Happy New Year from the Reputation Today family!

2018 is here! We are starting off the year on a Monday. At Reputation Today this is the year we are waiting for eagerly because after two years of running the social enterprise in a start-up mode we have better clarity of what we will do and what we will not do. We will continue to have two city-centric conclaves in partnership with like-minded organisations. The focus in Gurgaon will be on Innovation (March 14^th) and in Mumbai on Influence (May 30^th). We just concluded the year-end event Super Night in Bangalore and the next edition will take place in Mumbai in December. Besides these, we support the co-creation of Knowledge Factory and Manifest Retreat which are unique platforms.

Preparations for the seventh edition of PRAXIS have begun. It will take place in Hyderabad between September 28^th and 30^th. The overall theme this year is the Essence of Storytelling. We already have six international speakers who have confirmed. The last edition in Jaipur was attended by over 600 delegates from close to 200 organisations – one of the largest gathering of PR professionals in the world in a residential conference.

This month we will introduce four new columns including one tomorrow by veteran journalist – N. Madhavan better known as @madversity. The column is called Scribe View and will appear on Tuesdays. It will be a take on communications, marketing, technology and reputation from a different lens. We hope all the content that appears on the portal will go a long way in helping professionals excel more at the workplace.

The second batch of the School of Communications & Reputation (SCoRe) is starting their internship this week. All the students will intern at a different PR firm to have a differentiated experience. The next six months will be devoted to finding the third batch of the one-year programme. If you know a young graduate interested in Public Relations direct them to me through a Twitter direct message at @amithpr.

I have been fortunate to be supported by four full-time volunteers, three of whom come from non-PR backgrounds who work on the half-dozen initiatives. They do this for a nominal stipend. As we start the new year I want to thank Roshan Alexander, Anubhuti Mathur, Shree Lahiri and Hina Huria for their commitment to the cause of Public Relations.

Our first major event is a general interest festival called Knowledge Factory – the second edition will take place at Taj Santacruz on February 9^th. It will be a unique platform of learning and sharing. It will certainly benefit PR professionals in a big way. Especially those who seek to broaden their horizons with new perspectives through learning more, about topics that are beyond the subject matter.

I will write more about the Innovation First Communication Conclave in my column next week. However, I request those in NCR to pencil in March 14^th in your calendar. It will be half a day well spent. A similar conclave will take place in Mumbai on May 30^th around Influence.

I hope that the year ahead is eventful in a positive way to all of us. May we grow wiser, be stronger and continue to prosper. Thank you for reading and extending good wishes. There’s a lot in store as we go along.

Amith Prabhu

Founder at PRomise Foundation

Amith Prabhu is the Founder of the PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS, India’s annual summit of reputation management professionals.

He is also the Founding Dean of the School of Communications & Reputation (SCoRe).

He can be reached at @amithpr on twitter.