I had the privelege of attending a lecture last night about Global Public Health and the World Health Organization(WHO). I refer to this as a privelege because I am looking to the public health sector for grad school and was very excited about attending. (A special thanks to Dr. Russell for announcing the lecture a few weeks ago).
To add to the experience, I gathered insightful information about public relations and its function with the WHO in communicating disease outbreaks. The main lesson: Break the news, and do it FAST!
The guest speaker was Dick Thompson, a veteran Time Magazine reporter and war correspondent, who is the team leader for Pandemic Outbreak Communication with WHO. He elaborated on how quickly diseases like SARS spreads and how it is vital for communicators to report these outbreaks immediately.
Although the information provided in this lecture may have come off as common sense, I think that it is a great reflection on pr as a communication tool. The things we do in pr, such as breaking bad news quickly and clearly seems to be common sense in itself, but people often take this for granted. I believe that this is one of the many reasons why pr has become a profession.
With that said, I look forward to learning more about how I can use my pr degree in the public health sector, and hopefully putting this into action in the near future.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Black Gold screening a success!
Okay, so our Fair Trade organization held a screening for Black Gold last Thursday and we were especially thrilled with our turnout. I was personally impressed by this film, and we almost filled the entire room with participants! This may sound like a modest number, but for our organization, having over thirty people to voluntarily show up for a documentary is a pretty big step. We are still very new on campus and we are continually working on our awareness strategies.
Needless to say, I'd like to take this time to point out how pr can go wrong, even is small instances such as these. The flyers sent out, (which I had nothing to do with I might add) had the wrong room number on them. I don't know whether to blame this on the people we reserved the room from or on those who made the flyer, but I do know that it was not a good thing, especially for us. The last thing we need right now is for people to become turned off by our meetings because they can't find the right room to go to. Grrrrrr!!!
On a happier note, I was especially thankful for those who still hung in there through all the confusion and had much to offer about fair trade. It makes me feel good about this organization to know that we already have a good number people who are concerned and want to be active with us.
Needless to say, I'd like to take this time to point out how pr can go wrong, even is small instances such as these. The flyers sent out, (which I had nothing to do with I might add) had the wrong room number on them. I don't know whether to blame this on the people we reserved the room from or on those who made the flyer, but I do know that it was not a good thing, especially for us. The last thing we need right now is for people to become turned off by our meetings because they can't find the right room to go to. Grrrrrr!!!
On a happier note, I was especially thankful for those who still hung in there through all the confusion and had much to offer about fair trade. It makes me feel good about this organization to know that we already have a good number people who are concerned and want to be active with us.
In honor of Awareness....
In light of the recent Virginia Tech tragedy and my efforts in pursuing a public health program for grad school, I'd like to direct this post to information on the Depression and Suicide Awareness Week hosted by Nuci's Space. It is a local organization here in Athens
created in honor of a former student who sadly lost his life during his battle with depression.
Unfortunately their Depression and Suicide Awareness Week ended last Friday, but hopefully those interested may find something in this site that speaks to them. After working with this organization for my PR class last year, I believe that they are truly an organization seeking to help those who suffer. Although they are more targeted to the music community, it is definitely worth noting their tactful approach to treatment for depression.
created in honor of a former student who sadly lost his life during his battle with depression.
Unfortunately their Depression and Suicide Awareness Week ended last Friday, but hopefully those interested may find something in this site that speaks to them. After working with this organization for my PR class last year, I believe that they are truly an organization seeking to help those who suffer. Although they are more targeted to the music community, it is definitely worth noting their tactful approach to treatment for depression.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Looking back on Virginia Tech
It has almost been a week since the Virginia Tech shooting took place, but there is no doubt that its effects are still hitting very hard. However, as I opened my internet page this morning, I noticed that there were no more clips or articles about the shooting. Today's main story features what secrets Alyssa Milano, Sela Ward and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have with "the fellas." Oh how the media never ceases to be pointless in its neverending gossip on celebrities. Maybe this is a good thing, since many people can look at this and get Virginia Tech off of their minds, but I still find it slightly disturbing.
What I also found disturbing was how I even heard about what happened. I've been so caught up in thinking about graduation this past week that I wouldn't have even known about the shooting if a friend of mine hadn't of called me later that evening. I find this somewhat shameful, especially after looking at the faces of those who died on CNN tonight. There were students there who were only 18. I sat down and thought, what was I even doing when I was 18? That was only about four years ago.
As a student this fact hits very hard. College was just beginning at 18, and others didn't even get to finish their first year. I can't help wondering what this person was thinking? Are all people capable of this? Is it the person sitting next to me? How could this have been prevented?
As I left school Friday I saw a flyer for Depression Awareness Week for one of the organizations in downtown Athens, Georgia. During this week, the organization, Nuci's Space, http://www.nuci.org/ hosts various activities, such as live bands playing and marches downtown for those dealing with depression, or anyone who would like to help out. I can't help but think how I helped them with their PR activities during a class project last year, as I learned more about depression and the other mental struggles many college students and individuals everywhere can encounter.
With this, I can't help but wonder if the person who committed this terrible act could have been helped before things got out of hand, before so many innocent lives were lost. This is another reason why I am looking more into the option of Public Health for graduate school, and why health awareness is so important. Nevertheless, I believe this person was not sane, and I still can't help but feel like tragedies like these shouldn't have to happen for us to become aware of the harmful effects of mental illness.
What I also found disturbing was how I even heard about what happened. I've been so caught up in thinking about graduation this past week that I wouldn't have even known about the shooting if a friend of mine hadn't of called me later that evening. I find this somewhat shameful, especially after looking at the faces of those who died on CNN tonight. There were students there who were only 18. I sat down and thought, what was I even doing when I was 18? That was only about four years ago.
