PRact Knowledge Platform formed

PRCI and Indian PR Forum (IPRF) a fast growing  networking body, have joined hands to float a unique knowledge platform called PRact.

The inaugural event will be held at Mumbai Press Club on May 20, 2016.

The event, which has already created buzz among PR circles, promises to be a big hit.

‘The Commune’ takes off

 Mumbai’s First of its Kind Community for PR Professionals

Mumbai witnessed the launch of ‘The Commune’, the city’s first of its kind community for PR & Brand/Corporate Communications professionals, facilitating face to face interactions thereby providing increased opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing. This initiative will drive monthly gatherings of the PR fraternity in a social setup, i.e. city’s best lounges and clubs. As a part of this launch, an inaugural meet was organized on April 27th, 2016 at Tonic, a prominent lounge located in Central Mumbai.

PRCI Mumbai Chapter Chairman Ajay Sharma,
national president B N Kumar and
Deepak Kapoor, founder of The Commune

This meet was attended by communications professionals from companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Huntsman International, Vermillion Capital Advisors and The Shaimak Davar Group. Individuals from PR agencies such as Concept PR, Adfactors, MSL Group, Perfect Relations, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, Integral PR, Gutenberg Communications, Seven Communications & Beyond and Prime Communique, were present for this gathering.

Commenting on this initiative, Deepak Kapoor, Founder – The Commune, said, “I always believed a platform is required in Mumbai that lets PR professionals to socialize and build connections on a regular basis. Moreover, engagement with influencers from PR and allied industries such as advertising, media & entertainment, journalism and filmmaking among others, is something that needed more work. At ‘The Commune’, our efforts will be to keep providing such opportunities which doesn’t take a toll on the young professionals wallet as well.”

Popular standup comedians Siddharth Dudeja and Gaurav Kapoor also graced the evening with an engaging standup performance, enthralling the communications professionals. For the next edition of ‘The Commune’, a key influencer from PR, Journalism, Advertising, Media & Entertainment, Filmmaking and Radio among others, will be invited and profiled, supported by activities building engagement with the attendees.

About 'The Commune’:

Harsh Sheth of MSL Group, Tanni Mandal of PR Hub,
Deepak Kapoor, Founder, The Commune and
Hemchandra Shetty of Genesis Burson-Marsteller

‘The Commune’ is Mumbai’s first of its kind community dedicated to PR and Brand/ Corporate Communications professionals, facilitating face to face connections in a social setup. This community is established by Deepak Kapoor, a communications specialist and contributor for industry portals on trends pertaining to the PR business. ‘The Commune’ will ensure monthly gathering of the PR fraternity in the city’s best lounges and clubs and achieve the following objectives:

·         Regular networking and social engagement

·         Up-close access to influencers from PR, Journalism, Advertising, Media & Entertainment, Filmmaking and Radio among others, as we'll call them for a session devised in a chat show format

·         Incentivized socializing for the PR fraternity through great discounts on F&B

·         Open access to individuals from across hierarchies & functions

·         Highlight achievements and talents of PR professionals

An Essay Contest Not-so-Easy!

BHOPAL :  Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised an essay competition for undergraduate and postgraduate students on: ‘Responsibility of youth in India becoming an economic superpower’.

As many as 30 UG/PG students from Makhanlal Chaturvedi University and 7 Colleges of Bhopal participated in the keen contest.

Prizes were given away to the winners by Dr. Ashish Dongre, director, technical education at a well-attended workshop on ‘Innovation and Creativity’ here on Friday. A large number of industrialists, academicians, policy-makers and students were present.

Anamika Thakur and Rimjhim Jain — both students of Sant Hirdaram Girls College, Bairagarh — bagged first prize in English and Hindi.  Second prize winners were Mithila Krishnadas (Sathyasai College),  Arpita Pandey (Makhanlal Chaturvedi University), Soniya Tanwani (IEHE), Anurag Goswami (Radharaman College), Suraj Prakash Kashyap (VNS) and Poonam Bagul (TIT Group).

Media was generous to give good coverage to the essay competition.

