The voice of the public relations profession in the Middle East

COVID-19 SUPPORT

Dear MEPRA Community,

As communications professionals, we are all well aware of the ongoing concerns surrounding the spread and impact of COVID-19.

We understand that our members will have increased responsibilities to communicate with stakeholders, clients and staff on activities and policies for their own organisations.

Our priority as your association is the health of our staff, members and their families and to support you in your professional lives. We have developed a Resource Hub to keep our industry connected, which will include information developed by your board, MEPRA members and partners to support the profession at a time when the importance of clear and ethical communication is vital. We encourage all members to share and contribute ways in which they are communicating and supporting stakeholders at this time. We will also include practical guides provided by official resources that may be helpful to you and your teams.

Due to the uncertainty about the continued trajectory of the virus, MEPRA made the decision to postpone a few key events scheduled to take place in the first half of the year, this includes the Abu Dhabi Majlis, CARMA Measurement Workshop, Student Pitch Challenge and our MEPRA Academy training sessions. We are hoping to host these events in the second half of the year and we will continue to be guided by the UAE and regional governments on these decisions.

We are offering MEPRA Academy training online, with our first webinar to take place on the 25th March. You can sign up for our IGTV Strategy and Content Webinar and see what else is to come at www.mepra.org/events.

MEPRA's 'The Brief' podcast, will include an episode with representatives from agencies and in-house teams discussing how they are navigating these unprecedented circumstances and sharing their thoughts and advice for the industry.

At this difficult time, we are focused more than ever on bringing people together and supporting each other. We are inviting you to share relevant resources or best practice guides to include in the resource hub which can support the wider industry so we can get through this together. Part of MEPRA's mission is to promote industry standards, share knowledge and build the capabilities of professionals in the region. Together we will weather this storm.

If you would like to contribute resources, tips or guides on communicating through this time to support our industry, please email Sabrina at sabrina@mepra.org. Click on 'Continue Reading' to go to the Resources Hub.