Women in PR Summit challenges practitioners to stay informed to emerging business trends

Esther Cobbah, Chief Executive Officer, Stratcomm Africa & President, IPR Ghana has challenged Public Relations practitioners to align their communication strategies with their organisation’s Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives to achieve sustainability and greeter impact.

According to her, businesses are constantly adapting to emerging trends, therefore practitioners can only make meaningful contributions through communication if they stay informed and proactive to anticipate and respond to the changes in the business landscape.

Madam Cobbah said this when delivering a keynote presentation on Strategic Communication, Ensuring Sustainability and Greater Impact at the 8th Women in PR (WiPR) Ghana Summit 2024 at the The Ghana – India Kofi- Annan Center of Excellence in ICT in Accra on July 6.

In a remarks, Joyce Sackitey- Ahiadorme, President of Women in PR Ghana highlighted that the theme of the summit, “Empowering Practitioners for an AI and ESG future” was carefully selected due to the increasing influence of AI and ESG principles in shaping the communications and PR landscape, and the business environment.

Addressing the essence of AI for Data Visualisation and Storytelling, Josephine Appiah-Nyamekye Sanny, Acting Director of Communication, Afrobarometer advocated for the effective use of bar graphs in comparing brand voices to competitors. She noted that for professionals to be effective with data visualisation, they will need to be artistic and skilled with data analysis.”

She further encouraged professionals to use AI-generated content as a foundation and infuse it with their unique voice and creativity. “AI helps to bring data to life, making complex information more accessible.  Leverage these tools to communicate insights more effectively, but with personal engagement to maintain authenticity in communications,” she said.

Tucci Goka Ivowi, CEO and Founding Member, Ghana Commodity Exchange noted that the summit reinforces that genuine practices are crucial for building long-term trust, therefore practitioners need to promote genuine and sustainable practices to foster credibility and trust.

She added that authenticity is important for sustainability and credibility, stressing on the need for practitioners to be themselves and embrace improvement.”

Remarking on ethical practices, Sandra Adu-Gyamfi, General Counsel for Fan Milk, Ghana, Benin, Togo and CiV, said integrating ethical considerations into PR strategies aligns with the growing emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. She called on PR professionals to “push the compliance and ethical practices in their organisations by ensuring that ethical practices are at the core of their PR strategies to support ESG objectives.

Dr. Paulina Kuranchie, Lecturer and Communications Consultant in a presentation on Public Relations and Activism, noted that the practice of public relations is the most potent way to foster public legitimacy for social change, stressing that professionals must lead their organisations in the rising digital corporate activism and take a stand which may be political, economic, social, technological, legal or environmental.

Faith Senam Ocloo, Founder, Women in PR Ghana encouraged participants to utilise the knowledge gained from the various speakers while looking forward to the 9th edition of the summit in 2025. Other speakers included Baaba Cofie, Managing Partner, Mahogany Consult; Adwoa Wiafe, Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, MTN Ghana, and Venan Sondo, a Sustainability professional and Co-Founder of ChAINT Afrique

The panel discussion had experts such as Richard Ahiagble, Ag. Director of Special Programmes Communications and Head of Capability Enablement, Mastercard Foundation and Ethel Amoako Baffoe, Clients Manager, Avery Scott.

The eight edition of Women in PR Ghana Summit ended leaving participants with a wealth of insights on leveraging AI, PR and activism, the importance of authenticity, and the integration of ethical practices in the field of public relations. Key speakers emphasised the fusion of technology with human creativity, the necessity of sustainable and genuine communication, and the role of strategic thinking in effective PR.

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