PRISA outlines new vision and names new president at AGM

By David Jenkin

Outgoing president, Lorraine van Schalkwyk, shared a positive vision for the future of PRISA as she handed over the reins to new president, Thabisile Phumo. In her address, van Schalkwyk said it has been a time of transformation and repositioning in order to ensure PRISA’s continued relevance in a rapidly changing landscape. For the past year, the priority has been the establishment of robust structures, growing its membership base, and reviewing procedures and policies to ensure its readiness for the next phase of its transformation. PRISA is currently conducting research to align its focus areas to its members’ needs.

“We believe we are on the right path,” she said; “The next step is to align the internal structures and roles, to deliver to those new and changed needs. We believe that having done that work, we will be on the right trajectory to deliver value going forward in a way that is more responsive to the dynamic environment in which our members operate.”

In her address, after receiving the chain of office, Phumo said she was deeply humbled. She emphasised that she wants PRISA to rise as it enters its 60th year, because the institute’s role is more relevant now than ever, given the turmoil in South Africa. That can be attributed to relationships, she said, and leaders must know that they need to begin to write the stories that the country needs to hear and build relationships with their people.

“We’re going to launch a new vision as PRISA. The difference in this case is we’re not going to tell you what it’s like, we’re going to consult with you, because we are not a stand-alone body, we are our members.” Any member of PRISA is going to know that members come first, she said, which is the message that the board will be living.

The guest speaker for the evening was Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) department of marketing and corporate relations director, Pieter Swart, van Schalkwyk’s mentor. In his address, in addition to speaking about the need for PR to adapt to a rapidly changing world, he spoke about the #feesmustfall movement and how NMMU had avoided property damage and violent demonstrations on their campuses because of a successful communication strategy with their students. He said it was essential that, for a humane future, communication in all forms must survive.

PRISA had to face a number of big expenses in the past year which have been in line with establishing new partnerships, structures and initiatives such as JumpStart, a platform for young PR professionals. Two unfortunate server crashes in the past year caused a costly loss of data, but lessons were learnt, said executive director Adele Paulson. There was also plenty of good news to report, with much positive growth, which Paulson outlined in her address.

In addition to Phumo’s appointment, a new president elect and vice president were named, Kavitha Kalicharan and Malesela Maubane, respectively.

For more information, visit www.prisa.co.za. Alternatively connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.