PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - Head of the Bandung City Communication and Informatics Agency (Diskominfo) Yayan A. Brilyana assessed that the image of the regional government is not formed instantly, a good image must be built, managed, and maintained sustainably.

This was stated by Yayan during the Seminar and Handover of the Position of the Young Public Relations of Bandung City which was held at the Bandung Islamic University (Unisba), Saturday (22/3/2025).

According to him, public trust is highly dependent on that image. Without proper communication, government programs, no matter how good, can lose public support.

Therefore, Yayan emphasized the importance of the role of public relations in building healthy public communication in the digital era.

On that occasion, Yayan revealed five communication strategies implemented by the Bandung City Government to build public trust:

1. Transparency and active communication through various media, including social media and face-to-face meetings.

2. Building a narrative that is relevant and touches the hearts of the people, such as the "Free Nutritious Meals" program which is packaged as a caring movement.

3. Involve stakeholders and communities collaboratively in building city narratives.

4. Prepared and responsive crisis management, for example handling the waste crisis with the narrative “Bandung Moving Together.”

5. Building the Bandung City brand as a creative, innovative and youth-friendly city.

In addition, Yayan believes that public relations today must be able to adapt to technological developments, including artificial intelligence (AI) and social media.

"Now public relations needs to adapt to AI and technological developments in social media, the world of public relations continues to evolve. If the Bandung City Government does not keep up with the times, it will be left behind. As many as 85.2% of Bandung City residents are internet users who search for information through social media such as Tiktok and Instagram," he said.

Representative of Perhumas Indonesia, Dian Agustina Nurima, also highlighted the importance of strategic communication in building public trust, especially in the digital era.

"As PR people, we understand how important the role of strategic communication is in building public trust in the government. In the digital era, PR has increasingly complex tasks," he said.

Dian also highlighted Indonesia's progress in the field of digital news. Progress is seen in the field of digital news, from the UN E-Government Survey 2024, Indonesia managed to rise 13 ranks with a score of 0.791, placing it for the first time in the Very High E-Government Development Index category.

"This increase reflects the government's commitment to utilizing technology," he said.

This event was attended by academics, public relations practitioners, public officials, and speakers from various communication and public relations sectors.

Through this momentum, it is hoped that the synergy between the government, public relations community, and society will be stronger in realizing a superior, open, trustworthy, advanced, and religious Bandung (Bandung Utama).