The WCFA is proud to join the 15th edition of the India Public Relations and Corporate Communications Conference and Awards (IPRCCC & IPRCCA 2024) as an official Global Industry Partner.

Organized by Exchange4media, the event will take place on 26th June 2025 at the prestigious Hotel Leela Ambience, Gurgaon (India), bringing together over 400–500 communication leaders from across India and beyond. With the theme "Harnessing the Trends", this milestone edition promises a dynamic lineup of keynote speakers, panel discussions, and insights into the future of PR, corporate affairs, sustainability, AI, and more.

You can join the event online here.

The partnership reflects a shared vision to promote cross-border collaboration, innovation, and professional excellence in the PR and corporate communications landscape.

“WCFA is honored to support IPRCCC & IPRCCA 2024 and to contribute to the global dialogue on the trends shaping our industry,” said Maxim Behar, President of WCFA.

Founded in Davos, Switzerland, the WCFA connects professionals from over 40 countries through high-level forums, awards, and initiatives that promote ethical, effective, and globally-minded communications.

The association looks forward to engaging with India’s top communicators and supporting knowledge exchange across borders during this landmark industry gathering.

The WCFA invites communications professionals, marketers, and brand leaders to a free online masterclass on Paid PR Campaigns for Brand Growth, Trust & ROI, taking place on Wednesday, June 26, 2025, at 2 PM CET via Zoom.

Register now here!

The session will be led by Lima Alhawamdeh, CEO of AIWIZ Digital Marketing and former Lead Digital Growth Manager at Meta. Lima brings over a decade of international experience, having spearheaded data-driven marketing strategies for global powerhouses such as Tesla and high-growth startups across the UK, MENA, and beyond.

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With over two decades of experience in corporate communication and leadership positions across various organizations, making significant contributions, Thabisile Phumo made waves with her expertise and innovative approach to corporate communications.

Today as the Executive Vice President: Stakeholder Relations at Sibanye-Stillwater and Executive Committee Member of the World Communications Forum Association, Thabisile leads from the forefront.

Let us learn more about Thabisile’s professional life.

The Journey Begins

Thabisile Phumo had always planned on pursuing an academic career after qualifying as a corporate communications practitioner 27 years ago. This because her career began at the University of South Africa where she was exposed to academics leading in the communication field. However, with limited experience, she decided to venture into the industry first, believing it would benefit her future academic aspirations.

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Article by Zsofia Lakatos, Managing Director at Emerald Public Relations (Hungary) and WCFA Global Advisory Board Member.

I was recently judging a prestigious communications competition and was shocked to find that there is still no healthy link between the advertising and PR professions. What’s more: there is no relationship at all.

Better and better communication solutions are submitted to the jury - but all of them are sorely lacking something to make them truly effective, truly rounded. I suspect this is because many advertising professionals have no idea what PR people do. Years ago, when I worked for a large communications agency, my colleagues and I used to have a lot of fun being cautiously eyed by people in other divisions. They would come and look at us like we were bazaar monkeys.

Being interesting to others would not be a problem. If they would take - and we would take - that one step to bring us closer to the other. I'm genuinely interested in what goes on in the mind of a creative director, how a digital professional works and what a media buyer does all day. I'd like to believe that there are people who are genuinely interested in what a PR professional does all day and why clients pay more or less for their work.

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My business – interview with Zsófia Lakatos, owner-CEO of Emerald PR, former President, and Member Emeritus of the Hungarian PR Association

- What do you consider the highlight of your career so far?
I can't name one thing, because a career path is not a mountain you climb and enjoy the view, it's more like a mountain range, with ups and downs. It meant a lot to me when I was elected President of the Hungarian PR Association ten years ago, the same year my book on sustainability was published in London and I was the first person in Hungary to receive the "Professional Ambassador of Sustainability" award. An important highlight beforehand, back in 2008 was when I became the Managing Director of Hill+Knowlton Hungary - at the age of 33 - and again in 2015 when, at the age of 40 and having 3 children, I had the courage to give it all up and founded my own agency Emerald PR, an affiliate of Burson Cohn&Wolfe. One outstanding moment for me was being elected Member Emeritus of the Hungarian PR Association on its 30th anniversary and when - as an international success - I was invited to the Advisory Board of the World Communications Forum Association.

- How far ahead are you planning?
In the current polycrisis period, it is almost impossible or very difficult to plan, so I prefer to think in terms of Plan B. And plans C and D. In addition to Emerald PR, I founded a crisis management company Crisis112, a sustainability consultancy BSP and most recently, a training broker agency Emerald Academy. And these are just my professional adventures.

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Since its creation in 2000, Datawords Group has established itself as a leader in e-multicultural technologies, forging the term Multicultural Ingenuity to reflect its capacity to support brands in the deployment of their digital marketing and technology strategies on an international scale.

Multicultural at its core, Datawords has developed a unique know-how and expertise in adapting its clients' technologies, strategies and digital content to a local audience, while respecting their brand image. The deployment of international campaigns poses a real challenge for major global brands, with linguistic and technical constraints, as well as cultural preferences, that can make a single global campaign impossible. Datawords relies on both MULTI digital expertise and CULTURAL adaptation of brand content across more than 50 languages and countries to capture local relevancy.

To reinforce its position in the Chinese market, Datawords announces the acquisition of the award-winning integrated communication company Switching-Time, founded in Shanghai, China. Established in 2012, Switching-Time serves a prestigious set of clients in the fashion, beauty, luxury and lifestyle industries. Over the years, it has expanded its offering to cover the full breadth of digital marketing services, including public relations (e-PR), influencer digital marketing and social media.

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