PRISA last week introduced speakers for its "Communication – the Sixth Sense" conference which takes place at Montecasino, Johannesburg, on 15 and 16 September.

The long awaited conference was initially scheduled for June, but was postponed to September in order to accommodate all speakers and delegates.

The conference will be broken down into specific sections relating to each of the human senses, and speakers have been asked to prepare presentations that will be in line with these topics.

Under ‘A Sense of Future’ Trevor Ncube, Zimbabwean publisher and entrepreneur and owner of the Mail & Guardian will discuss the future of freedom of expression in Africa, and Advocate Pansy Tlakula of the Independent Electoral Commission will deal with the issue of democracy and its communication challenges.

Pieter de Villiers of Future Business Strategies will discuss how we should positively deal with change in the future, considering the intensity and pace of change in business and society. Ivor Blumenthal, CEO of the Services Seta, will set the tone on the issue of the professionalisation of the communication industry.

In the ‘A Sense of Transformation’ section, a speaker from ACSA (Airports Company South Africa) will brief delegates on the transformation of South Africa’s airports to meet the 2010 challenge, while Prof. Merlin Mehl of the Triple L Academy will discuss cognitive enrichment, sharing advice on ‘making you clever at things you did not think you could do’.

Claudius van Wyk of Global Transformation will open the floor of ‘A Sense of Meaning’, sharing fresh insights on how we process information and how we use the languages of the mind – sight, sound, touch smell and taste. He will be followed by Jennifer Des-Fountain, certified master neuro-semantic practitioner, who will present thought-provoking ideas to improve our sensitivity when communicating.

‘A Sense of Knowing’ accommodates Barbara Holtmann, Research and Development Contracts Manager of Safety and Security at CSIR, who will discuss the "Action for a Safe South Africa" campaign. Joni Peddie of the Enneagram Institute of Johannesburg will enlighten delegates about personality matters and how these empower individuals to communicate more effectively with others, while Daniel Munslow of Newsclip will talk about the latest trends in technology and the digital media. Benita Dreesen, CEO of Creative Strategies, a leading independent communication consultancy in Brussels and Cape Town- will lift the veil on conducting PR programmes across international borders.
‘The new public diplomacy’; using public relations and communication to foster a culture of collaboration, will be introduced by Jane Weaver, chairperson of PRISA’S Public Relations Consultants’ Chapter.

Under ‘A Sense of Change’, Fani Zulu, Eskom’s Senior General Manager of Group Communications will speak about the reputation challenges faced by the utility.

During the social function delegates can also look forward to networking opportunities that will be enhanced by different tastes, smells and flavours to suitably address all of the senses.

For more information on the conference, contact Adele Paulsen at PRISA. Email [email protected], or call (011) 326 1262, or visit www.prisa.co.za.