Ahead of the 23rd edition of the PRO PR Conference, which will take place from 26 to 28 March 2026 and has long been established as one of the key regional gatherings of professionals in public relations and strategic communication, this year’s conference programme once again brings together relevant figures from both institutional and professional contexts. Among the participants of the 23rd PRO PR Conference is Jovana Bojović, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Montenegro and Head of the Public Relations Service.
Bojović is a PhD candidate in the field of International Relations, having completed both her undergraduate and master’s studies at the University of Montenegro. She began her professional engagement with the Government of Montenegro in 2010, through an internship in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, after which she continued her career primarily in the field of public relations. Since July 2022, she has served as Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of the Public Relations Service, where she actively contributes to the development and positioning of strategic communication at the state level.
- Considering your role as Advisor to the Prime Minister and Head of the Public Relations Service of the Government of Montenegro, as well as your extensive experience in the area of institutional communication, what do you consider the key messages of public administration communication towards citizens?
As you yourself have pointed out, through my years of experience in public administration, I have witnessed a broad range of policies and, accordingly, the accompanying communication priorities. Therefore, the answer to your question, from this perspective and with this temporal distance, would require a somewhat more detailed elaboration. Nevertheless, regardless of all the differences, the key message of public administration to citizens is precisely a message of trust in the institutions of the system. We would agree that without a highly developed level of awareness and commitment to this segment of governance, it is very hard to even discuss and implement other policies and priorities. Hence, without trust in the institutions implementing policy, it is difficult to gain trust in the policy itself. This is a communication message that requires permanent presence in public discourse, implicitly supported by activities that strengthen trust.
- Every government has its own vision, program goals and political priorities. Based on your experience, what is the greatest communication challenge you face in this context?
If we eliminate what is part of everyday life—staff, resources, etc.—from a strategic standpoint, the greatest communication challenge we face nowadays is maintaining the credibility of institutions and public trust in the context of increasingly sophisticated hybrid threats, primarily through the spread of disinformation. This challenge is not a peripheral communication issue. It is a phenomenon that has been recognized at an international level, as disinformation tends to undermine institutional authority, weaken social cohesion and make it harder to develop and implement public policies. Therefore, the response to such a challenge must be strategic, coordinated and long-term focused on strengthening societal resilience. In that regard, the Government of Montenegro is working on the development of the Artificial Intelligence Strategy for the period 2026–2030, while, in parallel, continuously and in close cooperation with international partners, mechanisms are being established to counter hybrid threats, and actions are being taken to enhance cyber security. A particular significance to this approach is given by the fact that Montenegro has recently become the seat of the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C), established in partnership with France and Slovenia.
However, if we are talking about some overall challenge, which may not concern the profession exclusively, but rather the everyday natural need for exchanging information, I would say that it is the circumstance that nowadays people listen to us more often in order to respond, and less often in order to understand.
- Does artificial intelligence change the way your department communicates, and to what extent can it affect the transparency of communication messages? Do you encounter the challenge of fake news created by actors outside the institutions?
I have partially answered this question earlier. So, the short answer: yes.
However, artificial intelligence can be and is very applicable in communication tasks if it is in the hands of someone who knows their job. Unfortunately, a tendency to bypass (not to say run over) the rules in performing tasks, or simply a lack of understanding of the basics of communication, can mislead an inexperienced user, resulting in a product that is unusable and potentially very problematic. Out of the need to minimize room for errors, I personally still largely adhere to a more conservative approach when it comes to institutional communication.
- You will be a keynote speaker at the international PRO PR conference. In your opinion, how important is the networking of public relations professionals, especially in the context of public administration?
Although I do not do this often, I will answer your question in someone else’s words. Njegoš wrote: “And what am I to do, and yet with whom? My arms are small, and my strength is slight.” The profession, which is gaining more and more importance precisely due to growing challenges, requires stronger unification of the entire guild. I believe that the interests of the profession, as well as addressing certain phenomena, are best articulated through the combined efforts and potential of gathered professionals, rather than individually, with full respect for expertise and personal achievements. This is also one of the reasons why I am particularly looking forward to taking part in your platform, which will undoubtedly contribute to the exchange of experiences and, hopefully, point to new models of collaboration among communicators from private and public sectors.
- What one piece of advice would you give to your colleagues working in the public sector, regardless of their position, and which aspects of communication should they pay special attention to?
One word – content. It is very important to distinguish information from a message, and content makes the crucial difference. It is of fundamental significance to be aware of the immense power words hold, their order, the way and context in which we convey them. This is precisely where the trap of the ease of communication carried by social media and artificial intelligence lies. Communicators are, in a way, chroniclers of the time they live in. I believe that institutional communication is particularly important because it actually represents an archive that will one day write history. Awareness of this especially obliges us to leave a quality testimony about the time we work in and the results we achieve.
