One hundred and thirty days ago, I took over APRA leadership from the distinguished Yomi Badejo-Okusanya in a colorful ceremony in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. A week following this, I launched a three-month listening tour. I spent my time doing four things:
1. Reading about APRA.
2. Talking with people: I spoke with 326 people from 28 countries.
3. Joining country events: I participated in 4 country- organized events around Africa that collectively gathered over 5,000 public relations practitioners; and
4. Connected and had several meetings with APRA staff.
As part of my listening tour, I engaged on and off social media with several people who reached out to me directly. also asked to speak to those who may not usually have the loudest voices. I posed questions about APRA’s vision, mission, impact, strategy, and how we relate to the rest of the world. I asked what we know from evidence, research, and data-and not only our own opinions. I tried to deeply understand our current ways of working, how they have been shaped by the past, and what they may mean for the future. I delighted in listening to stories about what motivates people and countries. to contribute to the public relations profession and to the community at large. I have today published a summary of my notes from these experiences, and the quotes I will share come from these conversations and reflections.
One key component of my listening tour was meeting and conversing with our 24 public relations national presidents and country representatives, These are our respectable leaders from Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Finally, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with four sitting African Ministers of Information and Communication from four countries to understand how APRA can be more impactful.
Several hundred conversations later, and conscious that our calendar year has already started, I want to share with you the four “riddles” that will shape the priorities for my first year as the President of the African Public Relations Association. I know that I haven’t learned everything, and I haven’t spoken to everyone, but I have chosen to describe what I have heard and seen so far as “riddles” because they will require collective ingenuity and shared problem-solving if we are to achieve ambitious aspirations and tackle complex challenges.
The Riddles
Riddle 1: What does Africa need from us right now?
In today’s digitally connected Africa, we are witnessing several global issues that require organizations and professions to come together for collective problem-solving.
The popular topic in all of my conversations was the need for APRA to restructure its work and systems to be able to work together with continental and regional organizations such as the African Union. Southern African Development Community, the East African Community, the Economic Community of West African States, Indian Ocean Commission, and others to continue safeguarding peace, protecting human rights, increasing healthcare, establishing frameworks for international justice, tackling climate change, and promoting economic and social progress. For Africa to be able to continue doing this, it needs us the public relations practitioners.
My riddle: As the African Public Relations Association, how can we help our leaders and critical continental and regional organizations to listen, to speak, and to communicate strategically? Our profession is key in determining whether Africa will thrive or fail because we impact productivity, innovation, brand awareness, and so much more. Are we giving Africa what it needs from us?
Riddle 2: How do we create impact as a continent?
A worrying number of people shared with me that we are not accelerating efforts to unify Africa fast enough. Some mentioned that we could start by ensuring that our communication is representative of the diverse languages spoken in Africa-not just English.
I heard some say that they “are fearful that APRA is being left behind and that it will die due to stagnation, and others express alarm that “we are not innovating fast enough.” Nearly every conversation touched on our vision, mission, and purpose, and the ability to stay focused, agile, and ahead of the technological trends when it comes to connecting with Africans and promoting Africa.
My riddle: As the African Public Relations Association, how can we be consistent in forming and maintaining positive relationships while building trust with priority stakeholders in Africa? How can we effectively work with our internal stakeholders? Aren’t these interactions necessary for our growth and existence?
Riddle 3: Are we tech-enabled to survive this generation?
During my listening tour, I met with university students and recent college graduates from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, and Kenya to talk about the future of the profession and the needs of the new generation of practitioners. These conversations have prompted me to contemplate whether APRA is equipped to survive the technological advancements and the dynamism of this generation.
In my conversation with the young practitioners, I was reminded of the inherent value of communication. The ability of using communication to overcome differences and inspire the next generation, and the vast human capital we have across Africa that we can tap into to help us advance and catch up with technology.
My riddle: As the African Public Relations Association, do we understand that we can break down misunderstandings and barriers and grow closer to this generation, and at the same time we can compound misunderstandings and grow apart from this generation? This work will not happen overnight, as it takes time, effort, and commitment. However, will APRA commit to develop and execute meaningful strategically aligned communications with this new generation?
Riddle 4: What is our position on data and research?
In my conversations with several people, I noticed that it was convenient for us to say that data and research should be used by APRA to make informed decisions, improve on strategies, and help continental and regional bodies achieve their goals faster. Five big questions for me were: What data? What research? Where? How will we do it? With what resources?
