The PRISA conference was to have taken place at Montecasino in Johannesburg, 17 - 19 June 2008
Mixael de Kock, current PRISA president said in a statement issued this morning, Monday 9 June, that delegate numbers from the rest of Africa and elsewhere have been extremely low compared to previous conferences, and claimed that South African members from outside Gauteng are reluctant to travel to the region: “Consequently, the Gauteng Conference Committee, in conjunction with National Office, decided that it would be prudent to postpone the conference. It is important to be sensitive to the current situation and the consequent concerns of our members.”
De Kock continued: “The killings and intimidation constitute a massive human tragedy and South Africa will have great difficulty in restoring its reputation. PRISA is ready to play its part in strategising the country's communication efforts in the months to come.”
One event organiser of a conference in the marketing communications industry taking place in Gauteng this week said bookings had in fact picked up in the past week and included several delegates from other African countries, as well as a large contingent of Cape Town clients.
Another expressed the concern that the PRISA statement would be damaging to the entire event industry, let alone the country and the image of the public relations fraternity.
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