A world in crisis and opportunities for Public Relations: Conclusion from BledCom 2026

Now in its 33^rd year, BledCom – the International Public Relations Research Symposium held annually at Bled in Slovenia – is moving progressively towards the topic of turbulence.

Last year, the conference – which attracts researchers and practitioners from around the world — examined the disruptive impact of AI on practice, and this year it focused on disaster, health, and organisational crisis communication. Next year, the conference addresses turbulence head on, considering the social role for public relations in a turbulent world.

Opening this year’s meeting on 26 June conference organizer Dejan Vercic, professor at the University of Ljubljana and principal in Herman Partners, a Slovenian strategic communication consultancy, summarised current crises, arising from climate change, demographic changes, and the consequences of international and regional conflicts around the world.

There has been an increase in the amount of research conducted on crisis communication, according to the conference keynote speaker and recognised leader in this area of research, Timothy Coombs, professor at Purdue University and advisor to an international Centre for Crisis and Risk Communication at the University of Calgary.

This research points to many opportunities for public relations practitioners, according to Anne Gregory, professor emeritus at the University of Huddersfield, responding to these developments, although a question running through the two-day event was how many of the current research findings are truly passing through to, and useful in practice.

Examples of work relevant to practice were set out by two speakers associated with the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations Crisis Communications Network. Katherine Sykes, co-chair of the network and CEO of her consultancy, Marland Sykes, previewed a project currently underway with one of the UK’s leading business organisations, the Institute of Directors, to produce a best practice guide for directors on crisis management. The guide, to be completed by September, will set out the necessity of crisis communication specialists’ involvement in board level decision-making regarding crisis management.

The second speaker, Rod Cartwright, an advisor to the network and independent practitioner now specializing in risk assessment and crisis management, took conference participants through a simulation to recreate the stresses involved in a developing crisis.

Striking in this exercise was the extent to which the wider culture influences decisions made at times of crisis, with strong differences emerging between European and US approaches to crisis management.

Striking in this exercise was the extent to which the wider culture influences decisions made at times of crisis, with strong differences emerging between European and US approaches to crisis management.

Other practitioners presenting at the conference included Kristian Ljungberg from the Swedish Police Authority who talked of the need to prepare communicators for the trauma of working on crisis situations, for example where an active shooter might be involved.

Julia Petryk, representing Calibrated, a Ukrainian consultancy working through the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, spoke emotionally about the experience of the day of invasion and the continuing war four years later.

There is ample evidence by now, from experiences such as those of the COVID pandemic, that crisis situations bring communication specialists to leading positions in the teams which form to deal with crises. This year’s BledCom reaffirmed this finding in many of the conference presentations.

Next year’s topic, The Social Role For Public Relations in a Turbulent World, is meant to be provocative – public relations has contributed to current turbulence but should also provide a means of navigating through it. Practitioners and researchers alike have an open invitation to contribute to this debate – 25 and 26 June 2027 in Bled, Slovenia. Details at www.bledcom.com.

Author: Jon White