Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: The Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) has concluded its annual Leadership Majlis event in Riyadh, stressing the importance of the Saudi perspective in the PR and communications industry and highlighting a positive change in the global media coverage about KSA as a result of communications efforts regarding Vision 2030.

Over 150 attendees of public relations and communications leaders in the region and the world participated in the event, where they discussed the industry’s most pressing topics and best practices in the age of digital disruption and artificial intelligence, as well as the findings of the third edition of MEPRA annual media perception report about the Kingdom.

“With a 16% increase in global mainstream media coverage of Saudi Arabia and a shifting focus towards themes like Saudi economy and its investment in sports, the Kingdom’s concerted communications efforts around Vision 2030 have yielded results,” said Mazen Nahawi, MEPRA Executive Board Member and CEO of CARMA & SOCIALEYEZ who presented the report.

“Positive coverage about KSA has grown 4%, and negative news was reduced by 12%, indicative of the success of the Kingdom’s narrative, especially about the Quality-of-Life Program, which grew 33% in positive media coverage,” he added.

In his keynote speech, Mohammed Abaalkheil, Vice President of Corporate Relations at STC Group, stressed the importance of Saudi storytellers and their perspective on the changes in the Kingdom.

“Managing the disruption needs the support of global agencies, but the participation of Saudi communicators is pivotal to success,” he said.

For his part, Abdulrahman AlTrairi, Official Spokesperson and Chief of Communications & PR for the Royal Commission for AlUla, offered his perspective on the importance of listening and engagement in practicing communications.

He highlighted the vibrant work done by the Royal Commission of AlUla in engaging the community of date farmers in AlUla, which led to the eventual success of AlUla Dates.

“Building human capital who can navigate disruption” was on the agenda of a discussion panel that delved into the importance of disruption in finding, keeping, and developing talent, which is the most pressing challenge faced by the communications sector in the region.

Kate Midttun, MEPRA Chairperson, concluded the event by presiding over the offering of MEPRA Fellowship Awards to Heba Fatani, MEPRA Strategy Board Member and Director General, RAK Government Media Office, Khaled Tash, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Saudi Airlines and Kenana Dahlan, Senior Advisor in Public Relations. The awards represent the highest membership level awarded by the MEPRA Board for exceptional contributions to the PR industry in the Middle East.

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