By Maryam Spahic
GOMBAK, 16 December 2014: A successful event entitled ChaLK 6 was held this afternoon at Conference Room, Cultural Activity Centre (CAC) which was attended by a large number of IIUM students as well as Public Relations practitioners, consultants, executives from the private and corporate sectors and government agencies.
ChaLK 6 which means chat, listen and gain PR knowledge was organised by the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM), in collaboration with the Department of Communication, IIUM. ChaLK is organised to provide space and link for Public Relations practitioners to share their experiences with one another as well as with academics and university students.
IPRM was established in 1962 to enhance professionalism among public relations practitioners in Malaysia as well as to provide training and development of Malaysians in preparing and qualifying them for a career in public relations.
In conjunction with ChaLK6, the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia Students Association (IPRMSA) IIUM Chapter, which was established over a decade ago but in a lull state, was reactivated today by former IIUM Rector, Prof. Dato Sri Dr. Syed Arabi Idid, who was also the past President of IPRM.
According to the Head of Department of Communication, Dr. Zeti Azreen Ahmad, the Student Chapter is aimed at gathering students who have interest in Communication and Public Relations. She said the membership of the association would not be limited or confined to Communication students per se.
She said: “We intend to produce future practitioners who are not only knowledgable but also creative and resourceful.
Students and lecturers were given an insight into the Public Relations industry as the experts delivered and shared their knowledge and experiences which were very enlightening and beneficial to both lecturers and students.
Among the guest speakers at ChaLK 6 were the President of IPRM, Dato’ Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, Vice President of IPRM, Jaffri Amin Osman, former Corporate Communication Manager of Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), and now a public relations advisor for PERMATA Kids programme, Datuk Atikah Adom, and a World Comm communication specialist Adelina Iskandar, who had been with the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Tenaga Nasional and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS).
According to Jaffri Amin, ChaLK 6 received the largest audience as compared to previous events.***
Photos by Br. Aznan Mat Piah