#Go4it-swachha bharat summer prog. Chk-https://sbsi.mygov.in/

·        Registrations close on May 15; Internship offers 100 hours of Swachhata

MUMBAI: Continuing its social communication endeavour,  Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) has drawn the attention of universities and colleges to the unique Swachh Bharat Summer Internship (SBSI) launched by the centre and requested them to take full advantage of the programme.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development in association with the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has launched the 'Swachh Bharat Summer Internship – 100 Hours of Swachhata' - following the Prime Minister's clarion call on 2nd October 2014 for each individual to devote at least 100 hours to Swachhata through the year.

The programme aims to develop the skill and orientation of youth for sanitation related work, bring youth across the country an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the swachhata revolution and integrate youth in the community service in rural areas in the run up to the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Registrations for the SBSI are open till May 15, 2018 and the education institutions can log into https://sbsi.mygov.in/ for details and quick enrolment.

PRCI, which runs Young Communicators Clubs (YCC) at various universities and colleges teaching mass communication requested the students and the teachers to spread the good word about SBSI and  make best use of the summer vacation with a social communication message: #Go4it-swachha bharat summer prog. Ckk-https://sbsi.mygov.in/

The Internship entails at least 100 hour of Swachata related activities in rural areas  and students enrolled in Colleges/ Universities are eligible for it. Candidates may participate individually or in teams.

Candidates will have to devote at least 100 hours conducting Swachhata-related activities in rural areas selected by them and approved by the parent institution.

As regards the rewards, the government says all participants will be given a Swachh Bharat Internship Certificate on completion of their internship and its approval by the parent institution. In addition, two curriculum credits will be given to interns whose internship reports are found eligible to get credits by parent institution.

In addition to certificates, the programme offers cash awards of University Level: Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 at the University level, Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 at the State level and Rs 2 lakh, 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 at the national level.

Full marks to the HRD ministry for initiating this unique programme aimed at channelizing the youth power into a constructive activity, PRCI said.

Re-branded FB page ‘Boom City Doom City’ to focus on community message

Rebranded FB page ‘Boom City Doom City’ to focus on community message

Destruction of hills of Navi Mumbai can be seen
from a distance of at least 5 KM.

MUMBAI, May 9, 2018: Aiming to maintain a sustained campaign, a group of social communication experts have rebranded their Facebook page ‘Save Nature Save City’  as Boom City Doom City.

This part of the #BoomCityDoomCity drive launched on the Earth Day.

 “Mumbai and its surroundings will face a terrible environmental disaster if the all round wanton destruction continues,” said Nandakumar Pawar, director of NGO Shri Ekavira Aai Pratishthan (SEAP), speaking at the seminar powered by communication professionals’ body Public relations Council of India (PRCI).

The Parsik Hill range in Navi Mumbai has already suffered an irreparable damage due to reckless quarrying with some hills facing the danger of extinction. The forest quarrying has been stopped department is on record complaining against massive violation of quarrying norms by unscrupulous operators in CIDCO area of Navi Mumbai. As much as 264.1 hectares has been mined against the permissible area of 138.07 hectares, the deputy conservator of forests, Thane, said during a recent meeting of te district level environment assessment authority.

The Authority has ordered a joint study by forest department and CIDCO while according a conditional clearance to private company for mining the hills in two hectares at Borivali village in Navi Mumbai even as a group of residents protested against quarrying of Parsik Hills in another area, Kharghar.

 “We are aware that stone chips are needed for infrastructure. We are not against development, but our concern is it should not happen at the cost environment damage,” said B N Kumar, Chairman of governing council of PRCI said.

Turning to the island City’s mangrove crisis, he said the authorities ought to have planted over 93,000 saplings over 21 acres in Manori. Sadly, just about 20% of these barely survived. At Charkop, the situation is even worse. Of the 86,400 saplings hardly 5% survived.

Pawar claimed that the authorities manage to get reprieve at courts by saying that they will replant to make up for the mangroves destroyed due infrastructure development. In reality, they manage to mislead the judiciary as mangroves are supposed to grow naturally and they are not replanted.

“I am a fisherman by birth and I know the importance of mangroves,” he said and remarked: “Sadly these officers are either unaware of the basic facts or deliberately ignore the environmental care,” he remarked. Mangroves survive only in mudflaps and where there are ideal conditions to grow and not in rocky area. “This is commonsense,” he remarked.