As a student this fact hits very hard. College was just beginning at 18, and others didn't even get to finish their first year. I can't help wondering what this person was thinking? Are all people capable of this? Is it the person sitting next to me? How could this have been prevented?
As I left school Friday I saw a flyer for Depression Awareness Week for one of the organizations in downtown Athens, Georgia. During this week, the organization, Nuci's Space, http://www.nuci.org/ hosts various activities, such as live bands playing and marches downtown for those dealing with depression, or anyone who would like to help out. I can't help but think how I helped them with their PR activities during a class project last year, as I learned more about depression and the other mental struggles many college students and individuals everywhere can encounter.
With this, I can't help but wonder if the person who committed this terrible act could have been helped before things got out of hand, before so many innocent lives were lost. This is another reason why I am looking more into the option of Public Health for graduate school, and why health awareness is so important. Nevertheless, I believe this person was not sane, and I still can't help but feel like tragedies like these shouldn't have to happen for us to become aware of the harmful effects of mental illness.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Festival Fun!
So here is the recap on last week's Fair Trade festival:
Turnout was mediocre after speaking to fellow members. I was only able to stop by for a few minutes, but there were many new names on our listserve, so I see this as progress. Progress is definitely something we hope to achieve, even if it is slow and involves me making 2:00 a.m. trips to Kinko's to print out ten -dollar handouts on a college student's budgent. Oh the joys of pr!
Although I say this I must admit that these late night trips are somewhat relaxing and my paper cutting skills have improved remarkably. On top of all this I have basically been eating, deaming and living pr while working with my teammates on our last public relations project here at the university. I will definitely look forward to commenting on this experience!
Turnout was mediocre after speaking to fellow members. I was only able to stop by for a few minutes, but there were many new names on our listserve, so I see this as progress. Progress is definitely something we hope to achieve, even if it is slow and involves me making 2:00 a.m. trips to Kinko's to print out ten -dollar handouts on a college student's budgent. Oh the joys of pr!
Although I say this I must admit that these late night trips are somewhat relaxing and my paper cutting skills have improved remarkably. On top of all this I have basically been eating, deaming and living pr while working with my teammates on our last public relations project here at the university. I will definitely look forward to commenting on this experience!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Black Gold
Another upcoming event I'd like to share as the newly named "PR person" for my UGA fair trade group is the showing of "Black Gold." At our last meeting I was ecstatic to find out that we will be showing this eye-opening documentary at the student learning center of our campus very soon.
All interested students and faculty are encouraged to attend. For those who are unfamiliar with this documentary, it elaborates on the growth of the coffee industry, as well as its affect on coffee growers in Ethiopia. The local community has already had a viewing of this film, but we think it would be especially beneficial for students to have access to such a relevant documentary to fair trade. I will be sure to update on the times and the exact date of the showing.
All interested students and faculty are encouraged to attend. For those who are unfamiliar with this documentary, it elaborates on the growth of the coffee industry, as well as its affect on coffee growers in Ethiopia. The local community has already had a viewing of this film, but we think it would be especially beneficial for students to have access to such a relevant documentary to fair trade. I will be sure to update on the times and the exact date of the showing.
Starbucks and fair trade
Our fair trade group is currently aware of the Starbucks/Ethiopian coffee issue at hand. For those interested who are unaware of the tension with fair trade coffee and Starbucks, an insightful blogger known as Poor Farmer provides relevant updates with this pressing issue.
On this blog there is a news article taken from Etho Online under the heading "Coffee Blessing, Curse in Ethiopia," that provides a startling amount of history of the coffee industry itself, as well as the pressing situation revolving around the conditions of the coffee workers (some children) in Ethiopia. I recommend this article for anyone who wants to learn more about fair trade and coffee, and I also recommend this blog. This site is http://poorfarmer.blogspot.com/index.html , and the blogger is extremely informative on this issue, providing many links to Oxfam and fair trade coffee.
On this blog there is a news article taken from Etho Online under the heading "Coffee Blessing, Curse in Ethiopia," that provides a startling amount of history of the coffee industry itself, as well as the pressing situation revolving around the conditions of the coffee workers (some children) in Ethiopia. I recommend this article for anyone who wants to learn more about fair trade and coffee, and I also recommend this blog. This site is http://poorfarmer.blogspot.com/index.html , and the blogger is extremely informative on this issue, providing many links to Oxfam and fair trade coffee.
Fair Trade Festival!
For those of you who are interested in some fair trade fun this week, our newly formed fair trade organization at the University of Georgia is holding the group's main event for the semester: a fair trade festival.
All students and faculty are welcome to come to the Myers Quad this Thursday on April 12th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Our goup is working hard on some informative posters, videos, handouts and above all FREE FOOD! We are gathering together to create some tasty concoctions using fair trade ingredients.
We hope to use this festival as a way to spread more awareness about fair trade and the benefits of promoting fair trade products. Please feel free to stop by if you will be in the area or if you'd like to enjoy an afternoon snack. We hope this event turns out to be a success!
All students and faculty are welcome to come to the Myers Quad this Thursday on April 12th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Our goup is working hard on some informative posters, videos, handouts and above all FREE FOOD! We are gathering together to create some tasty concoctions using fair trade ingredients.
We hope to use this festival as a way to spread more awareness about fair trade and the benefits of promoting fair trade products. Please feel free to stop by if you will be in the area or if you'd like to enjoy an afternoon snack. We hope this event turns out to be a success!
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