European Council of Global Alliance met in Helsinki, Finland
The European Council of Global Alliance met in Helsinki, Finland on 8-9 June 2023. The meeting continued the tradition of face-to-face meetings started in Munich in October 2022 and followed by a meeting in Lisbon in March 2023. European delegates from Norway, Estonia, Portugal and France were hosted by the Finnish Association for Communication professionals, ProCom, CEO Jarno Forssell and Kia Haring, a member of GA board and the European Council.
The program for the days focused on topical issues on the GA agenda: Jenni Sipilä, a professor in consumer marketing from University in Lappeenranta (Finland) led the discussion on responsible communications – how do we define responsible communications – and live up to it in the context of the initiative for the 18th United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. Then Vilma Luoma-aho, Vice Dean of education in Jyväskylä University (Finland), presented a new model for digital media arenas based on the degree of control over messages - the new arenas can be divided into: owned, paid, advocated, rented, earned, shared, searched and hijacked. In alignment with the ongoing Diversity and Inclusion Month, the program also included a workshop on DEI, run by Plan International, an NGO focusing on advancing the rights of especially girls in disadvantaged positions. The participants also gained some insight into the evolution of the Finland brand, under the NATO membership process, and during Sanna Marin’s time as prime minister, as well as insights into a business and brand transformation made by Neste (www.neste.com).
One of the most appreciated topics, however, was the presentation of the ProCom business model. The participants saw the real value Global Alliance can bring in this type of sharing and learning discussions centering around such topics as the earning models and service portfolios of the local communications associations. More of this to come!