I was recently invited to participate at a roundtable discussion of the 7th Communications Conference in Nicosia, Cyprus, organised by IMH, one of the largest conference organisers in the country. For the first time in its seven-year history, the conference was dedicated to public relations and, ultimately, the importance of this industry within the Cyprus market. As with many conferences of this type some presentations included theory and interesting methodologies (sometimes not applicable in real life) and some consisted of interesting examples of theory in practice (again not so relevant to different markets). The roundtable in which I participated bought together some of the talent from the PR world in Cyprus, including advertising agencies that have PR departments, clients (that have corp. comm. divisions), journalists and a standalone independent PR agency (Action). For those who came to find out about what PR is and what it can do for them in Cyprus, I fear they may left the conference feeling somewhat confused. Perhaps too many people sharing too many views.  On the whole, though, it was a good effort in identifying various pitfalls and opportunities within the Cyprus PR industry. One comment which raised a few eyebrows was that PR wasn’t defined as sharply as it could be and that it covers too many topics…. . For those who want an example of a clearly defined, independent answer, check out the Public Relations Consultants Association’s (PRCA’s) here.  The PRCA also has an excellent series of Best Practice guides for those considering the use of PR agencies. Images from the Conference: Participants of the conference Action’s own, David Baker, Country Manager UAE, who was one of the presenters at the conference. Part of the speakers panel, including yours truly. Images courtesy of IMH, copyright 2009.