The Dr Bhupen Hazarika Centre for Mass Communication & Journalism (BCMJ), Cotton College, Guwahati hosted the first ‘SBI Public Relations Summit’ on Saturday, May 6. The day-long programme, for which students and teachers from 10 institutions from the Northeast and beyond had converged, saw leading PR practitioners from the region deliberating and interacting with the participants. Presumably, this was the first PR Summit of its kind to be hosted by an educational institution in Northeast India.

Speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session, principal of Cotton College, Nirada Devi said, “There is a growing importance of public relations in all walks of life and if we are not aware of it, we will be overtaken by others in whatever profession we may be.” She expressed the hope that the summit will create more awareness about the different fields of public relations and also will help youngsters present at the summit to look for suitable employment opportunities in the sector.

Earlier, at the outset of the programme, a message received from MB Jayram, chief mentor of Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), was read out to the audience.

MD & CEO at Tangent PR, Hamad Berlashker, told the students that all who study public relations need not end up with a PRO’s job. “But what is important is that whoever has the skills of public relations can use it at any job and derive mileage from it,”

Dalmia Cements felicitated Nang Monroe Gogoi, an alumnus of Cotton College, for her wonderful journey as an adventure biker. Gogoi will soon lead an all-women bike expedition to Ladakh this year and another to a South East Asian destination in the coming year. DGM, sales and marketing at Dalmia Cements, Sandipan Nair, presented Nang Monroe Gogoi the Young Achievers award.

Major PR related topics such as use of digital and social media in public relations, the intricacies involved in running a PR agency, the inside stories of PR set-ups in government departments and PSUs, best practices in corporate social responsibility activities and role of public relations in the hospitality sector were deliberated upon at the summit by the experts.

Among the invited speakers were strategist and consultant on digital and social media Syed Mohsin Raja; founders of Guwahati-based PR Agency Life’s Purple; PRO at NF Railway and sales and marketing head at Hotel Radisson Blu, Guwahati.

The event was organised by BCMJ in collaboration with an activity group ‘Learning & Promoting PR’ (LeaP PR).

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