Think PR, Think ME - BNK in Brands Illustrated

Conversation with B N Kumar, National President - PRCI and Executive Director- Concept PR. (Reproduced with permission from Brands Illustrated - 100 MOST VALUABLE CONSUMER BRANDS 2016(

Innovation drives me - Ashish Jalan in Brands Illustrated

Conversation with Ashish Jalan, CEO & Director, Concept PR
(Reproduced with permission from Brands Illustrated - 100 MOST VALUABLE CONSUMER BRANDS 2016)

EXCLUSIVE! PR has to be creative, Ad Guru Piyush Pandey tells CHANAKYA

"Constantly finding more creative ways to convey a message is the role of any communication professional. We are always seeking unique ways of getting the consumer’s attention, wherever he or she is. Without sounding like a promotional activity, PR material can also have headlines that hit you. Achhe Din is an example of a headline that ultimately became a poll slogan."


Presenting CHANAKYA April 2016 issue featuring Exclusive Interview with Ad Guru Piyush Pandey, 30 years to Ad Agency-PR Arm and Focus on Orchestration/Teamwork.
Happy Reading!

Ravish Kumar, Ninan get RedInk Awards

27 journalists win Mumbai Press Club's National Media Awards

MUMBAI: The Governor of Maharashtra C H Vidyasagar Rao complimented the Mumbai Press Club for awarding a coveted RedInk Award for bravery in Journalism to Jagendra Singh ofShahjahanpur Samachar. He said Jagendra died in the quest for truth, and his sacrifice should never be forgotten. Likening the sacrifice of Jagendra Singh, who was set on fire and died on 8 June last year, the Governor drew a parallel to the fearless and famous journalist, Shoebullah Khan, who had to pay with his life on August 22, 1948 for demanding the merger of Hyderabad state with the Indian Union and for writing against the Nizam in his daily ‘Imroze’.

NDTV's Ravish Kumar receiving the Mumbai Press Club RedInk award last night from Maha Governor Vidya Sagar Rao and Union Power minister Piyush Goyal

Before he was killed Shoebullah’s hand was cut off by Razakars, Governor Rao said. “We have forgotten such journalists who have contributed to the freedom struggle,” he added. 

Jagendra Singh was conferred the ‘RedInk Veer Patrakar Puraskar’ posthumously by the governor who handed over a trophy and a scroll of honour to Jagendra Singh’s 18-year old daughter, Diksha Singh.

Jagendra ran a Facebook page called Shahjahanpur Samachar, wherein he exposed the local MLA and UP minister for Dairy Development, Ram Murti Verma for his links with illegal sand mining. He was killed allegedly at the behest of the minister by setting him on fire on 1 June 2015. His dying declaration was recorded as an FIR. He died on 8 June 2015 from burn injuries. A writ petition filed by journalist Mudit Mathur from Lucknow is pending before the Supreme Court.

The Governor of Maharashtra also called for strong legislation to protect journalists from attacks and violence. “I think the response from the government and law enforcement agencies to acts of intimidation must be strong”, he told a large gathering of nearly 1,000 journalists assembled for the RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism in Mumbai on Tuesday night.

Calling for introspection, the Governor added: “New media can afford to lose its credibility, but the old and trusted print media which has a reputation of ages behind it must not lose credibility.”

The much-awaited event in the personal calendar of journalists – the Mumbai Press Club’s RedInk Award for Excellence in Indian Journalism – 2016 were presented on Tuesday evening at a glittering awards night here with veteran business journalist T N Ninan being conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Ravish Kumar the Journalist of the Year Award.

T.N. Ninan, Chairman & Editorial Director of Business Standard, was chosen for the RedInk Lifetime Achievement Award for his extensive contribution to business journalism through good editorial leadership he provided over the years to a host of publications. Receiving the award, Ninan said there were serious challenges today for running a viable media business. "The minute one wants to charge on the website, your traffic goes to free media. If you raise the cover price of a newspaper - we are the cheapest in the world - you are seen to have a fundamental disadvantage in the market."

For the journalist, his words of advice were: "We (the media) need to raise the profile of what we do, raise the credibility of what we do so that we are proud of what we do."

The coveted RedInk Journalist of the Year Award was given to TV anchor and NDTV India’s senior Executive Editor, Ravish Kumar, for his consistent and down to earth reporting on politics and issues that concern the common man.

