• Chairperson of the Public Relations Society of Malawi, MR LEWIS MSASA, and your Governing Council
• The keynote speaker, MD for FDH Bank, Mr Thom Mpinganjira
• All speakers at this conference, both Local and Foreign
• Special Organising Committee of the Conference
• Conference Delegates and members of PRSM
• Members of the Press
• Ladies and Gentlemen

It is with greatest pleasure, honour and privilege that I stand before you to officially open this important conference, which is under the theme “Enhancing the role of PR in digital age: implications for practitioners.”

The High Commissioner, Ms Holly Tett, was looking forward to gracing this conference but due to some last-minute commitments she could not make it. She extends her best wishes to you all as you deliberate very important issues that will help drive your association and the PR field in Malawi to greater heights.

I said it was a great honour and privilege to be here today because, for the British High Commission in Malawi, this marks yet another opportunity to be involved in your activities, at a time when you are in your formative stages and the glorious and lasting history of PR in Malawi has just begun to be written.

I am aware that the High Commissioner was here last year when you gathered for the first ever annual general meeting, and it is pleasing that a year later you have converged at Nkopola for the inaugural annual conference since the inception of PRSM. Congratulations for this important milestone!

Distinguished conference participants, the PR industry in Malawi is young and growing. However, the roles that you play in society such as—building trust and credibility with your respective organisations’ publics; awareness raising, management of crises and defending reputation from attacks—is critical. PRSM has come on the scene in times that are both interesting, exciting and challenging. We are in the digital age. Many of you will not have a chance to practice PR in a traditional way as it were but will have to operate in this ‘Brave New World’ of technology. It is thus gratifying to note that the theme for this conference is “Enhancing the role of PR in digital age: implications for practitioners.”

We pointed out a similar thing, a couple of days ago, during the regional conference on media freedom and democracy in Lilongwe that the coming in of technology, the internet and digital media have presented to the media a set of challenges and opportunities.

News media has witnessed unprecedented disruption never seen before since the invention of the printing press; now journalists face uncertainties in their jobs as media houses struggle to keep pace with news product innovations that have led to shrinking newsrooms; today, anybody can wake up to be a journalist or blogger because of the internet; there is a plethora of news channels and sites serving diverse and, in some cases, what used to be marginalised groups; and now we also have to grapple with the challenge of fake news which is spreading like wildlife and is undermining democracy, rule of law, peace and values that we have long operated by.

This is but one example of how the digital age has affected one sector/industry, which it happens that you also work closely with. But we know that many sectors are no longer the same since the advent of the internet. From communications to agriculture, from sporting, mining, warfare to sports, we find that the digital technology has shaped the way we do things and is an integral aspect of modern life.

Likewise, the PR field ought to recognise how the business of building mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics has evolved following advances in technology. Now a range of publics for any entity has exponentially expanded, presenting a set of challenges and risks that could not even be fathomed in the past; we have rapidly globalised and become heavily interconnected so that the eyes of the world can quickly zoom in on a country like Malawi in a matter of minutes. Somebody in the UK, for instance, let’s say a potential investor in the energy or tourism sector, can quickly learn about that positive or negative news taking place in the village in Mangochi or the violence in Karonga or Msundwe.

That is why, in order to attract investments, we also have to bear in mind our reputation and how different publics perceive us. I would challenge you that ‘IMAGE IS EVERYTHING.” You as managers of reputations, be it for high profile individuals, organisations, ministries and governments have a critical role to play in ensuring that they are diligent, proactive and professional in how they position themselves to the world.

For instance, the UK is in January next year hosting the Africa Investment Summit and Malawi is a priority country on how to deepen trade and business opportunities between our two countries as we leave the EU. You would ordinarily think that Malawi’s reputation has got nothing to do with business but I challenge you that investors will be looking at the political and security climate in Malawi before making any final decisions. That’s why I would urge all players to resolve all misunderstandings emanating from the 2019 tripartite elections peacefully, and respect the court ruling of the Presidential Elections Case, because we have to jealously guard Malawi’s reputation both home and abroad. It matters a great deal in everything that we would like to do,

Now, thanks to the internet and technology, a shareholder, potential employee, supplier of raw materials or policy maker is on Twiter, Facebook or Instagram. How best are you as PR professionals managing your public-facing social media sites? How do you segment your audience for optimal impact with your digital communication? Your employee is also on social media and their single gaffe can lead to millions of share value being wiped out overnight. How do you best manage all these interesting sets of challenges?  I believe these are some of the issues you will be picking your brains on in the coming days.

Let me end by saying that PR matters a lot now more than ever before. Indeed, there is a smarter way of doing things and that’s public relations. We reiterate our pledge to assist PRSM expand its networks beyond the borders. We have the capability and experts within UK Government Communications Service that can help Malawi communicate better its activities, programme and intentions to facilitate the achievement of development goals and attract investments. As PRSM, you also need your members to grow professionally and become chartered members of your profession. I can repeat the High Commissioner’s offer made at your first AGM that we have to consider linking you to world-class PR bodies and societies in UK whom you can develop special relationships with for the benefit of your members.

Otherwise, I wish a successful indaba and thank you very much for your attention.

Zikomo!!!