On the data and research issue, there was no shortage of opinions about APRA’s priorities, resource allocation, and roadmap. I heard that we may be ‘too large’ to undertake national data and research industry benchmarks and that we may not have enough resources’ to undertake. continental data and research investments.
My riddle: What is APRA without research and data-driven knowledge? As the African Public Relations Association, do we understand that data and research are instrumental in shaping African conversations and that it should be core to our vision and mission? While I cannot solve this riddle alone, can I take accountability for the leadership, focus, and clarity that will be needed to begin closing the data and research gap between where we are and where we need to be?
My incoming priorities
Priority 1: Reimagine APRA’s planning and strategy
My top priority for the next one year, which is already underway, is reimagining APRA’s planning processes so that they are more visible, inspired, and integrated. I heard from many people that it was not clear what we are delivering or prioritiz- ing as Africa’s public relations continental body. I learned that historically our plan was focused on country-specific and regional silos and not holis- tically as a continent. How do we change this?
With the current Executive Committee, we have set aside the next six weeks to begin the pro- cess of visibly mapping our current work and the resources we will require. We will do this not only by relying on the standard metrics of an organizational work plan but also by creating a five-year strategic plan for APRA. As a start of this process, we met with the national presidents and country representatives and co-created this temporary work plan. We invite you to share any thoughts, additions, or subtractions that you may have with this first iteration. We acknowledge that it may need more refinement and improvement from the membership. All feedback should be shared through apracoordinator@afpra.org.
We are also seeking an individual or a firm that can help us create our five-year strategic plan. Having a proper strategy in place will help us to make day-to-day decisions that follow a larger vision, create a direction for our work, and maxi- mize our options for influencing the work currently underway by African continental and regional organizations such as the African Union, South- ern African Development Community, the East African Community, the Economic Community of West African States, Indian Ocean Commission, and others. This will also enable us to take action before problems reach crisis levels.
We are hoping that this strategic plan will help us focus on three areas that we have identified:
1. Building our membership, programmes, and profession.
2. Influencing the practice of ethical communi- cations in Africa.
3. Evolving APRA with tools and technology
These focus areas, combined with insights and feedback from all of you and guided by discus- sions and decision-making by our national presi- dent’s, will help APRA advance to the next level.
Therefore, we are inviting potential individuals or firms knowledgeable in the development of strategic plans to send us proposals and quotes based on our advertisement: Consultancy services for the development of APRA five year..
strategic plan. All emails should be sent to oppor tunities@afpra.org with the subject line clearly marked: Consultancy services for the develop- ment of APRA five-year strategic plan.
As part of our strategy development process, we will also start research collaborations with organizations that can help us to expand our knowledge on public relations trends in Africa. We want to answer key questions such as: What drives in- novation? What are some of the solutions to our continental problems? What are the challenges to the expansion of public relations across the con- tinent? Investing in quality research will enable us to solve problems and make informed decisions. This will in turn build our credibility and ultimately contribute to improving on the public relations data available about the continent since we will be working with evidence-based findings.
Our first research collaboration for this financial year is with our esteemed partner, the Public Re- lations and Communications Association (PRCA) Africa. This year’s in-depth research, conducted by Reputation Matters, delves into crucial as- pects of our industry from demographics and ethical practices to PR’s role in today’s business landscape, talent management strategies for the future, and the challenges and opportunities presented by the rise of remote work.
Both myself and Melissa Cannon, International Director of PRCA, are incredibly excited about this collaboration. We invite you to take part in the survey so that you can contribute to shaping the future of PR in Africa. All responses will be confidential, and the findings will be unveiled at the upcoming APRA Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, in 2025.
Priority 2: Reimagine APRA’s governance and leadership processes
Committees are the operating system of any membership organization because they involve members in the development and delivery of services, represent member opinion in decision- making, and help serve various member needs through interaction. Committees also offer the opportunity for group problem-solving as they provide a forum for presenting multiple points of view. They are also training grounds for APRA’S future leadership and an arena where emerging leaders can test and refine their skills and abilities.
That said, effective committees don’t just happen. They are a product of carefully planned and balanced representation of members, a clearly defined mission, objective, and work plan, a dedicated chair, and competent staffing. For these reasons, and because committee effectiveness will be critical to our operations, we are for the first time in the history of APRA announcing the formation of eight new committees.
