The 2nd annual seminar of the 2008. programme of the Academy for Political Development, entitled “Communication Skills for Public Affairs”  took place  in Postire, the island of Brač, from May 8. – 11. The programme began with the opening speeches by Nevena Crljenko, Executive Director of the Academy, and dr. Volker Haak, former German ambassador to Croatia and member of Tönissteiner Kreis.

Introduction was  followed by the projection of a documentary entitled “Citizen Berlusconi”, that dealt with the public persona of Silvio Berlusconi, his style of governance and his media empire used to  obtain and preserve his position in power.

After the documentary, there was a presentation of four workshops by the respective lecturers, in order for participants to choose which their preferences.

The first workshop, “Public Speaking” was conducted by prof. Marijan Miloš, director of the company “Argument”, specialized in professional training of rhetoric and public speaking. Mr. Miloš, after thorough theoretic introduction and set of rules regarding public appearance, speech, posture etc., arranged a short presentation taped on camera by each participant conducting a public appearance, thus making possible immediate corrections and advices how to improve this important skill, useful in any line of work.

The second workshop, “Negotiations”, was conducted by Luka Juroš, alumnus of the Academy and highly ranked civil servant within the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. Mr. Juroš is professionally educated in this subject and frequently involved in negotiating in his line of work. Therefore, he has offered a rich display of techniques and skills to the participants, which they immediately put to the test in the simulated negotiation situation.

The next day also started with two parallel workshops. One dealt with the subject of lobbying and was conducted by Branislav Bibić, who presented the basics of the concept, still not too familiar in Croatia and therefore much misunderstood and misinterpreted. The workshops also included a practical part - a simulation of lobbying situation using the tobacco industry lobbying example.

 Krešimir Macan, owner of the company “Manjgura” and former spokesperson of Croatian coalition government and Croatian Radiotelevision, a specialist in the public relations, conducted the final workshop on PR.  Mr. Macan provided a number of practical examples from the PR practice, taken from both business and political life, pointing out the common mistakes and making it possible for participants to distinguish good from the bad examples of public relations, again a skill needed in all areas of work – be it politics, business, civil society or public institutions.

The second lecture was held by mr. Marijana Grbeša from the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb. Ms. Grbeša presented the systematic analysis of the he last two campaigns for Croatian parliamentary elections, its dynamics and trends. Both lectures were followed by an interesting and lively debate among participants.

 Finally, the last day started with the panel discussion on the media, its practices and the appropriate conduct in regards to different perspectives: those of business, politics and NGOs. Danko Družijanić, journalist/editor of the Croatian Radiotelevision, Rašeljka Maras – Juričić, CEO and owner of PR company “Meritor Media”, Marijana Petir, member of the Croatian Parliament and Gordan Bosanac, president of the NGO “Centre for Peace Studies” offered different positions, personal experiences and views on this subject and gave a powerful incentive for further debate and reflection. Finally, as usual, seminar ended with the evaluation and a reminder of following activities of Academy for Political Development, particularly the Summer University for Democracy in Strasbourg.