These and all other environmental issues confronting our cities will be tackled comprehensively through our rebranded page: Boom City – Doom City, said Kumar.

“We will also deal with urbanization that is impacting the environment across the country, and even the world,” he added.

Fake News - Victim Democracy

To mark World Press Freedom Day (3 May), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is launching a TV spot entitled “FightFakeNews”, because combatting disinformation is now one of the biggest challenges for journalism’s defenders. It compares the harm to humans caused by counterfeit industrial or pharmaceutical products with the political harm resulting from counterfeit news and information.

We support this cause as it impacts you and me.
- Editor, PRapport

PR is all about democracy - What do despots know about two-way communication?

A thought provoking analysis of importance of two-way communication

By Geetha Shankar

(National Chairperson, Young Communicators Club)

An old theme indeed- strengthening Democracy through PR

It would be too rudimentary to define Democracy and PR. We all have gone beyond this.

Traditional power structures and Traditional hierarchies are disrupting, Control and power are moving from Institutions to Individuals. Every Individual has started recognizing his voice. We need not be a celebrity/ CEO/Politician to make others hear our voice. Anyone with an access to the social Media can become powerful and can be heard.

PR Professionals are still dubbed as “suited booted and pink shirt sporting party lovers,”  According to my friend B.N Kumar Governing Council Chairman PRCI.

PR Pros will need a Broad Skill set. We need to be good at writing, event planning and maintaining relationships to be successful in PR.

A strong PR –involves two-way communication – This is of paramount importance

Be a good listener: To be a good communicator, it is important to listen to others.

Act on suggestions: Mere listening is not good enough. We must act on suggestions and be seen as respecting others’ opinion.

Democracy goes by majority: Yes, we should always take into account the majority view. But if you are a good communicator and convinced that your view is correct, you can argue it out with adequate reasoning and win your way. The other side appreciates it.

Review: How many of us take criticism in the right spirit?

In fact, brushing aside criticism leaves a bad taste and the after effects are worse than that of a nuclear war!  They will lead to attrition, absence of team spirit and ultimately decaying of an organization, a party and of course our home lives.

Communicate authentically- spoken and written.

Build Trust, Lead with your Mind and Heart.

Take people along with you. You have to inspire your team  and not command.

Empower them to take decisions.

Practice Grammatical writing, Start writing in blogs. Lead a disciplined life.

Communication world is the most dynamic Industries in India .

Communication has become personalized and there is a steady drive towards greater “transparency, rationality and purposefulness with evidence based outcomes”.

We at PRCI firmly believe and adhere to democratic communication which why we are now growing not only as a national body, but a global platform. We just floated WCC – World Communicators’ Council.

PR Pros will need to Be Prepared for Real Time: We hardly have minutes, to prepare and respond. Instant responses are the order of the day and we have to live up to our clients expectations. There is too much of public  and Media gaze. Expectation level has sky rocketed. We as communication professionals have to be more strategic and . standards of corporate governance have to be followed.

Also need to be a whiz at social media, content marketing and content strategy. The once fine line between earned and owned media has blurred, so you should get better at combining these with paid media for the ultimate campaign.

 

All round praise for PRCI house journal CHANAKYA at PR event

The VUCA syndrome according to Dr Pragnya Ram, Group Exe President- Corp com and CSR– which is  Volatile, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous in the Crisis era has to be tackled proactively. And it’s a great learning says she. Companies need to guard their reputations constantly. Viral videos can damage brands. So speed is the essence and communication has to be hyper transparent.

For PR PROFESSIONALS the challenge lies in dealing every day with data explosions and digital influencers.

The relationship between PR and Media in a democratic set up is still evolving and PR  Industry is still struggling to find identity for themselves with the     Media.

The Media Revolution in a democratic country like India to a great extent has brought integration and disintegration of norms in the Indian culture especially in the social structures, communication patterns, value systems and in thinking patterns too.

 India as a Democratic country is facing huge cultural shocks and our inability to cope up with the present so called ‘chaotic young generation’ has resulted in pointing fingers towards the Media found responsible for triggering the turmoil.

Most of us accept what the media tells us through the news, entertainment etc. and we also tend to believe the Medias code of depiction in terms of different aspects of culture like dress, festivals, behavior etc. 

The solution lies in being a Media Literate Consumer.