Piyush Goyal, Guest of Honour at the event and Minister of state (Independent charge) for power, coal, new and renewable energy, said that it is important for the journalist community to see that credible data is being reported after this had undergone verification. "Correctly sanitized data and information are very important... correct data points are the main stay of a report," the minister pointed out adding that at every level of media "data crunching" and "accuracy of that data" is important. 

Goyal said constructive journalism had helped his ministry to a great extent. For example, the power ministry discovered that a number of villages were uninhabited only from a newspaper report. When government officials investigated, it found that there were at least 400 villages that had been abandoned.

The RedInk Start-up of the Year Award was given to TheWire.in, a news and public affairs website that has experimented with various forms of Citizen Journalism with telling effect.

Apart from these four, awards were also given in the 10 various categories.  This makes the RedInk awards the biggest in the country where journalists are awarded by the peers. “This year the RedInk team received more than 1,500 entries across categories – a significant jump from the previous year that shows the popularity, reach and credibility of the awards among the fraternity. The curators and jury members had gone through a tedious but thrilling exercise before arriving at the final list,” said Gurbir Singh, Chairman of Mumbai Press Club.

The Principal Media Partner of the Redink Awards is STAR India, and is supported by the Aditya Birla Group, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Zee Entertainment, Eros International, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, 63 Moons and JSW Group.

In a period when journalists and journalism are under severe threat and pressures from violence, vested interest and hashtag writing, the theme for the Redink Awards-2016 is: ‘TO RISE ABOVE IT ALL’.

It was also an evening where much introspection was done in respect of the profession. In a fast-paced panel discussion: ‘WHO SHOT THE MESSENGER’,  veteran journalist and columnist Shobhaa De, Ravish Kumar of NDTV, SiddharthVaradarajan, Founding Editor, The Wire, SuchetaDalal, managing editor of Moneylife and Minhaz Merchant of Business Barons debated the burning issue.

For further details, contact: Rajesh Mascarenhas on 9594088999 or Mrityunjay Bose on 9892541019.

List of Winners of RedInk Awards – 2016

                       

Lifetime Achievement : T N Ninan, Business Standard

Journalist of the Year : Ravish Kumar, NDTV

Start-up of the Year : The Wire      

Posthumous Award for Brave Reporting: Jagendra Singh         

                       

Science & Innovation                    

Print                Gunjan Sharma, The Week

TV                   Pallava Bagla, NDTV

                       

Human Rights                     

Print                Meher Ali, The Wire

TV                   Rana Yashwant, India News

                       

Crime            

Print                Gunjan Sharma, The Week

Print                Pavithra S Rangan, Outlook

TV                   Mukesh Singh Sengar, NDTV

                       

Politics                      

Print                Vivekananda Nemana & Suresh Ghattamaneni, Grist Media

TV                   Seemi Pasha, India Today

                       

The Big Picture                   

Winner            B Muralikrishnan, Mathurbhumi Daily

Runner-Up     Sibu K B, Malayala Manorama Daily

Runner-Up     Kamal Kishore Kamboj, The Press Trust of India

                       

Business                   

Print                Madhavankutty Pillai, Open Magazine

Environment                        

Print                Anirudha Ghoshal & Pritha Chatterjee, The Indian Express

                       

Sports            

Print                Jonathan Selvaraj, The Indian Express

TV                   Aamir Rafiq Peerzada, NDTV

                       

Health & Wellness              

Print                Lhendup Gyatso Bhutia, Open Magazine

TV                   India News Team, India News

TV                   Sunetra Choudhury, NDTV

                       

Lifestyle & Entertainment             

Print                Sumana Ramanan, The Caravan

TV                   Ezaz Ahmed, India News

‘Bharatiya’ face of Journalism - Read KKT's Book

 Review by Prof. C K Sardana

HANDBOOK OF PRINT JOURNALISM by Prof. Kiran Thakur, Publisher : Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal Pages 393. Price Rs.375

Notwithstanding the hullabaloo as to whether Electronic Media, especially the New Media --

Prof Kiran Thakur

also called Social Media -- is going to stall any further progress in Print Media, the fact is that Indian Newspaper industry has shown phenomenal growth on all counts. While large number of newspapers in the West has been either closed down or suffered decline in readership, circulation figure of most Indian newspapers has continued to grow. Indian newspapers have added new additions, supplements, pullouts and publications. They are using the latest technology to produce black and white and color publications.

