Earlier this month ICCO held its annual Global Summit in Helsinki,

Some 300 delegates from 30-plus countries, including PRCA Chair Rhona Blake FPRII, heard from more than 40 speakers. You can access all the presentations here.

The ICCO board also voted to approve a statement of ethics, called the Helsinki Declaration.

Mindful of the considerable and increasing influence and importance of public relations, the International Communications Consultancy Organisation has launched the Helsinki Declaration, a set of principles aimed at uniting the global PR industry under a single banner of ethical behaviour. It calls on members to stand by the following 10 principles:

  1. To work ethically and in accordance with applicable laws;
  2. To observe the highest professional standards in the practice of public relations and communications;
  3. To respect the truth, dealing honestly and transparently with employees, colleagues, clients, the media, government and the public;
  4. To protect the privacy rights of clients, organisations, and individuals by safeguarding confidential information;
  5. To be mindful of their duty to uphold the reputation of the industry;
  6. To be forthcoming about sponsors of causes and interests and never engage in misleading practices such as “astroturfing”;
  7. To be aware of the power of social media, and use it responsibly;
  8. To never engage in the creation of or knowingly circulate fake news;
  9. To adhere to their Association’s Code of Conduct, be mindful of the Codes of Conduct of other countries, and show professional respect at all times;
  10. To take care that their professional duties are conducted without causing offence on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, origin, religion, disability or any other form of discrimination.

Next year’s Global Summit will be held here in Dublin on Thursday and Friday, October 4-5, 2018.

The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world.

The Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland) PRCA is the Irish representative.