Message from the IPRA President: Humanity in Harmony: January 2026
3 hours, 20 minutes ago
It is humbling to take up the Presidency of IPRA. What a privilege to stand on the shoulders of Nataša Pavlović Bujas after her outstanding two-year tenure.
You will recall that the IPRA motto is: Leading trust and ethics in global communication. This emphasizes the building of relationships and meaningful connections, through communication. Perhaps its ultimate goal is human advancement. Public relations practitioners must show that our work is not to distort reality to promote narrow interests known popularly as spinning. We must constantly project truth if we are to lead in trust.
A dark time
Our world faces crises, tensions and divisions that threaten humanity’s very existence. Mutual understanding, achieved through effective communication, is a critical tool for peace and the progress of humanity. The public relations profession helps to promote understanding and build bridges.
In a time when the power of technology is offering mankind more opportunities for improved well-being and productivity, there are too many in our world for whom disease, poverty and ignorance are still the everyday reality. This underscores the need for technological advancement to be anchored in humane relationships and empathy.
Issues related to Artificial Intelligence, such as communicating misinformation and spreading of fake news, in times of peace and war, have been of particular concern to IPRA in recent years. The publication last year of Gold Paper 19 Ethical standards and guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in public relations, not only provides a moral compass for us public relations professionals, but also initiates a conversation of significance for the world’s future.
The goal for 2026
I challenge us, in this regard, to engage with other professionals in the technology space as well as policy makers in order to influence the course of technology’s development and application. I have set as the goal of my Presidency projecting IPRA as a promoter of HUMANITY IN HARMONY. Through empathetic engagement and global collaboration, we must help achieve the wellbeing we all want.
To that end I look forward to continuing to expand IPRA membership throughout the world and to having more active engagement with and among member associations. I would also like to see us strengthen collaboration with the United Nations and its agencies in the quest for world peace and human development.
Let us arm the world with effective and ethical communication and, together, heal the world.
Kind regards,
Esther Cobbah
IPRA President 2026
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