Yogyakarta, July 30, 2025 – Sekolah Vokasi Gadjah Mada University (SV UGM) held the 2025 SV UGM Public Relations Capacity Building Workshop as a way to strengthen the role of public relations in facing communication challenges in the digital age. Held in Room 204, 2nd Floor, Teaching Industry Learning Center (TILC) Building, this activity involved public relations leaders and managers from departments and study programs within SV UGM, as well as staff from the UGM central office.
The event was officially opened by Dr. Wiryanta, S.T., M.T., as Vice Dean for Research and Community Service. In his speech, he emphasized the importance of building adaptive public relations skills and carefully reading public communication situations.
“The truth today is no longer a matter of substance, but of perception. In the world of social media, right and wrong are often determined by how we package information. As readers and communicators, we must be observant in interpreting information,” he said.
Furthermore, he explained that this activity was a response to a special request from the UGM PR office, which emphasized the importance of preparedness in facing organizational crises. “We hope that our colleagues, as the spearhead of vocational public relations, will be able to position themselves appropriately, both personally and institutionally, in facing crises that may arise in our environment,” he added.
The main material in this workshop was presented by Winda Mizwar Pratiwi, S.E., M.I.Kom., a founder, business owner, strategic communications consultant, marketing communications practitioner, and lecturer. With a multidisciplinary background and extensive experience in public communications, she presented material entitled “Crisis Management and Proactive Communications.”
In her presentation, she emphasized that handling organizational crises is not only a matter of quick response, but also of building empathy, creating the right narrative, and ensuring systemic readiness in facing public dynamics. “The key to weathering a storm of issues is the ability to see, hear, calm, connect, protect, and give hope. This is not just a technical step, but an effort to build trust amid tension,” she explained.
She also introduced the “organizational senses” approach as a form of institutional sensitivity to potential crises. This concept involves the role of the “public eye” in monitoring social media, “social ears” to capture unrest, “organizational skin” to feel the emotional temperature, “issue nose” to detect small sparks of gossip, and “conscience” to gauge responses.
“We must learn to read crisis signals before they become a big wave, and that can only be done if we are sensitive to the communication landscape,” she said.
As part of the hands-on training, workshop participants took part in a crisis simulation titled “Vocational Under Pressure.” In this session, participants were divided into four teams to conduct a simulated press conference and practice question and answer sessions with the media and police. In this session, participants were trained to convey institutional messages calmly and purposefully. “When arguing, position yourself as an organization, not as an individual. This is important to maintain the integrity of the institution. Emotional awareness and understanding of how audiences receive information are key to shaping public narratives,” explained Winda.
During the discussion and question-and-answer session, steps to clarify issues that arise in the public sphere were also discussed. One important conclusion that emerged was that not all issues need to be responded to quickly; rather, their urgency must first be analyzed. If an issue is no longer relevant (expired), then documenting the case becomes a strategic step to mitigate similar risks in the future.
Through this workshop, Sekolah Vokasi UGM hopes that public relations will not only function as a spokesperson, but also as the front line in building trust, maintaining reputation, and developing measurable communication strategies based on values of integrity.
Writer: Febriana Trisnawati