Last night some 100 people gathered for the first MScom Geneva Communications Forum in Geneva (where else?!).  Guest speakers were Keith Rockwell, spokesperson at the WTO and Harold Burson (pictured above), founder of PR agency Burson & Marsteller. The theme  “The changing communications landscape in the age of global business” was approached differently by the speakers with Mr Rockwell covering the experience of WTO as a relatively new organisation coming to grips with the “need” to communicate and Mr Burson looking at the impact of globalisation on the communications industry. We also learnt that at 85 years old, Mr Burson writes his own blog – is he the oldest PR blogger around?

Glenn   

Conference in Zurich (Ermatingen) – Please note – In German!

21. November 2006, 09.30 – 17.30

Media landscape 2016 – crisis in the media landscape: an opportunity for business and society?
In ten years time, will today’s youth still be willing to spend money on a newspaper subscription? How does the tempestuous development of modern media affect user behaviour and what are the implications of these developments for the contents on offer? At the Lilienberg conference on 21 November 2006, renowned specialists will explore these issues through lectures and be available for in-depth discussion.

Moderator:

Dr Andreas Jäggi, Aktionsfeld Medien

Participants:

Thomas Trüb, member of the Ringier group management, jointly responsible for strategy development at the Swiss publishing house, will delineate possible scenarios and at the same time, with Cash-Daily, present a project which may well anticipate publishers’ business model of the future.
René Grossenbacher, executive manager of Publicom, Kilchberg, will discuss the changes which have already taken place in media use behaviour and the trends and consequences for news publishers and media companies.
Professor Russ-Mohl, University of Lugano, will focus on the journalistic aspect of these developments. In future, will content quality become a good reserved for an elite? Are we losing trustworthy, high-quality media which adequately report and comment on events in politics and economics?

Attendance fees including lunch: CHF 250.-/ EUR 165.-

Registration and further information >> 

Last week, Prof. Paul Argenti, Professor of Corporate Communication at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, gave a lecture on “A Strategic Approach to Crisis Communications and Management” in Zurich. 100 communications specialists listened to the talk, which was given as part of the MScom Excellence-in-communications lecture series. On crisic communications, he commented:

“In simple words, I would describe crisis communication as steps that you must undertake when you find yourself in trouble – be it in case of a corporation, individual or any governmental or non-governmental organisation.”

Read more about his visit here >>

 A new networking evening has been launched for those working in the media industry in Geneva

For all of those in the media industry here in Geneva: television, radio, print & web publishing, marketing, communications, public relations, film, video, etc.

I’ll be hosting the 2nd monthly Media Networking Evening gathering on Thursday evening, October 19th from 19:00-22:00 at a bar/lounge in town. This will be for media industry professionals. All welcome: private/public sector, staffers and freelancers. Discuss the job market or just come and socialize.

Please e-mail me at kevin@inthespace.com by Monday, October 16th to confirm that you can attend and I’ll provide you with the meeting location.

Hope to see some of you there.

Glenn

For communication professionals in the Geneva region, Switzerland, the following event may be of interest to you:

“The Executive MScom Program (University of Lugano) in collaboration with the Société Romande de Relations Publiques (SRRP) and the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) is launching the MScom Geneva Communications Forum. The conference series, to take place twice yearly, will provide expert perspectives on the fast-changing field of communication management. The theme of the 1st Geneva communications forum will be:

“The changing communications landscape in the age of global business”

Keynote speakers:
Harold Burson, Founder and Chairman of Burson-Marsteller
Keith Rockwell, Spokesperson of the World Trade Organization

Date and location:
Wednesday, October 11, 2006, 18:00 hrs
Swissôtel Métropole Geneva

Cost:
CHF 75 – members of the public
CHF 50 – members of SRRP, IPRA & MScom Alumni Association”

More information can be found in the invitation (pdf) and online registration is possible on the mscom website.

Disclaimer: we are both graduates of the Executive MScom Program.

Hope to see some of you there.

Patricia & Glenn

For all those keen and able to get to Zurich (2.5 hrs on the train from Geneva these days), an interesting conference is planned for 2 October 2006, information as follows:

“Strategic Approach to Crisis Communications and Management”
Swiss International Air Lines Ltd
Operations Center
8058/Zürich Flughafen
Zürich
Time: 18.00 to 21.00 
Cost: CHF 150 with cocktail dinner
Registration: www.mscom.unisi.ch
Speaker: Paul A. Argenti, Professor of Corporate Communication at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, USA.

More information in the invitation (pdf).

Patricia