New Areas of Focus, New Leadership Decided at 2015 MEPRA Annual General Meeting

The Middle East PR Association (MEPRA) hosted its Annual General Meeting(AGM) on February 25at Middlesex University, Knowledge Village, Dubai.

The board officially approved the organization’s 2014 financial results and outlined the implementation of several new,strategic priorities for 2015. Brian Lott, executive director of communications at Mubadala, is the organization’s new chair. Lott served as Vice Chair under Nicola Gregson, who held the Chair’s position since January 2014. Alex Malouf, corporate communications manager in the Arabian peninsula for Procter & Gamble, will become the organizaton’s new Vice Chair. Remaining in their current roles are Board Secretary Thomas Ashby, from the strategic consulting agency Consulum, and Mazen Nahawi, President of News Group International, as Treasurer.

“It’s never been a more exciting time to be a member of the public relations industry,” said Brian Lott, MEPRA Board Chair. “Communications is moving at the most rapid pace in recent memory. That is energizing agencies, corporations, governments and public relations practitioners to be at the top of their game as the industry goes through massive change. MEPRA’s members are working hard to navigate this change, by hearing from outside experts as well as learning from each other.”

The new Board is structured around a number of initiatives for 2015, meant to advance the public relations agenda of its membership. In addition to the annual MEPRA Awards held annually in November, those initiatives include:

• MEPRA Leadership Majlis, a new and annual forum of discussion on the various issues being facedby communications and public relations professionals. This forum will bring eminent speakers from around the world and the region to share knowledge and best practices across various themes. The focusfor this year’s Leadership Majliswill be “Managing Issues and Reputation in the Modern World.”  The gathering will also be dedicated to recognize outstanding industry talents.
• MEPRA Connect Breakfasts, a monthly meeting for MEPRA members, where award-winning agencies will share case studies, with a motive to introduce best practices within the Industry.
• MEPRA Academy, an institution designed to offer a set of training courses and solutions to communications professionals across the region. The MEPRA Academy is part of the association’s efforts to promote learning and development for marketing communications practitioners at every stage of their career.
• MEPRA Summit, a quarterly forum for the members focusing on a particular aspect of Public Relations. In February, MEPRA hosted a Summit on the topic of communications measurement at Middlesex University in Dubai..

The full list of MEPRA Board members and initiatives for 2015 can be found at www.mepra.org.

MEPRA’s mission is to raise awareness and build understanding of public relations in the Middle East, both as a professional organization representing its members and as a driver of organizational reputation.

For more information about MEPRA’s planned initiatives or courses please contact MEPRA’s General Manager Carine Duvignaud on carine@mepra.org, or visit www.mepra.org.