Internationally recognised Public Relations and Communications researcher Dr Anne Gregory will be appearing at Novembers World Public Relations Forum.

Dr Gregory is a Professor of Public Relations and the Director of the Centre for Public Relations Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. She also heads the Centres specialist consultancy working for diverse public and private sector clients.

Dr Gregory has visited Australia on several occasions, most recently for the PRIA National Conference in Darwin in 2010 where she was rated as one of the most popular speakers.

After working in broadcast journalism, Dr Gregory spent 10 years as a senior practitioner before moving to academia. She was appointed President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in 2004 and led the organisation to Chartered status, for which she was awarded the Sir Stephen Tallents Medal for her outstanding contribution to the profession.

In June 2010 Anne joined the Board of the Global Alliance for PR and Communication Management and was appointed Chair Elect in 2011.

Dr Gregory will speak at the Research Colloquium being held on Sunday November 18 and will be a key contributor to the dialogue to define a new ‘mandate’ for communicators during the Monday and Tuesday of the Forum.

The ‘Melbourne Mandate for Global Communication,’ will be a consensus-based statement on the organisational and societal value of communication that will be considered by the delegates to the World Public Relations Forum.

The World Public Relations Forum will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 18-20 November and around 800 attendees are expected at the event.

Delegates to the World Public Relations Forum 2012 will:

• Be part of a key global gathering of public relations and communication professionals from around the world, held for the first time in the Asia Pacific region
• Learn from some of the best minds in public relations and communication from diverse backgrounds in business, government, and not-for-profit sectors
• Be challenged, inspired, and empowered to review and refine your own practice
• Build your public relations and communication toolkit at tactical, strategic, and leadership level
• Connect and network with other professionals from around the world
• Help shape the future of public relations and communication
• Experience and explore Melbourne, a creative, exciting and ever-changing city, and ranked the world’s most livable city

Registration for the World Public Relations Forum opens in late May and more information can be found at www.worldprforum.com. The Forum can also be followed on Twitter and Facebook.