Board of Trustees of Public Relations Society of Malawi (PRSM) have elected seasoned communications and PR expert, Baldwin Chiyamwaka as chairperson to lead the team in providing strategic oversight and administration of the PR body.

Chiyamwaka leads the board that comprises notable individuals including seasoned lawyer Trouble Kalua, PR trainer Tina Kasamale, finance expert Ben Chitsonga and renowned PR practitioner Lewis Msasa — all bringing diverse expertise and perspectives to the organization’s helm.

During its meeting held in Lilongwe on Saturday, the Board — which will serve for a period of five years — also appointed some trustees to head various PRSM sub-committees and they are Kasamale (membership); Msasa (resource mobilisation); Kalua (policy & regulation) and Chitsonga (admin & finance).

Members of the PRSM Board (seated) pose with the PRSM Executive Leadership (Standing)

This eclectic blend of professionals is expected to steer PRSM towards innovative and impactful initiatives within the realm of public relations in Malawi and in his acceptance speech, Chiyamwaka said he was honoured to be elected to lead his fellow trustees. He said the trustees were looking forward to make PRSM a vibrant professional grouping and supporting PRSM National Governing Council achieve their desired strategic objectives.

PRSM president Benson Linje said the executive committee and entire membership was looking forward to working with the Board in their endeavour to elevate the status of the country’s PR profession through the development and enforcement of sustainable standards and ethics and the promotion of best professional practices among practitioners.

Corporate communications should be at the centre of strategic image positioning of any given company – Linje, PRSM President.

PRSM was formed in 2016 with the main goal of elevating the public relations profession in Malawi taking cognizance that PR is a deliberate, planned and sustained effort to institute and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its public and other stakeholders.

“The discipline of public relations deals with shaping and maintaining the image and reputation of the organization in the eyes of its various stakeholders,” Linje said. “Corporate communications should be at the centre of strategic image positioning of any given company.”

PRSM is a grouping of PR and communication practitioners from both public and private sectors in Malawi that develops and enforces professional ethics, facilitating skills development through training and by creating space for the exchange of ideas regarding PR and communication practice.

The grouping also seeks to promote professionalism, provide space for networking among practitioners both locally and internationally, raise the profile of PR in Malawi by demonstrating the value of the profession to corporations, and to be the recognized professional authority.