The African Public Relations Association President, Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, popularly known as YBO, has called on stakeholders in the world to recognize the importance and value of PR in every organisation, business and nation at large.
The president made this call as part of celebrations for the first ever ‘World PR Day’ held on July 16, 2021, charging practitioners to push forward the agenda of PR in their daily dealings. ‘PR needs PR’ he said.
Whilst the World PR Day was inspired by a need to present a unified global agenda to make the world understand and better utilize PR, YBO calls on organisations, leaders, nations, policy and decision makers to never overlook the value that PR brings to the table. He further stressed that even though the profession is gaining grounds, many do not understand its core value, scope and functions. For instance, PR is different from Journalism but both work together to achieve great results.
“Many still bear in mind that PR is only about press releases and organizing events whilst those with an understanding of the weight PR professionals pull as a result of their expertise have yielded great results for themselves” he said.
The APRA President also added that the decision to set aside a day for PR and a unified global agenda is indeed a welcome development stressing that, for the past 33 years, African Public Relations Association has been able to gather PR Practitioners in Africa and recently across the globe under one roof to push forward the agenda of PR, the profession itself and discuss issues, trends and solutions to PR needs.
“I am delighted because this day speaks to the fact that our effort is yielding results in ways that will take the profession to the level where it belongs and better utilized by organisations, businesses, nations, brands, individuals, decision and policy makers”. Truth is, everybody needs PR. It is part of our daily lives and PR is about telling a compelling story! This call for unity on a day such as this will bring about great opportunities and collaborations that will be beneficial to our profession in the long run.
Following the rise of digital communications, PR itself and professionals must adapt and incorporate the trends that come with it for the desired recognition across the globe. One Africa! and happy World PR Day
