Following her groundbreaking work on employee culture, we spoke to long-time IABC EMENA supporter Sheila Parry on the launch of her book, "Take PRIDE", the thinking behind this business model and the response to PRIDE at the recent IABC UK event. Sheila talks us through how PRIDE - Purpose, Reputation, Integrity, Direction and Energy - can create a work environment where people respect each other, understand and share goals, want to contribute and know that they are valued. Enjoy the listen and remember to subscribe to our weekly podcasts.

The past week hasn't been the best for media in the region. We sat down with Scott Shuey and Ed Clowes from Gulf News to talk about why the media matters and how PR people can improve their engagement with the media. IABC is an organization that is committed to a free press globally.

Communicators often talk about speaking truth to power; the reality is that we find it difficult to address sensitive issues directly and openly. We sat down with Dawn Metcalfe, the managing director of consultancy PDSi and the author of the book and training course HardTalk, on how we can encourage and promote environments where people feel comfortable talking about the challenges they and the organization are facing. Enjoy the podcast, and subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode.

The IABC EMENA Podcast caught up with Arun Sudhaman, the CEO of the Holmes Report, who talked about his views on the state of the industry, and advice for where communicators should invest in when it comes to being prepared for the future of the industry. Arun also discusses public relations in emerging markets, and how communicators in mature markets can learn from their colleagues across the developing world.

We were joined at EMENA Leadership Institute by Chief Storyteller Stuart Maister, who shared his process of how best to develop a story. He sat down with us to talk about narrative building and the importance of values to today's audience. Enjoy the podcast and subscribe.

We're at Leadership Institute and we recorded a special podcast with Lina Jakučionienė, the chairwoman of the Lithuanian Communications Association and EACD Ambassador in Lithuania. Lina spoke to us about leadership in the industry, how the profession is developing in the Baltics, and her advice for young communicators.

One of our stand-out speakers at this year's EMENA Leadership Institute was Andrius Grigorjevas. Andrius spoke in depth about the gaming industry, a business which made more than US$100 billion last year. He shared a number of lessons that communicators can adapt from the gaming industry. In the podcast Andrius shares his views on concepts such as the extended product lifecycle of games, how game developers manage communities, and how games leverage engagement mechanics such as in-game rewards. We hope you enjoy the podcast as much as we did speaking to Andrius.

This week on the IABC EMENA podcast we talk to Ophelie Janus, the head of MarCom and digital communication for the Middle East at Siemens. Ophelie shares a remarkable case study of how she and the comms team in the Middle East have built an employee social advocacy program that has managed to reach over 23 million people. Have a listen to Ophelie as she describes how Siemens has engaged with employees to raise brand awareness with amazing results.

This week on the IABC EMENA podcast we talk to PR measurement expert Steph Bridgeman on the values and skills we all need to foster a culture of measurement. Steph also talks about how measurement is progressing within the communications industry. Follow Steph on Twitter at @stephbridgeman, and subscribe to the IABC EMENA podcast.

This week on the IABC EMENA podcast we talk to Stephen Welch who is leading on the call for speakers for this year's EMENAComm. Stephen shares insights into the type of speakers and event he'd like to see taking place in Bahrain, in February 2019, as well as tips and hints for those thinking of applying. For more information on EMENAComm, especially if you're looking to speak at the event, go to this link - www.bit.ly/EMENAComm