English reading

A new chapter is opening for the French network for local public communication. After more than three years of publishing articles in English, Cap’Com has launched its own LinkedIn newsletter – and uncovered a whole new audience. Designed to exchange good practices and explore emerging trends, the content aims to build a shared culture of public communication that extends well beyond national borders.

Today, decisions to relocate are more carefully considered and are part of a long-term lifestyle change, in which community ties and local convenience are key factors. This is highlighted in the ‘Paris, I’m Leaving You’ study (Bastille, 2025). But how can we respond to the new aspirations of French people seeking a new place to live? Here’s a look at three drivers of attractiveness identified in the study, along with possible avenues for communicators to explore.

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a hard-hitting campaign urging passengers who witness aggressive behaviour or harassment on its network to step in safely. The initiative, released during the UK’s National Hate Crime Awareness Week, encourages bystanders to defuse situations by actively supporting the victim rather than confronting the aggressor.

Philosopher and author Emma Carenini explores the power of storytelling in our fragmented societies. For her, telling a story isn’t just an art of expression – it’s a way to shape the world. In this interview, she discusses the role of the public communicator as a modern “griot” – a contemporary storyteller, inspired by the West African tradition, who preserves collective memory and rebuilds social bonds through narrative and a deep understanding of reality. It’s a reflection on the power of the ‘meta-narrative’, at the intersection of mythology, truth and action.

Every year, local media gather in Nantes for the Local News Festival (FIL) to share their insights and best practices. For territorial communicators – central players in their local media ecosystem – these two days are a treasure trove of inspiration. From hands-on insights on AI and video trends to the shifting landscape of local news, plus strategies to tackle information fatigue ahead of a major local election… we catch the “feel” of the 2025 edition to bring fresh ideas to local authorities.

Too often overlooked or criticised, the international work of local authorities plays a far more important role than many realise. To ensure it is understood and supported, public communication must help make its purpose, impact and added value visible.

The Club of Venice convened in London on the 12 and 13 March 2025. The representatives of EU public communication were joined by academics, diplomats, journalists and institutional leaders to debate an issue faced by one and all: how to communicate in a time of crisis when the very notion of truth has become a subject of controversy. Natalie Maroun took the floor on behalf of the Cap'Com network in the session “Preparing for a Crisis” to explain why we can no longer respond to crises as we did in the past. Here are some of the insights she shared.

At the Plumes d’excellence 2025 gala, the equivalent of the Cap’Com Grands Prix in Quebec, the city of Saint-Charles-Borromée won two prizes: the Plume d’or in the digital communication category, and most importantly the highest distinction, the Grande Plume 2025, for his children’s day-care centre application.

Every year, the Deauville Green Awards – International festival of eco-responsible film – spotlight the power of images and stories to foster environmental, economic and social transitions. From animation technique to the popularisation of science, we look back over three effective, hard-hitting productions entered in the 14th edition, in which Cap’Com took part as member of the jury.

Of the many changes of logo or visual identity recorded in the communities since 2020, my own monitoring effort identified similar initiatives in nearly 45 towns in Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Canada. Let’s observe a selection of logos of French-speaking towns that are particularly interesting because of both their initiatives and their results. These examples could be sources of inspiration for future changes of identity following the upcoming elections. 🙂

He applies a project-management method drawn from his industrial engineering background and turns it into a major asset: on the shop floor, he asks everyone for their opinion, then calls on a team to impart a new regional dynamic. We met Eddy Métivier, the mayor of Matane, on the banks of the Saint-Laurent in Quebec.

On 15 May 2025, the WBCOM’ network held its Rencontres de la com communication symposium on “Reinventing AI: new tools, and recent and future developments”. Advances in the field roll by at breakneck speed, and with four speakers from a varied backgrounds, the Association of Belgian Francophone communicators, which is partnered with Cap’Com, painted a picture that resonated equally well with cyborgs as with centaurs (see Cap'Com AI 2024 infographic).

On one hand, local authorities construct place branding strategies to leverage their attractiveness and the feeling of belonging to their territory. On the other hand, commercial brands construct a locally-based imaginary world, using advertising approaches that, in recent years, have latched onto the “local” factor. Shouldn’t we be factoring in these imaginary worlds put out by the brands?

On the south bank of the Saint-Laurent River in Quebec - Canada, Kim Bergeron, communication and public affairs adviser at the La Matanie Regional County Municipality (a community of municipalities), is working on prompts to help her on the job. She won’t be beaten by the untamed nature of the Gaspésie region, nor by ChatGPT: she has everything under control!

What role can public institutions play in defining standards for AI? Questioned during a break in the recent days devoted to examining the OECD’s public communication network, Andréa Baronchelli, a professor at City University London and a specialist on the subject, reminded listeners of the role of the law and empirical practices in constructing a normative framework. However he also underscored the importance for organisations of adopting standards suited to the issues of transparency, responsiveness and customisation, which ensure an ethical and effective use of AI.

How can stakeholders refresh their communication on a leading subject, a marker of the local heritage already covered countless times? The communication specialists at Eurêka, the Eure department’s marketing agency, have addressed this issue with regard to the 150th anniversary of impressionism with a healthy dose of daring and have managed to create a novel connection between territory and trend. We unpack their “First impression” campaign, which won the Cap’Com Grand Prix 2024.

The relations between institutions and all public-sector communicators in their efforts to combat fake news were at the centre of debate during the plenary meeting of the Club of Venice, attended by European governments’ communicators, on 5 and 6 December 2024 in Italy. Cap’Com, an associate member of the Club, took the opportunity to put a few questions to the organisation’s secretary general, Vincenzo Le Voci.

For Kristina Plavšak Krajnc, independent international correspondent and director of Media Forum, the key to strengthening democratic resilience lies in effective public communication. With more than 20 years of experience, she works to raise professional standards in the communication of public institutions and raise awareness of good practices.

Since 2020, the mission of the Public Communication Network - part of the OECD's Open Government Unit - has been to promote citizen-centred public communication as a tool for policy development and open government. The network's 8th meeting was held at the OECD headquarters in Paris on 5 and 6 June 2024. Cap'Com was among those attending.

Canadians are a mischievous lot. With 65,000 French residents, it seemed only right that Tourisme Montréal should ask for the Olympic torch to pass through the city The request is symbolic, but the call to visit their city, which was posted on YouTube at the end of April (2 million views), is very real.