Our newspaper industry is among the best in the world.  Unfortunately, students of print journalism have been depending on books by foreign writers who obviously wrote with their experience in their respective countries. In the last few years, however, a number of books have been written by Indian professionals -- both practitioners and academicians. All this has been a disjointed effort. 

Makhanlal Chaturvedi University, an exclusive university for Journalism and Communication set up at Bhopal, came out with the concept of consolidating various nuances in journalism and communication in 2010. Under this well thought-out program, the University has brought out quality text books on Media-related subjects in conformity with the syllabuses in its own courses as also elsewhere in India and abroad, besides other publications. The University has thus carved a niche for itself through quality education, research, publications and organizing  even international events.

The book by Prof. Kiran Thakur, a veteran journalist-turned journalism teacher and a media researcher, is among a dozen text books already published by the University.

Prof. Brij Kishore Kuthiala, University's Vice Chancellor says in the Preface 'authors of these (text) books have provided the readers Bhartiya (Indian) perspectives on modern communication and journalism.' This is exactly what is required at the present juncture.  

The book is addressed to students and teachers of Print Journalism. It is not just a Handbook but an encyclopedia. It contains detailed information about the nitty-gritty of newspapers - what we call in engineering language: from concept to commissioning. It has chapters on newspaper reporting, editing, page design, sources of news, production of web editions. There are also chapters on theories and models of communication because of their importance for journalism students aspiring to be journalists. 

Some other noteworthy features of the book are a comprehensive glossary, lists of websites of Indian newspapers, code of ethics adopted by The Hindu besides other relevant web links. The readers will surely find the book useful to understand the complexity of the fascinating field of print journalism. 

MCU should be complimented for conceiving this idea of text books, commissioning right persons and getting more than dozen volumes written and published. These are in English. There is a huge Hindi heartland covering UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, MP and Chhatisgarh. The University should organize Hindi editions of these text books as a solid and lasting contribution to the teaching of journalism all over the country. (casardana@gmail.com)

You can’t kill a story!

Reproduced as it is with permission from http://reputationtoday.in/

TOPICS:BN KumarConcept PRCrisisPRCIReputation

POSTED BY: BN KUMAR APRIL 19, 2016

Crisis communication is about getting facts right, setting the record straight.

Crisis comes uninvited! And it happens when you least expect!

In fact, even the best of us do not enjoy any immunity from crisis. But the severity of crisis could vary depending on whether you are an individual or a corporate.

It could be a traffic constable holding you up when you are in a hurry to go for an appointment or for that matter what happened to Vijay Mallya or Maggi.

During my media training sessions (aimed at making corporate honchos media ready!), I am often asked this question: So, how do we handle crisis?

My answer is simple: Be prepared for it!

Three decades on, Union Carbide’s Bhopal disaster continues to stay top-of-the-mind when one talks of corporate crisis. The company avoided the media when MIC leaked from its shut-down plant and killed hundreds. As a reporter at UNI – the then premier news agency – in 1984, I was struggling to get official information.

A knee-jerk reaction to crisis that I have been witnessing among corporates is: “Get that damn story killed.”

I keep telling my clients during that requesting a journalist to kill his story is like asking him not to do his job! No journalist worth his salt would like to be told to kill his story. Instead, you should look at the facts and give your side to keep the story balanced. It is only when the journalist gets his information absolutely wrong that one can suggest that he should not do the story and even caution him about the legal consequences.

Some corporates and PR practitioners may brag that they can get negative stories killed. But such ‘successes’ cannot be repeated.

Even if you are successful in blocking a story in one particular publication, there is no guarantee that it won’t appear in another publication. The ‘source’ of that information can always approach another media house. For instance, a client of mine pressurized the space marketing department of a publication into killing a news item.  His celebration was short-lived as the same story with a big headline appeared in another newspaper, two days later.

Please check this case study as well. A PSU complained to a small newspaper management about a reporter who was writing so-called negative stories about the government company. The reporter was asked to quit. The PSU might have thought that its problem is over. But the sacked reporter joined a larger publication, which thrives only on negative and sensational reporting. Guess what happens now? The reporter writes against the PSU with vengeance! The government company’s crisis multiplied instead of dying down!

