Review of Maggie Nally Memorial Lecture, January 2012
The annual CIPR Maggie Nally Memorial Lecture was held at the Houses of Parliament on Thursday 19 January. It was presented by Matthew Francis, CIPR International Chairman, to an audience of more than 100 CIPR members. The guest speaker for the evening was Richard Gizbert, presenter of Al Jazeera’s ‘The Listening Post’ programme.
Richard Gizbert spoke of the challenges facing the Middle East, in particular issues surrounding the Arab Spring. He provided a fascinating insight into the way communications has changed and now operates on a truly global scale. CIPR International would like to thank Richard for his educational and inspiring presentation. Sincere thanks must also go to Lord McNally and Mark Pawsey MP for sponsoring the rooms in Parliament, as well as to Douglas Smith and the Nally family themselves for their continued support.
Among the attendees was a small group of students who won an essay writing competition, set by CIPR International, for the chance to attend the lecture.
One of the winners was Georgina Thomas, Public Relations & Media Student, Sheffield Hallam University. She had this to say about the evening:
Being given the opportunity to attend the Maggie Nally memorial lecture was something I was very honoured by. I was nervous before I arrived due to the thought of being in the House Of Commons alone but as soon as Richard Gizbert, presenter of Al Jazeera news, began speaking I knew there was nothing to worry about. Richard made the lecture accessible to all, and funny on many occasions. All of the winning students met up to chat about the evening in hand before separating at dinner. It was a brilliant opportunity to network and socialise with fellow PR enthusiasts and people in the profession we all hope to be involved in. Everyone I met that evening were lovely and had many wise words for aspiring PR students like myself. I am honoured to have been a part of such a brilliant evening and to have had the chance to meet the people I did.
