Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
A very successful PR Days Mostariensis conference was held in Mostar last week, organized by the Faculty of Philosophy – Public Relations Studies at the University of Mostar. The conference was attended by distinguished theoreticians and public relations practitioners who presented to the participants and scholars the scientific papers on which they are engaged, as well as the examples of best PR practices.
The interview below brings the first impressions of the conference from Doc. Dr. Nino Ćorić, President of the Organizing Committee of the PR Days Mostariensis Conference.
Media Marketing: The conference is behind us, the first impressions have settled in, so what is your take on it? Are you satisfied, and has the conference reached its goal?
Doc. dr. Nino Ćorić: The feedback we received during the conference – and especially in these few days after it – give us a cause for satisfaction, so we can proudly conclude that we have fully achieved our goal.
Media Marketing: Please explain to us your concept of ten-minute presentations, which demands a higher number of participants and therefore brings higher costs. I believe conference organizers from the region would run away from this concept, and yet you bravely implemented it. And it was very interesting. None of the speakers was in danger of having their lecture passing into boredom for those in the audience.
Doc. dr. Nino Ćorić: The concept is simple. It lies in the answer to the question “Who is the organizer?”. I’m not being falsely modest if I say that organizer, in the narrow sense of the word, is the Faculty of Philosophy – Public Relations Studies at the University of Mostar. However, have we not emphasized partnership and cooperation in our initial calls? This means that both the lecturers and sponsors, media partners and participants, and everyone else who participated in the realization of the concept in any way, became the organizers. Analogously, everyone takes over their share of responsibility. The lecturer’s responsibility was to present their work in the available time, which will be subsequently published in the proceedings. As all of them are reputable scientists and practitioners with a lot of experience, they did not have the problem to fit their message in the allotted time. We thank everyone most sincerely for this.
Media Marketing: On the second day there was noticeably high number of students at the conference. Which is logical, since the Faculty of Philosophy was the organizer. Did you talk with them? What are their opinions of the conference, and did they learn something from it?
Doc. dr. Nino Ćorić: The Association of Public Relations Students of the Faculty of Philosophy PRUMO was with us all the time as they are coorganizers of the conference. When we introduced the program to them we noticed the “spark in their eyes.” They immediately saw their place in it, because they were confident that a wealth of new knowledge awaits. Their first comments are in favor of the expected excellence. However, there were students in the audience from other faculties as well. I also want to point out that this year our guests were also students from the University of Osijek, and in the coming years others were also welcome.
Media Marketing: What will you take from the conference? What would you like to repeat next year?
Doc. dr. Nino Ćorić: I will remember the 33 excellently treated topics in the area of public relations, integrated communication and media, as well as the mood that you could feel throughout the conference. We are particularly proud of this. I hope for nothing less from the next year’s event. In the conclusions we have stated that the theme of PR Days Mostariensis 2018 will be social responsibility. Also, the initiative meeting where we decided to start activities to renew the work of PRIBE is particularly welcome.
Media Marketing: And what would you like to change?
Doc. dr. Nino Ćorić: I prefer the term “improve”. Our intention is to make PR Days Mostariensis not just a two-day gathering, but something that lives in between the conferences. Immediately after the closure of the conference, the organizing committee had a meeting that unanimously concluded that preparations for a new conference could begin already the next working day. Therefore, we will try to implement all the suggestions, advice and recommendations that come to us in this context, within the available resources.
Media Marketing: What is your vision for the PR Days Mostariensis Conference? Will you open it further to the PR profession in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region? Or will you keep it in the framework of university, or rather academia?
Doc. dr. Nino Ćorić: We will try to establish a balance by providing enough room for everyone. Nevertheless, the emphasis is on the scientific approach, because this is the first conference of this type that relies on an academic institution.
Media Marketing: Do you already have some ideas for the next year?
Doc. dr. Nino Ćorić: It may be too early to talk about it, but our desire is to gather even more scientists and practitioners as speakers. Will this imply shifting to a greater capacity venue? Last year speakers came from two countries, this year from four, … last year the participants were from one state, this year from two, … the word “Days” means plural, which means it doesn’t limit us with the number of days it will last – last year it was two days, this year three, … Will there be workshops, some additional accompanying events…? All these are questions that will be considered in the following period.
Media Marketing: Who was your greatest support in organizing the conference? Is there someone you would like to especially thank?
Doc. dr. Nino Ćorić: Faculty of Philosophy and University of Mostar, Herzegovina-Neretva County, and sponsors: Elektroprivreda HZ HB (powered by), HT Eronet, Croatia osiguranje, Hotel Mostar, Shift Brand Design, Elite media, Aluminij, Hrvatska pošta Mostar, Podravka, Antonio commerce, Coca-Cola, Globtour and Kraš. In addition to Media Marketing, other media partners have made a significant contribution to the organization of the conference: Večernji list, BHRT, Naša TV, PrvaTV, FENA, Radio Herceg Bosna, Mostarska panorama, as well as portals bljesak.info, pogled.ba and treci.ba. I would also like to thank the Council of the Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH and the BHRT Governing Board that held their sessions in Mostar during the conference.