Ghana to Host
Ghana to Host African PR Conference in 2020
The African Public Relations Association (APRA) has announced Ghana
as the next of host of the annual African PR Conference and Award
in 2020.
The President of APRA, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya made the
announcement at the 31st Annual Conference of the professional body
which took place in Kigali, Rwanda.
He said a consensus was reached at the Executive level of the
association in granting Accra, the capital city of Ghana to host
the annual event in 2020.
Speaking on this year’s theme of the conference on ‘Africa and
Storytelling: Changing the Narrative,’ the President said the
conference is aimed at inspiring professionals and committed
individuals working in public relations, media, brand management,
advertising, and integrated marketing to communicate in an ethical
manner so that they contribute towards the African narrative.
He said the greatest challenge of Africa lies in her story and
how it is being told.
He said: “The Governments of Africa must take the task of
re-telling the African story a priority. The private sector must
create content that tell a compelling story through African brands.
The media must work to really counter hard the negative narratives.
Thanks to technology, there is no limit to spreading the word to
the world because we deserve a place there
“But more importantly, we as PR practitioners on the continent
must re-invent ourselves to meet the challenges of today’s
practice. We must champion the course of telling this compelling
story about Africa. We must know who we are, our purpose and what
we bring to the table in very clear terms,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Mr. Richard Sezibera, said though Africa is still heavily
defined as a dark continent in the media landscape, the negative
stereotypes about the continent can still be countered if African
Public Relations (PR) experts and practitioners tell the
continent’s story compellingly well.
Mr. Sezibera said “if we truly want to change this narrative, we
should start by telling the African story, by Africans, in Africa.
And it is not enough to just tell our story; we also need to tell
it well.”
He added: “For far too long, our story has been told by
outsiders in traditional media or through today’s digital media.
But retaking the control of this narrative will help us counter
negative stereotypes that often impede our development.
“Thus, it is crucial that all the key stakeholders involved in
telling the African stories meet in conferences like this one to
brainstorm on a way forward to empower African PR practitioners as
we continue to strengthen our Pan-African voice.
“One way to strengthen this African voice is linked to the rise
of new technologies on our continent as a tool to redefine the way
we are perceived by the rest of the world. African population has
embraced digital technology more rapidly than any other population.
The prominence of new technologies on our continent not only affect
how we access the news, but also shape our everyday life more
broadly.”
At the Conference themed, “Africa and Storytelling: Changing the
Narrative”, the Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister, also noted that
being able to change the narratives of the African continent is key
in ensuring that we achieve our common objectives as stipulated in
the “Agenda 2063: the Africa We Want”.
He said the digital revolution has created a powerful platform
for African PR practitioners to create and tell African stories,
adding that the new ways of communicating could ignite a news
Afro-positive sentiment through different and multi-directional
narratives about our continent.
By PRNigeria