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The Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa and the Zambia Public Relations Association have reopened collaboration talks aimed at expanding their impact on the Southern African Development Community region.
The two public relations and communication management bodies have engaged on possible collaboration since 2016 and these were reignited by the keynote address I delivered during the Zambia Public Relations Association’s recent conference.
The annual conference was held at the David Livingstone Safari Lodge and Spa, Livingstone in Zambia under the theme, “Communication for development in the era of fake news”.
There is no contention that digital media and the emergence of community journalism had to some extent resulted in public relations and media losing control over content production and distribution.
The observation is that the fake news phenomenon has potential to undermine developmental objectives of the public relations and communication efforts, whilst it also presents an opportunity to raise the bar in terms of the industry skills set.
The Zambia Public Relations Association’s efforts of putting together the Zambia Institute of Public Relations draft Bill to be tabled before the Zambian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services by the end of March is commendable.
The Bill is earmarked to become an act of Parliament by the end of the calendar year, whereas it is aimed at restricting entry into the industry and setting minimum qualifications for practicel.
It will further enable only practitioners registered with the professional body to practice, regulate standards and ensure ethical conduct.
Besides South Africa, the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa largely has members in Botswana and Namibia.
Looking within an South African context, the institute is an original signatory and an integral stakeholder of the Marketing, Advertising and Communication Sector Code which was gazetted in 2016.
The institute has made the following commitment in the code.
“Transformation is the implementation of fundamental changes to the way we do things to become and remain a successful organisation. The availability of various talent, competencies and cultural backgrounds among members of the institute will enhance performance and stature.
"Therefore, the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa is committed to a process of transformation that will accelerate opportunities for diversity and growth and will make its membership representative of the South African population at all levels.”
On that note, the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa continue having discussions on a transformation framework, which it is aimed at repositioning the institute as a credible industry body through:
• Relevance for the industry and its professionals – voice of excellence;
• Accessibility and support of professionals – networking and collaboration;
• Credible body of knowledge – research;
• Inclusivity – transformation agenda;
• Standards of best practice – accreditation;
• Continuous Development – training and development; and
• Recognition and reward – best practice.
The Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa’s professional designations, namely; Public Relations Practitioner, Chartered Public Relations Practitioner and Accredited in Public Relations are registered on the South African Qualifications Authority’s National Qualifications Framework database.
As we navigate the wave of fake news and also trying to remain focused on development communication, perhaps we should have in mind pearls of wisdom from Stellenbosch University Law Faculty Trust Chair for Social Justice and retired South African Public Protector, Professor Thuli Madonsela, “Through life I have learned that the most important critic whose judgment of my actions matters is my conscience.”
• Maubane (@MaleselaB) is a public relations strategist and President of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa. He delivered the
Keynote address at the Zambia Public Relations Association’s conference’s “reignite collaboration” talks.
The point of the collaboration is knowledge sharing, possibly through an exchange programme (South Africa, Botswana and Namibia practitioners offering training or presentations in Zambia and vice versa), which is a step towards public relations and communication management integration in the SADC region.
