Farzana Baduel
President-elect (2026) of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and CEO and Co-founder of Curzon PR (UK), is a leading specialist in global strategic communications. She advises entrepreneurs at Oxford’s Said Business School, co-founded the Asian Communications Network (UK), and serves on the boards of the British Asian Trust, the Halo Trust, and Soho Theatre. Recognised on the PRWeek Power List and Provoke Media’s Innovator 25, she also co-hosts the podcast, Stories and Strategies. Farzana champions diversity, social mobility, and the power of storytelling to connect worlds.
WHEN WOMEN LEAD, NATIONS RISE
In the grand committee rooms of the British Parliament, under the portraits of old white men and centuries of history, I sat among women who embodied a new kind of leadership.
RAISING THE RESILIENT GENERATION
When I was growing up, slippers could fly. Not figuratively, but quite literally across the room. Discipline was swift, emotional, and entirely unfiltered. It was how many of us learned boundaries, accountability, and a certain rough-edged resilience. You got scolded, you cried, you moved on.
The Stories That Bind Us
From ancient myth to modern cinema, the same universal story continues to unfold. What Joseph Campbell called “the hero’s journey” is not only found in books and films, but also in the lives we live and the stories we tell in Sri Lanka and beyond.
Learning the Art of Negotiation
For years I mistook people pleasing for diplomacy. It took time, training and humility to realise that negotiation is not conflict but connection. I have always been a people pleaser. Even as a child, I would go
The Currency of Influence In everyday life, persuasion, not power, moves the world forward.
Last week in New York, I found myself watching the dance of influence at the United Nations General Assembly. Delegations swept into meetings with carefully chosen phrases. Leaders leaned into the right photo opportunities. Civil society groups worked the corridors, and corporate chiefs reminded everyone that markets can move faster than treaties.
Manufacturing Consent
Edward Bernays was born in 1891 in Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His family emigrated to New York when he was still a child. He had a unique connection: he was the nephew of
FROM COLOMBO TO NEW YORK WHY SRI LANKA NEEDS ITS OWN STAGE AT THE UN
As Sri Lanka marks 70 years as a UN member amid shifting global power, the global south must stop waiting for invitations. By creating its own presence during United Nations General Assembly week through
When Fear Marches Through London
That was the message flooding WhatsApp groups in South Asian communities across London last week.
Soft Power, Strong Future: Why Sri Lanka’s Story Matters.
There is something magical about Westminster on a crisp London evening. Last week, as I walked past the historic buildings glowing in the soft light, I felt the hum of global conversations taking place all around me. Diplomats, academics, journalists and policymakers were gathering for the launch of the Foreign Policy Centre’s latest report on soft power, and I was lucky enough to be in the room. As I listened to the discussions, it struck me tha
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