CIPR is 75: here's why you should care
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is 75 years old in 2023 and I am pleased to have taken on the role as President for this celebratory year.
The CIPR was founded in 1948 and is thought to be the oldest membership body for the industry in Europe, remains one of the largest, and is almost certainly also the biggest provider of training, accreditation and qualifications for practitioners on the continent. As a founding member of the Global Alliance of PR associations, and with members in 82?countries, the CIPR's values also have influence around the world.??
As former President,? Stephen Waddington chronicled in?a speech on the history of the?organisation,?the Institute for Public Relations was created in the UK in 1948, bringing together practitioners from local and central government as well as industry, to ensure that members of the public got effective and honest information from institutions as they made choices and rebuilt their lives after the Second World War.???
While the CIPR's mission is seven decades old, in an era where news reporting is influenced by bots and reality itself is at challenge from sophisticated artificial intelligence tools, it is more important than ever that our community continues to champion lifelong learning and transparent codes of conduct for professional communicators. The CIPR campaigns for these values both in its own right and as a member of organisations including CBI (Confederation of British Industry) British Chambers of Commerce and Trade Association Forum .?
We have over 10,300 members today and target growth by another 1,000 this year alone. In uncertain times, more and more people in our industry are looking?invest in their careers and to join what I consider to be the best community in PR.
The modern CIPR is a community where our members support?each other to advance to the fullest in their careers, and enjoy a range of events and training delivered by our brilliant volunteer and employee team.
We are determined that this community should reflect the characteristics of the audiences with whom?we communicate and so this year we will seek to be the first membership association to achieve the?National Equality Standard.?????
In 2023 the CIPR will also celebrate the positive influence that communication campaigns have had on shaping global societies. While our industry is rightly lambasted for its excesses and the actions of some fringe actors, public relations practitioners and techniques are not given enough credit for involvement in movements ranging from the environmental lobby, to civil rights and campaigns for better media portrayals?of women ( such as Dove's much lauded campaign for real beauty).?????
We will also be looking forward at how the CIPR's uniquely accredited?Chartered Practitioners?(over 500 now and targeting 750 by year end) can be trained to take more of a role on the governing Boards of both civil society and commercial organisations in future years as we look to help stakeholders to navigate a post-pandemic, post-Brexit world by renewing our mission to restore trust in public and private institutions.?
Our planned calendar of events is below and I hope both members and non-members will celebrate with us during the year and find out more about the work of our Institute.?
I am committed to being available to all members and so we have activated a new email address [email protected] to make it easier to access me and future Presidents. Please do contact me there, or on social media, with any questions or comments.
Jan
Launch of 2023 PR Research Fund
Feb
2nd - 75th anniversary launch service and gathering at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street and the Humble Grape. Book here: CIPR Anniversary
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Launch of iProvision 75 Fund to help PR practitioners from socially and?financially disadvantaged backgrounds to develop their careers with training, education and qualifications.??
April
75th anniversary CPD challenge
June
Keynote speech at the 30th annual Public Relations Research Symposium,?BledCom
July
One CIPR Summer Party
September
CIPR Fellows 75th anniversary lunch?
October
Maggie Nally online lecture led by the CIPR International group
November
Future Practitioners Conference
+much more
Co-founder of PR Academy. Helping you get qualified in PR and comms. Author of "Communicating Projects" published by Routledge. Proud to be an honorary fellow of the CIPR. Got her WSET Diploma in wine too!
2 年Gosh - this reminds me of celebrating the 60th anniversary back when PR Academy was just an infant! With my interest in qualifications hat on, wouldn't it be great to find out what the very first graduates on the PR Diploma are doing today?
Internal and Change Communication Specialist
2 年What a year to be CIPR president! Hope it is a successful and enjoyable one for you Steve. Looking forward to the celebratory events.
Purpose-Driven Comms: PR | Content | Social
2 年Exciting that so much is planned for the CIPR in this milestone year, Steven Shepperson-Smith! Greatly looking forward to supporting you in my new role on the 2023-2024 Council, and proudly sharing the many benefits that the Institute continues to offer members during these uncertain and testing times.
Professional advisor and researcher supporting agencies and in-house teams across a range of management, corporate communications and public relations issues
2 年Thanks for the mention Steve. It’s always struck me that the founding values of the CIPR in seeking to professionalise the public relations profession remain as relevant today as they did 75 years ago. Some of the early documents speak loudly to the modern profession. The work led by Anne Gregory in 2004 and 2005 was an also important moment in achieving Chartered status. It’s great to see your ambition to continue to drive this work. Thank you for everything that you’re doing and have planned this year to continue to work of the founders of the CIPR in professionalising our business.