At the moment, the voices are few and far between but they are, nevertheless, being heard loud and clear — calling for an upsurge in an area crucial for the UAE — the field of Arabic public relations. While a thriving and dynamic English public relations culture flourishes in the UAE, what is needed in a hurry is for Arabic PR to catch up.

For any form of communication to be truly effective, it needs to be able to align itself with the language, culture, traditions and customs of the people it is addressing. For the UAE, with Arabic as its first language, it is logical that Arabic PR acquire a creative complexity and breadth and depth of vision to function as an inclusive force that can effectively showcase the UAE and its people to the world.

The urgency for this is also heightened by the power of social media in today’s times, which happily for PR, is akin to a cheque it can cash at any time. The need of the hour, however, is for Arabic PR to acquire its own identity and individualism, beyond just being an entity due to translation.

Professional training programmes in Arabic to create work skills, along with establishing the infrastructure to harness those skills, is the way forward. The time has come for Arabic PR to leave its own original footprints in the sands of time rather than walk in those indented by English PR.

Together, individually strong, the two can lead the UAE forward.