2017 at Aberje: focus on management for professionals and transparency for public communication

The year 2017 was distinguished in many ways: we saw the worsening in the spread of rumors and fake news; the accusations of sexual harassment, racism and other forms of discrimination; the surprises in the international geopolitical scenario; the ups and downs in the economy and the high instability of the national politics. For organizations, the challenges that affect communication and business in general are increasingly complex.

In this scenario, Aberje encouraged the public debate of the main issues that impact the lives of organizations, and bet on the formation and the vanguard position of the area. Not coincidentally, Aberje’s theme of the year was “The Strength of Communication for Development with Integrity”.

This year, the association’s partnership with the national weekly magazine Época stood out, generating a series of debates on journalism, post-truth and elections. With JOTA, Aberje started a partnership that increases discussion on government relations and lobbying. In addition, Aberje kept its partnership with Valor Econômico, the largest finance and business newspaper in Brazil, which for 10 years has been producing a special magazine on Corporate Communication. The year was also marked by the 50th anniversary of Aberje, celebrated on October 8, with two special editions of the magazine Revista CE – Comunicação Empresarial (Corporate Communication) and a ceremony at Sala São Paulo.

More than 100 trainings and events were held throughout 2017, including customized in-company courses, the second edition of the Advanced Program in Digital Communication, the debut of the Advanced Program in Internal Communication and the graduation of the 17th MBA in Business Communication Management. Four titles were released by Aberje Editorial; five studies, including the study “Legacy of the Rio 2016 Olympics”, held jointly with the University of Liverpool (England), were also disclosed.

Expanding its national representation, Aberje consolidated the establishment of 11 Regional Chapters with local events. In the international scenario, the association was present at conferences of multiple partner institutions, such as the Global Alliance for PR and Communications Management, the Arthur Page Society and Fundacom.

For the young audience, the association granted a prize in partnership with Sabesp, a Brazilian water and waste management company. Sector’s leaders, on the other hand, could take part in the LiderCom group, an association body that brings together the top corporate communication leaders. The group promoted a round table about reputation with Odebrecht’s recovery managers and visits to Facebook offices and to the backstage of McDonald’s.