By PRINCE MABUMBA
Zambia Institute of Public Relations and Communication (ZIPRC) President Irene Lungu-Chipili has become the first African woman to join the Executive Board of the Global Alliance (GA) for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA).
Ms Chipili was elected to the Board during the GA’s 21st annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lusaka, Zambia on Monday.
Other Africans elected to the same board are Peter Mutie of Kenya, Wole Ademolukun from Nigeria and Rene Dailen Benecke of South Africa, while Justin Green from Ireland was re-elected as the President of the GA for a two-year term.
Ms Chipili and three other African PR professionals will lead the GA for the next two years.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the just-ended African Public Relations Association (APRA) Zambia 2023 Conference in Lusaka, Ms Chipili was delighted with the opportunity to represent Zambia on the GA Board.
“This is the first time Zambia is being represented at the global platform. It is exciting for Zambia and I am committed to ensuring that Zambia and Africa benefit from this representation,” she said.
And Mr Green says Africa will have more representation than Latin America, Asia, Europe and North America on the board.
He also congratulated President Hakainde Hichilema, and the Government for enacting ZIPRC into law.
“This is not just an achievement for Zambia but for the whole world. Zambia is leading the PR and Communication profession in Africa and the world,” he said.
Meanwhile Mr Mutie said Africa’s voice will be heard globally following the election of four African PR and Communication professionals to the board.
“What is important this time around, for the first time, is that we have an African woman sitting on the Board in the name of Irene Lungu-Chipili. This is history in the making and hopefully this will inspire many females to aim higher in Africa,” he said.
Mr Mutie, a communication specialist and the Chief Executive Officer of Peterson Integrated
Communication, is serving his second term on the Board, having first been elected in 2020. He is the current Chairperson of the Africa Regional Council of the Global Alliance and the chairperson of the College of fellows in Kenya.
The Global Alliance is the Confederation of the world major PR and communication management associations and institutions, representing over 360, 000 practitioners and academics from all the continents of the world. Its mission is to unify the public relations profession, raise professional standards all over the world, share knowledge for the benefit of its members and be the global voice for public relations in the public interest.
