MEDIA RELEASE
PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF NEW ZEALAND

1 August 2007

PRINZ Seminars Aim For Effective Cross-Cultural Communication

Stimulating one-day seminars in Auckland and Wellington next month will help participants develop their ability to communicate with New Zealand's varied mix of cultures.

For the seminars, the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) has enlisted a group of presenters who are all leading experts in the cross-cultural field.

PRINZ Executive Director Paul Dryden says that the latest Census data tells us that one in five New Zealanders was born outside this country.

"Increasingly, we need to work with a vast array of different ethnic groups, whose ways of communicating are very different from New Zealand Pakeha or Maori."

The seminars will be a mix of theoretical, practical and personal.

People actually working in the field of cross cultural communication will describe their successful techniques, and academics will share insights gained by research. There will also be a session or two exploring ways in which workshop participants can increase their own intercultural awareness and their ability to work with other cultures.

The seminars in both Wellington (14 September) and Auckland (4 September) will be introduced by Mansoor Khawaj, chief demographer at the Statistics Department. He will present the latest Census results and give his thoughts on how population changes will affect the PR/communications sector in the future.

In a session dealing with internal intercultural issues, Wong Liu Shueng will explain how she helps an organisation's staff work better with different cultures both inside and outside the organisation.

Among the practical 'how to' workshops, local government communications staff and policy planners will present practical advice on how they are working to achieve a higher cross-cultural understanding and involvement with ethnic communities.

On a more personal note, seminar participants will be encouraged to examine their own attitudes, in an interactive and non-threatening environment, enabling them to develop new approaches to intercultural contact.

Although the same format will be used in both Wellington and Auckland, information will be tailored for the area in which the seminar is held. Some presenters will be at both seminars; others will be from Wellington or Auckland respectively.

More details about the PRINZ cross-cultural communication seminars are posted on the PRINZ website at www.prinz.org.nz

ENDS

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