent platform for open discussion of this critical communications discipline."
 
H.E. Dr. Mitri further added, "This forum truly symbolizes leadership by enhancing and promoting the public relations industry in the region through developing new skills and talent."
 
Welcoming delegates from different facets of the public and private sectors, Mohamed Al Ayed, President & CEO, TRACCS emphasized on the strategic value that public relations can add during the current financial slowdown adding, “The financial situation that the world finds itself in has had an overwhelming effect on global economy and years of hard work and investments that have been directed towards building reputations and forging partnerships have disappeared without a trace. Amidst this turmoil, public relations has strongly emerged as a strategic tool to re-build reputations and relationships with stakeholders.” 
 
“As an Agency we are committed to building the public relations industry in the region, and fostering and nurturing local talent across different markets. Through the Beirut Public Relations Forum we intend to advance and further promote the public relations industry”, added Al Ayed.
 
The Beirut Public Relations Forum which was conducted in both Arabic and English addressed the key strategic issues relevant to the role of public relations in the business and corporate world and highlighted the growing importance of public relations to Government and NGO sectors.
 
The Forum comprised of three prolific and highly interactive sessions. Speaking at the first session ‘The Value of Public Relations in the Current Financial Situation’, Ms. Ayla Damé – Middle East Airlines and Ramzi El Hafez – Lebanon Opportunities provided various examples of the public relations activities and programs that can provide strategic value during times of crisis, the role of leadership and ownership and the do’s and don’ts of establish effective communication.
 
Dr. Ramez Maluf – Lebanese American University (LAU) and Yasser Akkaoui – Executive Magazine provided innovative solutions to advance the development of the public relations industry during the second session ‘The Role of Stakeholders in Developing the Industry’. They also shared their insights on the primary and secondary stakeholders, the role of each stakeholder and the private sector’s contribution in enhancing and progressing the public relations industry.
 
Addressed by Haroon Sugich, Executive Vice President & COO, TRACCS and Ghada Barakat – MTC, the third session titled ‘Public Relations & the Strategic Thinking’ outlined instances of the various organizations which have invested in PR using the strategic thinking approach, besides providing tips on the do’s and don’ts and the use strategic thinking to build PR programs and identifying who is responsible for such a program.
 
The Forum provided multiple discussion and networking opportunities drawing praise from all attendees and came to a close with an extremely important and interesting address by Mr. Ramsay G. Najjar – Strategic Communication Consultancy on ‘PR … Is It a Stopover or a Destination?’