These committees will be a critical foundation of our efforts to reimagine APRA’s planning, governance, and leadership processes. We are giving our members an opportunity to serve and add value to the profession by serving in these newly created committees, whose mandate will be to develop and review policies for the Executive Council’s approval and to monitor and evaluate implementation of the ratified policies.
We are therefore calling upon APRA members to offer themselves to serve the Association and offer their expertise in a Committee that is most relevant to them. Members wishing to commit their time and expertise for the benefit of the As- sociation are encouraged to apply by sending an email to opportunities@afpra.org with the subject line: Call to join APRA committees. We encourage you to read more about the committees in our call to join the APRA committees document before you apply.
Priority 3: Attracting and retaining global talent
The African Public Relations Association cannot exist and expand without talented employees in the correct positions. Equally, employee transitions are disruptive for most organizations, hence the need for us to retain the talent we already have.
My listening tour and onboarding over the past three months have given me a baseline understanding of the needs of APRA. I have a lot of work to do but am grateful to have already met and learned from Yomi Badejo-Okusanya and the national presidents and country representatives. In my interactions with these leaders, I have shared with them that now is a unique moment to capitalize on every opportunity we have of increasing impact through attracting and retaining global talent.
My most immediate task at this time is to actively step in and support APRA to have a strong leadership team. This now includes a promotion to a leadership position for one of our staff and the conversion of a temporary staff member to a full-time role.
Today we announce the promotion of Veronica. Abuede from Coordinator to Chief Administrative. Officer. As Chief Administrative Officer, Veronica will now be responsible for the day-to-day management of all affairs of the association in accordance with the APRA Constitution. She will also serve as the link between the Executive Council and the Secretariat by overseeing the implementation of policies, procedures, and guidelines that will ensure all APRA operations are in conformity with prevailing statutory and regulatory requirements. While doing this, she will lead the association in the development and implementation of the APRA five-year strategy as directed by the Executive Council.
We are also announcing the promotion of Sharon Onyema to the e-Communications Assistant role. For the time being, Sharon will work closely with the Chief Administrative Officer to digitize our processes and procedures. She will also step up our electronic communications to ensure our visibility increases. Please join me in congratulating both Veronica and Sharon for these well-deserved promotions that took effect on October 1, 2024.
Towards our expansion, we are today announcing an open position of Membership Services Officer.
The Membership Services Officer will report to the Chief Administrative Officer. The successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing and managing our member recruitment, engagement, retention, and operations strategies. The candidate will also be in charge of forging positive relations with national associations and other like-minded membership and professional associations. All interested candidates should apply by sending an email that includes a resume and cover note to opportunities@afpra.org with the subject line: Membership Services Officer. This role is open to anyone residing in Africa.
Priority 4: It’s time to move to the cloud
One of the biggest challenges that APRA is facing is digitization and data storage. For our expansion to be seamless, we will need to revolutionize the way we conduct business. This shift is not about embracing the next big thing, but rather, it is all about improving access to data, ensuring stronger security and compliance, improving our backup and recovery processes, optimizing our user experience, cost-saving, quicker data recovery during crises, and ensuring that we have better collaboration between the Executive Committee, the Secretariat, the Council, and the Committees.
Sharon, our e-Communications Assistant will lead these efforts while working closely with vendors that we will identify. After successful migration, we will embark on creating a new membership database and portal that will ensure seamless communication.
Other focus areas for my first year
As I settle into this role, I am actively thinking of ways to:
1. Fundraise for the work that is needed ahead. This includes the 50-year celebration of APRA;
2. Rolling out the APRA Secretariat 2024-2025 Work Plan;
3. Ensuring APRA shows up and supports national associations in the programmatic work they are doing in their various regions.
What next?
I am certain that many of you have detailed questions about these changes and the processes that are about to take place. I am also sure that I do not have all the answers to the many questions that you have. What I do know is that I will communicate monthly about this journey, especially now that we are deep into change, transition, and planning. The goal of my communication will be to share our thoughts about my incoming priorities and the journey to actualizing them.
Towards this, I am announcing the birth of APRA Monthly Townhalls. This will be a one-hour space, every month, to bring us together to talk about what is important and to get feedback on what is working and what could be better. The town halls will be held every second Thursday of the month. We will send the calendar invites soon.
Conclusion: Africa is Rising!
As I wind up this brief, I want to take a moment to share with you some valuable events that I have attended over the last five months. These events have demonstrated to me that the future of public relations in Africa is bright.