Which means… 

1. We must be knowledgeable about the influences that guide media organizations

2. Need to be sensitive to ways of seeing the media content as a means of learning about our culture.

3. Sensitive to ethical dimensions of media activities.

Media Literacy Tools have to be used by PR professionals to explore the messages sent across and ask questions. Only then can we be the watch dog of the Media and see that our culture is intact.  So we have to consider

a.       Authorship-–who created the message and why are they sending it. Don’t simply hear, read and accept. Explore and try to think why certain choices were made.

b.      Evaluating the audience- who are the target audience for the materials and how different people would understand the materials similarly and differently.

c.        And analyse the content-what are the values, life styles, represented or omitted

d.      Find out the creative techniques which are used to attract attention-like images, words, music, camera angles, shots etc.  This will enhance our involvement and appreciation or non-appreciation of factors which would make our interaction with the media more interesting.

We have a major role to play. Can we become more aware and responsible and understand the media’s role in our day to day lives by applying our critical thinking ability? We must constantly be reminded that culture is our savior. We have to be far more interested in our own cultural values and more interested in our roots.  We need to be proud of our heritage.

I quote Sheryl Sandberg who had written about her mentor who said

‘Our career is no more a ladder. It’s a Jungle gym. You stretch, climb, go up, down, go sideways’

Absolutely true.. We need to move away from Calf paths. This can help us to move from our comfort Zone. Life begins at the end of Comfort Zone. How do we do this?

One is Net working. I quote.  Get on a Rocket ship and if you are offered a seat.. Do not ask which seat, Just Board. So keep building your net work,   I am influenced to a great deal by these words: Don’t search for jobs. Search for Networking.

There is no trivial work or huge work.

Can we dear friends join together to strengthen Democracy through our PR? (Based on Geetha’s delivered this speech at a PR conference on Strengthening Democracy – Role of PR at Bhubaneshwar on April 21, 2018)

The media coverage

#BoomCityDoomCity - Plea to sign Change.Org petition to Maharashtra Govt

Please sign this petition.
https://www.change.org/p/boomcitydoomcity-save-mumbai-from-environmental-disaster?recruiter=29763990&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition.

Backdrop:

Planted mangrove saplings disappeared!

#BoomCityDoomCity Campaign for Earth Day

·        Social Communication drive to focus on impending disasters

·        Environmentalists, communication professionals come together

MUMBAI, April 20, 2018 Raising an alarm over the all round environmental dangers being faced by the city, a group of concerned citizens have joined a social communication campaign called #BoomCityDoomCity on the eve of the Earth Day.

Participating in a media seminar at Mumbai Press Club, the group of environmentalists and communication professionals sought to shake the conscience of the people and the powers that be to the stark reality – plundering of the hills under the garb of quarrying, large scale destruction of mangroves and grab of wetlands.

“Mumbai and its surroundings will face a terrible environmental disaster if the all round wanton destruction continues,” said Nandakumar Pawar, director of NGO Shri Ekavira Aai Pratishthan (SEAP), speaking at the seminar powered by communication professionals’ body Public relations Council of India (PRCI).

The Parsik Hill range in Navi Mumbai has already suffered an irreparable damage due to reckless quarrying with some hills facing the danger of extinction. The forest quarrying has been stopped department is on record complaining against massive violation of quarrying norms by unscrupulous operators in CIDCO area of Navi Mumbai. As much as 264.1 hectares has been mined against the permissible area of 138.07 hectares, the deputy conservator of forests, Thane, said during a recent meeting of te district level environment assessment authority.

The Authority has ordered a joint study by forest department and CIDCO while according a conditional clearance to private company for mining the hills in two hectares at Borivali village in Navi Mumbai even as a group of residents protested against quarrying of Parsik Hills in another area, Kharghar.

In yet another case, in Uran large-scale quarrying has been destroying the hills, apart from causing huge dust pollution.

“We are aware that stone chips are needed for infrastructure. We are not against development, but our concern is it should not happen at the cost environment damage,” said B N Kumar, Chairman of governing council of PRCI said.

Pawar said he recently drew the attention of CIDCO and forest officials to the fact that mangroves are being destroyed by dumping tones of debris. Large chunks of wetlands are also being reclaimed illegally in Uran area, he said.

Turning to the island City’s mangrove crisis, he said the authorities ought to have planted over 93,000 saplings over 21 acres in Manori. Sadly, just about 20% of these barely survived. At Charkop, the situation is even worse. Of the 86,400 saplings hardly 5% survived.

