voices4everyone
Voices4Everyone supports a national conversation building mutual understanding, trust, and civic engagement through more inclusive civil discourse.
Our resources have been created and curated by PRSA members, designed to provide expertise and perspectives to share with your team, your clients and your communities.
For more information, to provide feedback or get involved, contact: V4E@prsa.org
v4e
Voices4Everyone (V4E) underscores the role, value, and power of public relations and professional communicators in advancing the public good by:
- Empowering thought leadership and serving as a catalyst for change.
- Harnessing collective expertise and insight.
- Supporting a healthy information environment.
- Fostering meaningful dialogue for informed decision-making.
- Advancing a free, civil, and democratic society.
- Positioning PRSA and PR professionals as influencers and active change agents.
Diversity & Inclusion
As a communications professional, your voice is critical in bringing about change and leading essential conversations on diversity and inclusion.
Disinformation
Developing media literacy skills is critical for communicators to help reduce susceptibility to the global infodemic of disinformation polluting the information environment.
Civility
Communication professionals play a key role bringing diverse voices together, modeling, influencing and facilitating strategies for achieving more effective civil discourse.
Civic Engagement
Informed social participation and active engagement serves the greater good of society; a core value for communicators and foundational to the PRSA Code of Ethics.
diversity, equity & inclusion
diversity, equity & inclusion
As communicators, our impact is far reaching and goes well beyond our industry. Our voices are critical in bringing about change and leading essential conversations on diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.
As we combat the lack of diversity, equity and inclusion in our industry, we want to empower you with the tools and resources you need to begin your journey of self-discovery, become aware of your biases, learn how to have difficult conversations with colleagues and become an ally advocating for your fellow communicators. We hope our tools and resources allow you to become a more aware, effective and inclusive communications professional.
diverse dialogues
Bridging Equality:
Communicating Post-U.S. Supreme Court Decisions
Sept. 13, 2023 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (EDT)
Delve into the critical issues surrounding affirmative action in college admissions and anti-discrimination laws.
full description
Join us at this PRSA Diverse Dialogues event, Bridging Equality: Communicating Post-U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, as we delve into the critical issues surrounding affirmative action in college admissions and anti-discrimination laws. In light of recent Supreme Court decisions, we aim to empower PR and communication professionals with the tools, methods, and approaches to effectively communicate the implications of these rulings, particularly the potential weaker protections for students of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Through an engaging panel discussion, attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the legal landscape, messaging challenges, and opportunities to advocate for social justice. Experts in law, diversity, and communication will share their insights on crafting impactful narratives, navigating sensitive topics, and amplifying marginalized voices.
Moderated by:
Cayce Myers, Ph.D., LL.M., J.D., APR, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Virginia Tech, School of Communication
Participants with the APR credential earn 0.5 CEUs for a webinar.
Learn more about Accreditation.
PRSA is proud to present Diverse Dialogues, a series of conversations with leaders in the profession about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the way forward.
As communications professionals, our voices are critical in bringing about change within our organizations. We must be confident in speaking to our leadership teams and pushing forward critical, and often uncomfortable, conversations about current events and social matters among our employees.
Through Diverse Dialogues, we bring together leaders and experts in Diversity and Inclusion to share insights and best practices to guide communications professionals in having critical conversations to enable real change.
PRSA and PRSSA members will walk away empowered with ideas and resources to begin the conversation with their leadership that will position Diversity and Inclusion as more than a topic for this moment. Members will be inspired to drive the conversation toward including Diversity and Inclusion as foundational to the values for all organizations moving forward.
previous dialogues
AI in Communications:
Covering Bias, Ethics and Other Challenges
Recorded June 22, 2023
The one-hour discussion aims to cover bias in AI and other challenges that communicators, public relations professionals and marketers face in this ever-changing technology.
full description
Moderated by Michelle Egan, APR, Fellow PRSA. 2023 Chair, the one-hour discussion aims to cover bias in AI and other challenges that communicators, public relations professionals and marketers face in this ever-changing technology.
Confirmed speakers include: Bharat Krish, adviser, investor and former president, Digital, TIME Magazine, HBO, NBCUniversal; and Jared Carneson, senior vice president and senior partner at FleishmanHillard. Jared is the San Francisco media and platforms team lead with a focus on digital communications.
In addition to professional and student members from PRSA, attendees will also include members from the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management.
Hosted by the PRSA DEI Committee.
Fireside Chat with NAACP
Recorded March 1, 2023
Black History Month is an important time in history for all of us to pay homage to Black Americans who shaped history in the United States.
full description
In partnership with the PRSA DE&I Committee, the PRSA Black Voices Affinity Group is hosting the Black History Month program. The keynote speaker is Aba Blankson, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at the headquarters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Baltimore MD.
During the program, Aba will share more insights about her career journey as a Black woman ascending through the ranks, the importance of celebrating and honoring Black History Month in our community and in the workplace, and also share with us more about the future of the NAACP and its vision and impact.
Thomas Bennett, SVP at FleishmanHillard and PRSA Board Member and Chair of the PRSA Black Voices Affinity Group, will serve as the moderator.
more resources
disinformation
disinformation
The vast majority of Americans view disinformation as a serious threat to democracy and our economy, saying it pollutes the information environment and undermines the ability of individuals and organizations to engage in informed decision-making.
As strategy-focused communication experts committed to building mutual understanding, credibility and relationships among a wide array of institutions and audiences, while also advancing the free flow of accurate and truthful information, public relations professionals have a special obligation. We must serve the public interest, support the right of free expression and slow the spread of false information. Civil discourse is muted and the marketplace of ideas compromised when disinformation goes unchecked.
civility
civility
Incivility is damaging our lives and hurting our organizations. It impacts the quality of interaction within and across publics; the ability to frame issues and move agendas; to discern truths from lies, to collaborate, to contribute, and to conduct our respective businesses on a daily basis.
As PRSA and PR professionals, we are uniquely qualified to take on incivility and make a meaningful and lasting difference at scale. We work across all levels of engagement and across all types of industries; operating at the company, community, city, state, national and global levels. The time is now, the need is great, and the opportunity for PR professionals to dedicate our collective insight, expertise, platforms, and leadership roles toward turning the tides of incivility and restoring quality, integrity and inclusiveness to public discourse is in our hands.
civic engagement
civic engagement
Hyperpolarization is crumbling our democratic and civic foundations. Divisions in politics, religion, diversity, employment, immigration, and law enforcement, to name a few, are pitting Americans against one another damaging and reducing trust in elected leaders, the media, healthcare and within local communities.
Extreme viewpoints are reducing civil discourse, increasing civil unrest, and pushing many Americans away from considering public service or serving the public good in their communities. A well-informed citizenry aids the decision-making process. Civic engagement allows public relations professionals to demonstrate the value of public relations, leveraging highly sought-after expertise though public service activities that ultimately promote a more cohesive society.