Many manufacturing units, which handle hazardous material or are prone to accidents, do conduct periodic safety drills. It is essential that even their corporate communication departments and their PR consultants (who handle hazardous stories!) oil their machinery well to handle crisis.

Here are the Ten Commandments for crisis communication; some of these may sound simple. Yet please keep them in mind (or as an air hostess says: Some you may be frequent fliers and are familiar with the safety instructions. Yet we request you to pay attention to the demonstration).

1. Do not behave like an Ostrich. Trying to hide or run away from the problem will add to complications.
2. Do not be evasive. On the contrary, be responsive. Set up crisis communication machinery, let there be a single source speaking to all – internal and external audiences.
3. Keep disaster management machinery on tenterhooks – With regular drills and surprise checks.
4. Always be transparent – If the problem has arisen due to your fault, admit it and ensure that you take quick corrective steps. To err is human?
5. Take crisis head-on – Address the problem, analyze it and try to find solutions.
6. Do not panic – Remember, crisis can happen to the best of us.
7. Communicate, you must. Others may say, communicate in crisis; But, we say: communicate always to avoid crisis!
8. Maintain credibility. Credibility is the 1st victim in any crisis. Remember, liars will always be losers.
9. Educate yourself, educate the media and TGs on crisis and plans to overcome. This is all the more important if the crisis situation arises from the media reporting.
10. Listen to PR counsel. Don’t brush them aside. A PR professional is not a fool. Otherwise he wouldn’t be working for you!

BN Kumar

Executive Director at Concept PR

B N Kumar (BNK24x7 to his friends) has about 40 years of experience in mass communications as a journalist as well as a PR professional.

He started his career with Free Press Journal in late 1970s, worked with United News of India and wrote for The Daily, Times of India, Mid-Day and Indian Express. He also ran a county paper called Newsbank New Bombay catering to the needs of Navi Mumbai before returning to mainstream by joining Business India. He started his PR career with the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani's Reliance Industries and was part of the team that set up O&M PR - the first PR arm of an Ad agency - 30 years ago.

He is also the National president of Public Relations Council of India (PRCI).

T N Ninan, Ravish Kumar chosen for RedInk Awards

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR NINAN,

RAVISH IS ‘JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR’

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Press Club has selected the Redink Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism on T N Ninan, Chairman & Editorial Director of Business Standard. The award, part of the RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism, 2016, will be given to Mr Ninan by the Governor of Maharashtra on Tuesday, 26 April, in Mumbai.

T N Ninan

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Mr Ninan’s extensive contribution to business journalism through good editorial leadership he provided over the years to a host of publications. In particular, Mr Ninan, in the face of challenging business conditions, managed to revive and stabilize the Business Standard Group as an institution with high editorial standards.

Simultaneously, the coveted Redink ‘Journalist of the Year’ Award goes to TV anchor and NDTV India’s senior Executive Editor, Ravish Kumar, for his consistent and down to earth reporting on politics and issues that concern the common man.

Apart from these two awards, the Redink Awards for Excellence in Journalism will begiven in 10 other categories for meritorious work in TV, print and digital formats. The categories include Politics, Crime, Health & Wellness, Business, Environment, Human Rights, Photography, Science & Innovation, Entertainment & Lifestyle and Sports.

The selection of award winners is made by a jury of distinguished persons with domain knowledge for each of the categories. This year the juries include Justice B N Srikrishna for Human Rights, Shobha De for Entertainment & Lifestyle, SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya for Business, Harsha Bhogle for sports and Sudheendra Kulkarni for Politics.

Nearly 1,500 entries and nominations were received this year, up from 800 received last year. The judging process for the 10 categories is currently under way and will be completed by Saturday, 16 April.

The Principal Media Partner of the Redink Awards is STAR India, and is supported by the Aditya Birla Group, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Zee Entertainment, Eros International, Indiabulls Housing, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, 63 Moons Technologies and JSW Steel.

In a period when journalists and journalism are under severe threat and pressures from violence, vested interest and hashtag writing, the theme for the Redink Awards-2016 is: ‘TO RISE ABOVE IT ALL’.

The Awards will be presented to the winners at a glittering ceremony at the Jamshed Bhaba Hall, NCPA, in Mumbai on 26th April at 6.30 pm. The Guest of Honour for the event is Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Power, Coal, new & Renewable Energy.

