FLORIDA PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION SOUTHWEST FLORIDA CHAPTER TO PRESENT PROGRAM ON PRESERVING HUMANITY IN PR
The Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) Southwest Florida Chapter is pleased to announce that Cindy Banyai, Ph.D, a nationally recognized expert in community development and civic engagement, will be the featured speaker at the November 3 membership luncheon to be held at Florida SouthWestern State College from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Renowned for her passion for communications that preserve dignity and humanity, Banyai will relate her projects in Japan, the Philippines and Southwest Florida as she describes strategies for identifying and avoiding “poverty porn.” This communications pitfall can result in gratuitous characterizations of misfortune that oversimplify complex social problems and dehumanize the people involved, sometimes impeding long-term solutions to their circumstances.
She will illustrate how power of words in storytelling with dignity, using images that promote humanity, and crafting messages free of “deficit thinking.”
Banyai is the principal consultant at Banyai Evaluation & Consulting, LLC. She studied international relations and psychology at Michigan State University, and received her master’s degree and Ph.D. from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan where her research focused on community development, public administration, evaluation and governance. She also serves as an adjunct instructor at FGCU’s Department of Public Affairs. She was recently awarded the 2015 Donald Littrell New Professional award by the Community Development Society in conjunction for her work with the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.
The cost for attending the meeting is $25 for members, $30 for non-members and $15 for students. It will take place at Building AA-177 at Florida SouthWestern State College, 8099 College Parkway in Fort Myers (visit fsw.edu for campus map). Guests must RSVP online at fpraswfl.org.
About the Florida Public Relations Association
The Florida Public Relations Association is dedicated to developing public relations practitioners who, through ethical and standardized practices, enhance the public relations profession in Florida. For more information on the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association, visit fpraswfl.org.
