The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK, has signed a new bilateral agreement with the Hungarian Public Relations Association (HuPRA), Hungary’s professional body for public relations and communication professionals.

Initiated and negotiated by members of CIPR International, the agreement between the two bodies facilitates the sharing and translation of best practice and resources. This is as well as making Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status available to HuPRA members.

Chartered Public Relations Practitioner is awarded to public relations professionals who can demonstrate an outstanding level of professional practice and knowledge, along with a commitment to continuous learning. This benchmark of professional excellence and integrity represents the highest standard of knowledge, expertise and ethical practice in public relations, and was first awarded by the CIPR in October 2009.

Eva Maclaine, chair of CIPR International and CIPR board director, says, “Global public relations is now so often at the heart of what we do as public relations practitioners. We are all much richer by a closer understanding of people from diverse cultures and backgrounds and my belief is that both our members and those of HuPRA will benefit greatly from this collaboration.”

Zsofia Lakatos, managing director and general manager for Hill+Knowlton Strategies Hungary, and president of HuPRA, commented, “This [agreement] will provide access to CIPR's knowledge base and professional development materials for our Hungarian members. We at HuPRA are also happy to share our market insight, trends, best practices and network of public relations practitioners.”

For the CIPR, this follows the signing of a similar agreement with the Middle Eastern Public Relations Association (MEPRA), as the Institute looks to increase the footprint of Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status as the global standard of excellence in public relations management.