The RedInk Awards, the only national recognition for good journalism instituted by a professional body, have been created to raise the bar of news and feature writing in India and to encourage fair play and high ethical standards in media.

In the past, doyens of journalism including Vinod Mehta, Kuldip Nayar, N.Ram, Mrinal Pande and last year Dr Prannoy Roy have been honoured with the ‘Redink Award for Lifetime Achievement’ for their long and consistent service to the profession.

For details, contact: Mrityunjay Bose 7039441019 or Rajesh Mascarenhas 9594088999.

Young Arabs reject ISIS, view UAE as model country

Findings From Eighth Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey

• Lack of jobs and opportunities seen as the number-one recruitment driver for Daesh Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) are top allies in the region but Iran’s influence is on the rise
• Arab youth split over whether the U.S. is an ally or enemy
• Five years after fighting for political freedom during the Arab Spring, today most young Arabs prioritise stability over democracy
• The UAE is viewed as a model country for the fifth straight year, and is the most favoured nation to live in and set up a business

DUBAI, UAE: Arab youth say the rise of Daesh (ISIS) remains the single biggest challenge facing the Middle East, but young people in the region overwhelmingly reject the extremist group and believe it will fail to establish an Islamic state.

That is the headline finding of the eighth annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey.

“This is an important survey of how Arab youth – the largest and arguably most important demographic in the region – think about the evolving and challenging environment in which they live,” said Donald A. Baer, Worldwide Chair and CEO, Burson-Marsteller.  “Today’s Arab youth are tomorrow’s leaders, business owners, workers and consumers, and the information in this survey helps all of us to reach and understand this group better.”

Sunil John - a file pic

Sunil John, CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said: “Now in its eighth year, the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey has established itself as a key referral source across the world, and we hope that by providing this data – which we share as part of our commitment to evidence-based communications and our social responsibility – will add to further dialogue about this important segment of society.”

While three in four Arab youth are concerned about the rise of Daesh, just one in six believes the terrorist group ultimately will succeed. Though concern is rising – with 50 per cent of youth citing it as the biggest obstacle in the region, up from 37 per cent last year – tacit support for the group is declining with just 13 per cent agreeing they could see themselves supporting Daesh even if it did not use so much violence, compared with 19 per cent in 2015.

A quarter of young people believe that a lack of jobs and opportunities are the main recruitment drivers for the terrorist group, although one in four of those surveyed also said they could see no reason why anyone would want to take up with Daesh.

Arab youth cite Saudi Arabia as their biggest ally for the fifth-year running (31 per cent), followed by the UAE (28 per cent) and the U.S. (25 per cent). But views on the U.S. are increasingly polarised. While two-thirds of young Arabs view the country as an ally, one third see the country as an enemy, especially in Iraq (93 per cent), Yemen (82 per cent) and Palestine (81 per cent).

Iran’s increasing regional influence is reflected in the survey, with 13 per cent of young Arabs now viewing the country as their biggest ally – although a small majority of young Arabs (52 per cent) view it as an enemy.

Five years after the Arab Spring, most young Arabs today are prioritizing stability over democracy. In 2016, just 36 per cent of young Arabs think that the Arab world is better off following the uprisings, down from 72 per cent in 2012 at the height of unrest.

The majority of young Arabs (53 per cent) agree that promoting stability in the region is more important than promoting democracy (28 per cent).  At the same time, two thirds are calling for their leaders to do more to improve their personal freedoms and human rights.

Twenty-two per cent of young Arabs, nearly one in four, cite the UAE as the country they would most like to live in, and just as many say it is the country they would most like their country to emulate. The UAE is also the most attractive country for potential entrepreneurs: Of the young Arabs who intend to start their own business in the next five years, a quarter would choose to set up shop in the UAE if they could.

International polling firm and Burson-Marsteller subsidiary Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively Arab national men and women aged 18-24 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain; Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen. The interviews were conducted from January 11 to February 22, 2016.

“With 60 per cent of the population below the age of 30, the Arab world is characterised by its vast youth population,” said Jeremy Galbraith, CEO of Burson-Marsteller Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Global Chief Strategy Officer. “The ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey serves as a barometer of the overarching social, political and economic trends that define the Arab world through the eyes of its youth.”