Lessons from Trieste
Jennifer Andrewes, Senior Media Officer, Cardiff Council

Local authorities are among the UK's most influential organisations at a population level and are duty bound to communicate with some of the most diverse communities: from school children to the elderly; from the differently abled, to ethnic, linguistic, gay and lesbian minority groups.

More than any other communicator, the local authority PRO knows the meaning of diversity. Yet for many that knowledge does not translate into action.

Winning a CIPR bursary to attend the second annual World PR Festival in Trieste provided a timely opportunity to hear from communications theorists and practitioners from around the globe. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear from some of the greatest names in PR such as the University of Maryland's James and Larissa Grunig, whose texts have formed the backbone of communications teaching for a generation. It was more than forty years ago that the Grunigs first talked of segmenting publics yet we are only now taking the implications to their natural conclusion.

It was also a chance to network with and hear from those at the coal face. And the diverse speakers on the programme didn't disappoint. No longer are communications being conducted at the level of the mass media; in countries as far flung as South Africa and Croatia, organisations are interacting with diverse and disparate communities through highly targeted and effective communications strategies.

In some parts of the world, diversity is reflected in individual campaigns on an organisational basis. In others diversity is enshrined in law. Whatever the approach it was clear from all the speakers that the solutions to the societal problem of diversity are institutional, not individual. So as practitioners, the onus is on us to work together at a professional level to ensure that our organisations reflect the true diversity of British society.

I'll be taking the lessons of Trieste back to my organisation and ensuring they are reflected in our own activity. Cardiff Council has an active social inclusion unit and values the diversity of its population but there is always more that can be done.

I also hope to spread the word among my colleagues throughout Wales and the UK. I will be writing a report on the festival for the CIPR's Local Government Group magazine, prnews. I also hope to get the issue of diversity on the agenda at the group's annual conference, which is being held in Cardiff from September 22-24.

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said: ‘Communication is at the heart of building a society based on mutual respect and understanding. It is vitally important therefore that communicators themselves understand the issues of diversity.'

Useful links:
CIPR Local Government Group