Pawar claimed that the authorities manage to get reprieve at courts by saying that they will replant to make up for the mangroves destroyed due infrastructure development. In reality, they manage to mislead the judiciary as mangroves are supposed to grow naturally and they are not replanted.

“I am a fisherman by birth and I know the importance of mangroves,” he said and remarked: “Sadly these officers are either unaware of the basic facts or deliberately ignore the environmental care,” he remarked. Mangroves survive only in mudflaps and where there are ideal conditions to grow and not in rocky area. “This is commonsense,” he remarked.

Referring to quarry permission with conditions such as maintenance of green belt, prevention of dust and particle pollution and conducting of lung functional tests of workers, he said: “it is anybody’s guess as to what extent these will be complied with.”

“You do not need expert committees to study the ground realities of these areas,” he said and explained: “A visit to Charkop or Manori will show you the mangrove tragedy, a drive on Sion-Panvel highway between Turbhe and Belapur is good enough to see the plundering of the hills on the left side, behind the Thane- Belapur industrial belt and come to Uran and we will show you the destruction of the nature in broad daylight.”

Adv Girish Raut of NGO Save Earth said as it is thousands of mangroves have destroyed for development in BKC and other parts of the city. Globally, several warnings have been issued against the dangers of global warming which is irreversible. Yet the urban planners do not seem to realize the perils of destruction of the nature.

Mr Himanshu Prem Joshi under whose leadership a vast green belt has been developed on a garbage dump, said it is the duty of each and every citizen to be alert against the destruction of nature and the need to preserve it. “The Bhavana Nature and Adventure Centre project at Andheri is a shining example of preserving the nature,” he said.

The speakers pointed out that the Girgaum Chowpatty floods and Mitthi River tragedy are still fresh in the people’s memory and  we are yet to learn the lesson that we are not supposed to play with the nature.”

#BoomCityDoomCity - Thank You Mid-Day

Media highlights #BoomCityDoomCity campaign

https://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/mumbai-s-construction-boom-sparks-fears-for-environment-1.2209167

https://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-activists-urge-citizens-to-save-the-city-ahead-of-world-earth-day/19341160

https://www.domain-b.com/environment/20180421_launches.html

http://www.afternoondc.in/city-news/need-for-environment-preservation-highlighted/article_221325

Brilliant! Reuters' Danish Siddiqui bags Pulitzer, does Indian media proud

Mumbai Press Club has expressed its happiness that Reuters photo journalist Danish Siddiqui has won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting and photography.

Danish, the first Indian photojournalist to win Pulitzer, was part of Reuters team that walked away with the coveted prize on Monday.

Press Club secretary Dharmendra Jore said: The Pulitzers, the most prestigious awards in American journalism, recognized Reuters in international reporting for exposing the methods of police killing squads in Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, and for feature photography documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Sharing his happiness with us, Danish said, “I hope our pictures and this recognition in the form of Pulitzer will be able to make a positive difference to the Rohingya crisis which is far from over. I feel honoured as its the first time an Indian photojournalist has been awarded Pulitzer."

Well done, Danish! PRapport too shares your joy.

For details, please check this link:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pulitzer/reuters-wins-pulitzers-for-philippines-reporting-rohingya-photography-idUSKBN1HN2PY

#HillGayaKalGaya

Pl check this and support the social communication campaign to save the hills:

https://hillgayakalgaya.blogspot.in/2018/04/greens-plea-to-cm-to-stop-fresh.html

Transform or Perish - Day 2. March 10, 2018. Pune. India

Transform or Perish - Day 1. March 09, 2018. Pune

Young Communicators Conclave. March 09, 2018. Pune

PRCI Media person of the Year (2014-15) 'Partho' is no more

We regret to inform you that veteran business journalist Parthasarathi Swami, Managing Editor of Business India, passed away around 11 pm on Monday.

Partho, as he was fondly called, began his career with the Anand Bazar Patrika group where he was with Business Standard. Later, he joined India Today and then Business World. He had a brief stint with Sunday Observer before joining Business India.

A journalist with immense sense of pride, Partho did several stories - analytical and  hard  hitting. He had been a long standing member of Mumbai Press Club.

Partho was recipient of PRCI Media person of the Year award in print category.

A resident of Seawoods, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, Partho was cremated at Belapur, Navi Mumbai this morning.

He leaves behind wife Alka, daughter Nisha and son Nikhil.

PRCI, Mumbai Press Club pay tributes to Parho's memory and offer condolences to Alka, Nisha and Nikhil.

-Editor