Deputy Minister of Information, Fatimatu Abubakar, has called on all Public Relations (PR) practitioners in the country to take up the challenge of ensuring that the tenets of truth, trust and transparency are employed in their communication strategies.
She noted that it was essential to abide by these principles if they wanted to successfully build relationships, prevent crises and achieve their business objectives.
Hon. Fatimatu Abubakar made this call while delivering the keynote address at the maiden thought-leadership event organized by Global Media Alliance to celebrate the World PR Day.
The Summit held under the theme, ‘The Evolution of PR: Shifting Skillset Required of Today’s PR Professional,’ assembled the PR professionals’ community, people in academia and communication experts at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra on Friday, 15 July 2022.
The Minister disclosed that the government, through its PR Machinery, the Information Ministry, continues to ensure that truth, truth and transparency are employed as essential ingredients in effectively managing the economy.
She intimated that the government’s numerous interventions and initiatives which include the passing of the Right to Information Bill into Law and the launch of Ghana’s Opening Extractive Programme by the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, among other initiatives, have advanced the agenda of openness in governance, provided accurate and reliable information and promoted accountability.
She also noted that, more recently, the government’s communication effort during the outbreak of COVID-19 was successful because of adopting these tenets in its public communication.
“The global spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) was accompanied by a wave of misinformation that was undermining policy responses and amplifying distrust and concern among citizens. Governments leveraged on public communication to counteract misinformation and support policy. The efficacy of these actions depended on grounding them in open government principles, chiefly transparency, to build trust in public institutions,” she explained.
According to her, people want to exist in an environment that allows them to have greater clarity of thought by eliminating the unknown that continues to creep into their minds with each decision they make or relationship they foster. Therefore, individuals, organizations and the government must make use of proper PR strategies while including the principles of truth, trust and transparency.
Global Media Alliance, a leading integrated marketing and communication company, held the first-ever thought-leadership event in Ghana to celebrate the Annual World PR Day.
Launched in 2021, World PR Day is celebrated on 16th July to forge a global agenda about Public Relations; by raising awareness of the importance of Public Relations, reiterating the importance of responsible communication and helping organizations, governments and developmental agencies to be more deliberate about using public relations to build, innovate and develop businesses and society at large.
The 2022 World PR Day was celebrated under the theme, ‘Truth, Trust and Transparency.’
