The VI International Annual GR-Forum 2023, held on June 9th, 2022, in Washington, DC, brought together professionals from around the world, including lobbyists, lawyers, political communications specialists, PR specialists, and representatives of related fields. The event featured keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities to help attendees enhance their understanding of political and economic challenges, business opportunities and strategies to mitigate them. On the meeting, the participants discussed the best practices of advocacy, lobbing, government relations from professionals all over the world.
The forum included four panel discussions.
Panel 1. GR-community after COVID-19 and in the period of Russia aggression: modern challenges in establishing a dialogue with the authorities, key market challenges, lobbying and GR in emerging markets, how the market has changed: digital indicators, analysis of the state of the market according to the official data of the registers, big business influence – lobbying or intervention to public policy, exchange of expert positions and opinions
Speakers: Ariel Cohhen, Mihael Cigler, Reverend (Dr) Felix Dela Klutse, David Baxter, Sergey Stanovkin – moderator.
Mihael Cigler, CEO “MC Public Affairs” and president and chairman of the association f o r legal
lobbying (Slovenia)
Panel 2. The best cases of lobbying and GR from around the world. Best tools: providing the best communication cases by lobbyists with different countries, successful experience of regulation in different countries, work experience of specialists in GR and in-house lobbying, public organizations, specialized associations, the most effective tools for GR and lobbying ● exchange of expert positions and opinions, GR and lobbying in countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the USA: experience exchange.
Speakers: Adam Raezler, Kateryna Odarchenko, Vadym Cherdak, Tim Shelberg – moderator.
Adam Raezler, vice president of “The McKeon Group, Inc.”
Panel discussion 3. Lobbing in the USA: features of the work of lobbyists in the USA, features of work on business lobbying of American projects in the world, features of the work of foreign agents, the most effective methods of building a dialogue with the authorities in the USA.
Speakers: Kendall Coffey – moderator, Dina Ellis, Rabbi Berel Wolwowsky, Howard Marlow.
Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida (1993-1996); a founding member of the law firm Coffey Burlington, PL
Side event – Advocacy for Ukraine: what we can do now?
Today all of the democratic world stands against Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. We all do a lot for charity help, searching for solutions to humanitarian crises, and helping refugees. All democratic allies give military aid and weapons to help Ukraine win in this war. Now, we are thinking in advance about “Marshall’s plan” for Ukraine and the future of this country in the center of Europe. In discussion, we will work on questions: Current situation Methods of lobbying and advocacy for Ukraine Humanitarian crisis Russian sanctions, economy situation from broking supply chains to grown Ukraine – US cooperation, US help in details: bills, new relief packages, next year plans, presentation of Ukraine humanitarian headquarters and their projects.
Moderator – Kateryna Odarchenko, Michael Caputo, Kendall Coffey, Anna Skorohod.
