There is a need for preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE) programs to engage in public relations (PR) to promote transparency and proper communication. It is observed that PCVE programs are limited only to counterparts such as potential institutions and stakeholders, for example, police, other intelligence agencies, and judicial and education bodies which are sometimes considered as “public relation”. The real nature of this consideration develops a challenge that the PCVE implementer needs to address and that is to spread information regarding the programs in order to attract and show the greater involvement of civil society and government in public.
The utilization of PR in PCVE differs from that of the PCVE of government and private institutions/organizations. In private-run PCVE, they are more likely using PR to boost their donations and recognitions to gather funds, aside from informing the public. In government-initiated PCVE, they are only within the vicinity of their partner institution and stakeholders, just to meet their goals. Although private-run PCVE seems good, they are also lacking in stakeholder partnership wherein they have limited resources for intelligence gathering unlike in government-run PCVE. The attributes for both programs are vital for the survival of PCVE. In other words, government and private institutions need to work together to improve the PCVE programs and include PR within their activities.
Moreover, PR needs to be proactive in order to disseminate accurate information and promote fair coverage of the PCVE programs. Research suggests that in the initial stages of a PCVE program, media or other PR-related bodies should be included and be utilized to promote their policies from beginning up to the end of the program. Another research suggests that having PR included in the program can establish transparency and can bolster the level of trust and support from the public. This can be achieved if the information about the program will reach people that allows them to understand the importance of it.
In the end, PR based on transparency should be included in the PCVE program from the start up to the end. It is recommended by the researchers that PR should also be included in the program design of PCVE and not only by tapping them when the program starts. This can lead the PCVE to be more proactive and transparent in the community where they can reach out more people and disseminate their information effectively. However, to advance the capability of PR in PCVE programs, researchers collate more evidence and weigh the negative and positive results of PR to craft a suited PR-based program for the PCVE in community.
