THE Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (Prisa) in Limpopo held a networking session on the topic crisis communication at Limpopo Guest Manor in Polokwane last Tuesday.
The networking session was one of Prisa’s efforts to afford members the opportunity to share the latest industry developments as well as to ensure continuing professional development.
Their membership is drawn from public relations and communication management professionals practising in the private and public sectors who take up voluntary membership with Prisa, which is renewable annually.
Kavitha Kalicharan, an accredited public relations practitioner, and managing director of Taurus Communications, made a passionate presentation on crisis communication. She has over 12 years’ experience in the field of communications and public relations.
Her passion in this field has led her to become a thought and opinion leader in the industry. Having worked at Nestlé South Africa for nine years, she was instrumental in setting up communication strategies there. She was also involved in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of strategies at Nestlé.
Kalicharan emphasised the importance of organisations proactively planning for crisis communication in order to avoid potential reputational damage. Analysing the environment within which they operate including social, economic and environmental factors, was also important, she said.
Prisa Limpopo regional committee chairperson, Naledzani Rasila, said a single step that was taken towards a journey of a 1 000 miles started in November 2013 and was beginning to bear fruit. “It is also vital to strive for quality membership,” Rasila said.
The institute’s executive director, Adele Paulsen, congratulated the region for the strides it was making in servicing their membership needs even though they were a fairly new chapter. “It is your duty to protect your profession. Congratulations on a job well done, head office will continually support you,” Paulsen said.
Matome Mohlopi, a Prisa Limpopo regional member expressed his appreciation on how the networking went and said the region was indeed taking a step in the right direction in terms of professionalising public relations and communication management practice.
