Since the outbreak of the pandemic, mental health and well-being has plunged.

In 2020 alone, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25%. 

Widespread concerns around this drastic spike in mental illnesses prompted 90% of countries surveyed by the World Heath Organisation to include mental health and psychosocial support mechanisms in their COVID-19 response plans.

But today, major gaps and concerns remain, as the working world accelerates through this recovery phase, working hours get longer and working work remote options mean you’re never far away from your inbox.

So, how do we overcome this mental health morass and design more inclusive, wellbeing-oriented working environments?

Joining us to find some answers is Lianne Braganza-D’Sylva, Chief Marketing Officer, MEA at Cigna Insurance Middle East.

*Disclaimer: Cigna Insurance Middle East is an APCO Worldwide client. Participation in APCO content is not compensated.

The inevitable rise of e-commerce, waves of customer analytics, personalized sounds, smells and experiences and automated home delivery. 

The future of the retail landscape looks very different to the bricks and mortar physical buildings we interact with today. 

So how do conglomerates maintain the loyalty of their consumer base? And what role, if any can, rewards programmes play in incentivizing consumers who are more and more used to having what they want, when they want, to stay loyal to outlets?

Joining me to discuss this topic and more are Amir Atiatalla, Head of Dubai Holding’s Centre of Excellence and Ashwini Chitnis, Vice President of Marketing at Dubai Holding.

With the UAE transitioning to a new Monday to Friday working week, the business landscape in the Middle East has altered irreversibly. So, what are the challenges of this new playing field – for businesses, organisations and governments? And will more countries follow the UAE's lead? Scott Armstrong, Editor in Chief of Arabian Business, joins CommsLife to discuss what's going on.

Licy DoCanto, managing director of APCO’s headquarters in Washington DC’s and Stephanie Waties, senior director, APCO Worldwide, Washington, D.C., join the CommsLife team to discuss the future of travel.

As the fallout from the pandemic continues to evolve, the way we move, interact, and do business has been forever altered. 

The travel industry has encountered and embraced substantial change. 

For business travelers, what was once commonplace—a ticket purchase, pass through security and stop by concessions—faced extended pause. For industry leaders, raising the bar on health and safety standards was first in order. 

In 2020, total global business travel expenses contracted by 52 percent. While the recovery is in motion, the road ahead is predicted by many to be long and uneven one.

So what does this mean for the future of business travel, travel generally, and what impact does that have on our line of work – communications?

ESGs. SDGs. GHGs. NDCs. Whether it’s acronyms or the word itself, sustainability is on the tip of the tongue of every communicator today. 

Likewise, it’s at the top of every corporate and government agenda. 

But what is the substance behind the buzzword of the decade of action, and how do we know if something is genuinely sustainable, or if it’s simply greenwashing?

Alex Malouf, Corporate Communications Director for the Middle East and Africa at Schneider Electric joins us on CommsLife to get to the root of how companies are selling sustainability.

We are witnessing a "phenomenal pivot" from oil companies reinventing themselves to become energy companies. Strategic communications is pivotal to their success. Former CNN Emerging Markets Anchor John Defterios joins us in the CommsLife studio in APCO Worldwide's Dubai office to announce his move into strategic communications after a three-decade long career as a bastion of broadcasting, and to share his thoughts on the role of communications in positioning emerging markets like the UAE as the centre of today's globalized world.
 
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The CommsLife podcast by APCO Worldwide is available wherever you get your podcasts from, on any of the links here: https://linktr.ee/CommsLife
**
Music provided by HearWeGo (https://goo.gl/nDS3zR)
Artist: Nomyn Title: Astral
Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/C5OUN5OEBcs
Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/SyE_Nfp191s

The CommsLife podcast by APCO Worldwide is available wherever you get your podcasts from, on any of the links here: https://linktr.ee/CommsLife​ 

Disclaimer: UPS is an APCO Worldwide client. However, participation in APCO content is not compensated

Music provided by HearWeGo (https://goo.gl/nDS3zR​) 

Artist: Nomyn Title: Astral 

Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/C5OUN5OEBcs​ 

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/SyE_Nfp191s

"Young people most likely will be paying for the consequences of the pandemic, for a long time to come," a quote from Othman Almoamoar, the Chair of the 2020 Youth20 Engagement Group and research lead at Misk Foundation, on this week's episode of CommsLife.
 
 Communique-ting youth priorities with the top table of international policymakers. This week, Othman Almoamoar and host Thomas Billinghurst discuss the Youth20’s responsibility to represent young people and the impacts COVID-19 will have on the youth's ability to make an impact on the world we live in today. 
 
*New York Times article: Young People More Likely to Believe Virus Misinformation, Study Says –  September2020 

The CommsLife podcast by APCO Worldwide is available wherever you get your podcasts from, on any of the links here: https://linktr.ee/CommsLife​​

Music provided by HearWeGo (https://goo.gl/nDS3zR​​)

Artist: Nomyn 

Title: Astral

Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/C5OUN5OEBcs​​

Wiljan: https://soundcloud.com/wiljanmusic​​

Xandra: https://soundcloud.com/xandra​​

https://facebook.com/XandraaMusic​​

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/SyE_Nfp191s

Casual and fine dining have been the most disproportionately affected sectors in the global food and beverage industry, with sales in the US down by 80 and 85 percent respectively, in 2020.

With many of the world’s most esteemed restaurants unable to offer customers the experiences they pay top dollar for due to global lockdown restrictions, many have had to pivot, find alternative ways of generating revenues, or shut down – either temporarily or indefinitely.

So, how do they come back? And what are the most pressing challenges facing communicators in the f&b and hospitality space?

Joining us to discuss this topic is Mark Sansom, Content Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, The World’s 50 Best Bars and 50 Best Discovery.

* Forbes cited: World-Renowned Chef Daniel Boulud Shares His Recipe For Success Amid Covid-19 

The CommsLife podcast by APCO Worldwide is available wherever you get your podcasts from, on any of the links here: https://linktr.ee/CommsLife​​

Music provided by HearWeGo (https://goo.gl/nDS3zR​​)

Artist: Nomyn 

Title: Astral

Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/C5OUN5OEBcs​​

Wiljan: https://soundcloud.com/wiljanmusic​​

Xandra: https://soundcloud.com/xandra​​

https://facebook.com/XandraaMusic​​

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/SyE_Nfp191s

As we celebrate and recognise the theme for International Women’s Day 2021, Choose to Challenge, we bring on Samar Alshorafa, Founding CEO of She is Arab to dive into the topic of women empowerment in the region. We identify how and who the change drivers are in changing perceptions of the modern working woman and more exclusively, how the platform She is Arab is overturning female stereotypes in the Arab World.

* CNN Business Article cited: Female Fortune 500 CEOs reach an all-time high, but it's still a small percentage

The CommsLife podcast by APCO Worldwide is available wherever you get your podcasts from, on any of the links here: https://linktr.ee/CommsLife​​

Music provided by HearWeGo (https://goo.gl/nDS3zR​​)

Artist: Nomyn 

Title: Astral

Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/C5OUN5OEBcs​​

Wiljan: https://soundcloud.com/wiljanmusic​​

Xandra: https://soundcloud.com/xandra​​

https://facebook.com/XandraaMusic​​

Music provided by RFM: https://youtu.be/SyE_Nfp191s

*Disclaimer: She is Arab is an APCO Worldwide client. However, participation in APCO content is not compensated