10 September 2024
The annual conference of Euprera (the 25th!) took place in lovely Bucharest, Romania. The conference’s central theme was ‘The Art of Communication,’ and we started in the Opera house with the opening sessions and reception on Wednesday afternoon. The opening session included many high-ranked persons from the Romanian academic community and Bucharest University, who warmly welcomed us. The first keynote was given by Doina Lemny, an art historian who specialized in the work of the sculptor Constantin Brâncusi, and it was, of course related to the theme of the conference.
The second keynote was given by Anne Gregory, an emeritus professor at the University of Huddersfield (UK) on the ethical use of artificial intelligence, who also won the distinguished scholar award of Euprera. The reception at the opera house was very informal, with fantastic food and great chats with many colleagues from all over the world.
Thursday and Friday were filled with parallel sessions. In one of the sessions, Antonia Hein presented our paper on the link between internal communication and employer branding (EB) (start inside, win outside) by examining the use of Internal social media (ISM) in EB.
At lunch, we had the second meeting of our new sustainability network, which we started last year. There are already more than 20 members, and 10 were present at the conference. Not only did we discuss ideas and our mission, but we also explored how we can work more closely together to be more than a discussion group.
After that session, the colleagues of the Mid Sweden University presented their study (with Wim as co-author), which deals with the communication department of municipalities. Most of the time, local governments must execute plans and ideas regarding sustainability and climate action from supernational (Paris Agreement), EU (Green Deal), or national governments. Municipalities are the hinge between these agreements, such as climate action. Communication departments have a coordinating and interactive role in this, from informing the public and the communities to branding initiatives, raising awareness on unsustainable behavior, setting up campaigns, and supporting participation processes.
The day continued with a session jointly organized with the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD) in which Romanian communication professionals were invited to a panel and were interviewed by Dennis Larsen (EACD). A variety of professionals (all females!) from a newly established water company (Aqua Carpatia), the Romanian branch of Kaufland, JT, Nuclearelectrica, and Brain4Strategy I. The conference dinner took place at Casa Doina. It was combined with local music, played by colleagues from the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest (and, of course, one or two glasses of wine).
The first session on Friday was a panel organized by the sustainability network, with three presentations, Dennis Simunovic (IULM) started with observations that the shareholder perspective is becoming the dominant way of doing business, stopping the initiatives of Paul Polman once established with his Sustainable Living plan. Antonia Hein had a second presentation at the conference in this panel on the positive angle of CSR and its relation with Employer Branding, which is the fourth and last study of her PhD. The backdrop on CSR and ESG is not found in the North of the Netherlands; employees in the three branches Antonia included (IT, Healthcare, and Energy) still find it very important that their company is involved in CSR. People are increasingly expecting more from their work than financial rewards and promotions. More than ever, organizations must clarify their function in society and what societal issues and problems mean to them to attract the right talent. As individuals become increasingly disenchanted and disillusioned with work and fatigued by the constant demand to change and be flexible in response to organizational needs, employers now need to actively restore the balance, recognize the meaning and emotional aspects of work, and move towards creating a more energized, fulfilled and engaged workforce.
The last presentation from Adalberto Arrigoni of Leeds Becket University shed a reflective light on the developments in CSR.
The awards were presented during the Euprera hour. Jenny Biver and Anthony Scott, who were nominated, represented the MIC yet again in the run-up. Lund University won the practical and theoretical award this year.
Next year, Eurprera will be held in Lund (Sept. 24 – 27), and in 2026, at the University of Malaga.
