Eurograd message

Dear Colleagues,

Let me share this joint declaration by 13 international learned societies and professional associations in the area of communication with you. One of those is the Science and Environmental Communication section of the European communications research society ECREA, which I am a member of.

You’ll find details about the statement below.

Best wishes --Alex

Von: ECREA [mailto:info@ecrea.eu] Gesendet: Montag, 19. April 2021 08:31 An: Gerber, Alexander, Prof. Betreff: News from OSC Section: Communication Saves Lives - joint international statement

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News from OSC Section: Communication Saves Lives - joint international statement

Dear members,

We would like to share the initiative from EUPRERA in which we have participed with other international professional and academic associations of public relations and communicators.

It has been launched a statement on Communication of Covid-19 Pandemic calling for honest and effective communication. With this statement, we want to identify the mistakes for authorities and citizens and help with effective solutions.

"Communication Saves Lives: Communication Experts Call for Ethical and Effective Communications to Handle Covid-19 Global Pandemic" https://euprera.org/covid-comm-statement/

You can read also the press release launched by EUPRERA the coordinator of the initiative: https://euprera.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Press-release-Covid-Comm-Statement-2021-04-15-EUPRERA-IV.pdf.

Please, feel free to share and disseminate among your colleagues, communities and social media (if you wish).

Best regards and take care.

Isabel, Joan and Evandro ECREA OSC Management Team

Communication Experts Call for Ethical and Effective Communications to Handle Covid-19 Global Pandemic ‌ ‌

Web Version [1] [2] Like [3] [4] Tweet [5] [6] Forward [7] [8]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Communication Saves Lives
• Statement on Communication of Covid-19 Pandemic
• Supporting associations
• Help us disseminate
• Downloads

Communication Saves Lives

Communication Experts Call for Ethical and Effective Communications to Handle Covid-19 Global Pandemic

Brussels, 15 April 2021 – EUPRERA, with the international professional and academic associations of public relations and communicators launched the Statement on Communication of Covid-19 Pandemic calling for honest and effective communication.

More than a year since the World Health Organization first declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations (IHR), numerous problems emerged concerning the coordination of communication across institutions about the virus, protective measures, correct responses and vaccination.

Despite several warnings from the scientific community and the availability of information and lessons from previous infectious disease emergencies, governments and authorities around the world have shown a limited capacity to respond effectively to health emergency outbreaks.

Recent research evidence from the EUPRERA Com-Covid Network, a global series of national research projects organized by the European Public Relations Education and Research Associations have shown poor communication management along with low trust in information sources and authorities. Ángeles Moreno, President of EUPRERA said: “We know that ethical professional communication can save lives. Excellent practitioners are key to managing a pandemic as they can facilitate and maintain relations and mutual understanding between institutions and the public”.

The capacity to relay the right information quickly and clearly across different media platforms is essential to manage a public health emergency in an unbounded media landscape. In contrast, unclear and dishonest information can multiplicate the opportunities for miscommunication, in addition to leading to the dissemination of fake news, conspiracy theories and the spread of counter- behaviours that can compromise the abilities of societies to control the virus. Misleading messages and contradictory hints from leaders and institutions compromise trust, which can hamper a successful collective response.

With this statement, international professional and academic associations of strategic communication and public relations want to identify the mistakes for authorities and citizens and help with effective solutions.

Ángeles Moreno, President of EUPRERA, states: “Someone had to say it from an expert assessment: first, international and national authorities have not managed communications correctly during the pandemic in too many cases and second, PR and communication recognized professionals and researchers are here to help.”

Communication Saves Lives - video statement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZJ4Xv-Me9k

Statement on Communication of Covid-19 Pandemic [9]

The full Statement on Communication of Covid-19 Pandemic is available at bit.ly/CStatement [10]

Supporting associations

The statement is supported by:

• EUPRERA. European Public Relations Education and Research Association. Ángeles Moreno, President

• EACD European Association of Communication Directors. Kim Larsen, President

• ECREA European Communication Research and Education Association Section for Organisational and Strategic Communication (OSC). Isabel Ruiz-Mora, OSC Chair

• FERPI Federazione Relazioni Pubbliche Italiana. Rosella Sobrero, President

• Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management. Justin Green, President

• ICA International Communication Association Public Relations Division. Flora Hung-Baesecke, Division Chair

• Institute for Public Relations. Tina McCorkindale, President

• INTERDECOM International Declaration of Communications Professionals and Researchers for a healthier, viable, better world. Solange Tremblay, Leading Author - Thierry Libaert, Co-author

• IPRA International Public Relations Association. Philippe Borremans, President

• NORA The Nordic Alliance for Communication & Management. Alexander Buhmann, Director

• The Museum of Public Relations. Shelley J. Spector, President

• Women in PR North America. Talia Beckett Davis, President

• BledCom International Public Relations Research Symposium. Dejan Verčič, Co-founder

Help us disseminate

We encourage you all to disseminate the statement in your communities. Here below, as well as on the statement page, you can find all the resources. Feel free to contact Virginia Villa (dpra@euprera.org [11]) for additional materials and images.

Downloads

• Press release [12]

• Infographics [13]

• Statement (pdf) [14]

Edit your subscription [15] | Unsubscribe [16] | Privacy notice [17]

EUPRERA Bd du Jubilé 71, bte 3 1080 Brussels, Belgium info@euprera.org

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Alexander Gerber Chair of Science Communication, Rhine-Waal University

Marie Curie Str 1 47533 Kleve (Germany) Tel. +49.2821.8067.3641

Research Director, Institute for Science and Innovation Communication

inscico gGmbH Briener Str 25 47533 Kleve (Germany) Tel. +49.2821.5908.1841

ag@hsrw.eu | a.gerber@inscico.eu LinkedIn | Twitter | ORCID | YouTube

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