Pro-active Public Relations Workshop

Maldives is encouraging a more open exchange of information between government agencies and the public, and the strong turnout for the workshop in Strategic Public Relations reflected the demand for training in this area. The 56 participants represented just about every significant agency and public company in the country, including education, customs, water and power utilities, prisons, pensions, fishing, religion, elections and many more.
The first day focused on stating your message with crisis, conflict and resolution. Reporters love conflict, and public relations practitioners need to resist their natural tendency to avoid it. Instead, they must embrace the issues and provide answers through the media. I used the flip camera to encourage participants to focus on eye contact as they delivered their mission statements. We discussed how dominant "alpha dog" stories affect the public perception of any agency or company, using the example of how climate change has defined the world's image of the Maldives, to the exclusion of any other important issues; virtually every foreign reporter who comes here only wants to do stories about the sinking islands, ignoring other such dramatic stories as the rise of extremism, emerging democracy and the economic difficulties for such industries as fishing and tourism. Customs wanted to change the public perception that they are responsible for rising consumer prices; residents of the man-made island Hulhulmale blame the development corporation for shoddy construction of their flats; and participants eagerly debated the role of the water utility in providing a double standard for tap and bottled water.
The lively debate continued right up until prayer time. Many thanks to the Islamic center for providing the audio visual facilities that made this interactive multimedia workshop possible. Of course, Mr. Hilmy, my co-presenter from the president's press office, made sure to make each discussion point relate to the cultural context of the Maldives. This is a Fulbright workshop funded by the US State Department, and judging from the enthusiasm of the participants, it will have some impact.
I write this as a pounding rain falls outside my hotel window. If the monsoon season doesn't start until June, I can't imagine what next month will bring.