It was an evening of learning, networking and engagement last Saturday at D’Mellos Resto & Bar during the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) nite. They taught practitioners crisis management and the move was aimed at uplifting the standards of PR and promote the profession in the country.
The venue was filled and by 8pm there was no sitting space left. Those who came late had to follow proceedings while standing. The event was attended by PR professionals from Government, Corporate Organizations, NGO’s and the Media fraternity.
Giles Muhame, the managing editor of Chimp reports provided clear pointers on how public relations practitioners ought to handle their PR in this new age of technology and breaking news where time waits for no man: “”Public relations actors must follow the trends because monologue conversations are no more; new media has changed things to a more engaged conversation. Therefore you need to keep in touch with editors of online news sites and always be truthful when engaging with them” he said.
After the key note presentation by Giles Muhame, there was a roundtable discussion that featured some of Uganda’s best and most experienced public relations practitioners. Christine Alupo, the Director Communications at the Bank of Uganda (BOU), Samuel Apedel, the Public Relations Manager at National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and Bernard Tabaire, Director of Programmes, ACME (African Center for Media Excellence). They provided excellent insights on how public relations professionals ought to respond to PR crisis and emergencies.
Earlier on, Cynthia Mpanga the PRAU President, urged employers to avoid hiring public relations staff who didn’t belong to professional associations or bodies and urged all PR practitioners to keep networking and engaging in such events as the PRAU Nite.
