The PR Trust launches the Future Communicators Foundation (FCF) with a US$ 100,000 donation from its Canadian founder, Allard W. van Veen, along with US$ 50, 000 in award funding from founding sponsors SPRG Asia (Hong Kong), fischerAppelt (Germany), FINN Partners (New York), and Adfactors PR (India). The Foundation will provide scholarships and bursaries to the world’s future communicators, with a focus on young scholars and aspiring professionals in developing countries and underserved communities. The donation funds will directly support recipients, with additional funding provided through The PR Trust to administer the Foundation over the next five years. The Foundation aims to inspire others, including agencies and clients, to contribute towards a worldwide effort to support the future of communications.
The Future Communicators Foundation (FCF) builds on The PR Trust’s commitment to providing aspiring young professionals with learning opportunities and outreach programs that foster communication skills around social justice, sustainability, civil society, and compassion. The Foundation funds scholarships that provide for academic and professional study in communications, bursaries for professional development, and travel assistance to conferences. The Foundation cultivates tomorrow’s communications leaders by providing the financial means to facilitate personal and professional growth.
The Foundation will especially fund access to communications education, tools, and training in underserved and underrepresented communities. Van Veen says he was motivated to support young people in developing countries by his sister, who served as a healthcare professional in Sierra Leone, running three medical outreach hospitals for many years. “I learned a lot from her about the lack of opportunity for young people in remote communities,” he says. “Whether we are engaged in preventing disease or promoting sustainability, the world needs effective communicators who can tell their own stories.”
The first annual Future Communicators Scholarship will be open to senior undergraduates and young professionals in the communications, public relations, and journalism fields. Scholarships will be available at select universities and through agency partnerships worldwide, as well as Foundation funded bursaries for universities in underserved communities and developing countries.
As Founder and Chair of The PR Trust, Allard W. van Veen has over fifty years of experience in the global communications and public relations industries. He started The PR Trust to assist students and young professionals in the communications profession, while supporting outreach initiatives in the developing world through learning opportunities and education outreach. “I believe that education enhances the communication skills we need to better global civil society, particularly around issues of climate sustainability and social justice,” he says.
As a Fellow and Honourary Life Member of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) and The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), Allard is the recipient of numerous industry recognitions including an Outstanding Individual Achievement SABRE Award and the inaugural Founder’s Award from PROI Worldwide. From 1979–1986 he served as Agent General for The West Midlands (UK) in Canada and the US, and he is a former Honourary Representative of the London-based Canad–UK Chamber of Commerce. He is Founding Partner and former Global Chair of PROI Worldwide.
About The Future Communicators Foundation
The Future Communicators Foundation (FCF) provides aspiring young professionals with learning opportunities and outreach programs that foster communication skills around social justice, sustainability, and civil society. The Foundation aims to cultivate tomorrow’s communications leaders by providing the financial means to facilitate personal and professional growth. The FCF is administered by The PR Trust, a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization. The Board of Trustees is chaired by Richard Tsang (Hong Kong), and includes Andreas Fischer-Appelt (Germany), Peter Finn (USA), Madan Bahal (India), and Founder Allard W. van Veen (Canada).
As a non-profit organisation based in Turtle Island (Canada), The PR Trust acknowledges the shared unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) Nation and L’il’wat7úl (Lil’wat) Nation.
