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Chap. 10 – Africa
Global Public Relations
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The UN and others generally group the African continent into five regions. This chapter addresses the four regions excluding Northern Africa, collectively called Sub-Saharan Africa.
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General Shared Characteristics
Poverty, low life expectancy, low literacy
Poor health & nutrition, prevalence of diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS
Exploitative colonial experience at the hands of several European nations
National boundaries without regard to ethnic, tribal, linguistic divisions
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Africa’s Importance
Strategic assets Chromium, cobalt, manganese, platinum Gold, oil Fertile land
Seeds of democratic governments, market economies
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Challenges for Public Relations
Limited communication infrastructure Government influence, even control
over media in many countries Complex cultural constructs More than 2,000 languages and
dialects spoken
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Nature of PR in Africa
Emphasis on nation building, development communication
Primarily in government sector; information model
Programs and campaigns benefit from folk media, “pavement radio”
Opportunities growing as reforms take hold and spread
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The Example of Ghana
Former British colony; first in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve independence (1957)
Familial relationships, clan relationships highly important
Modernization challenging complex cultural mosaic
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PR in Ghana Gov’t PR centralized in Information
Services Department Early links to journalism Professionalization thanks to PRAG
(now IPR) Mostly male, mostly low- to mid-level
managers, mostly press agentry Gaining respect and recognition
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South Africa
Multi-cultural, multi-lingual Leading economic power in region Lingering high unemployment and
poverty Dutch and British colonial past, plus
aparteid Quest for consensus in new era
(since 1994)
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PR in South Africa Western influence superimposed on
African cultural traditions “Wine-and-dine” image in the past,
but professionalism more prevalent now
Helping build trust, promote social progress and CSR
Well-established higher education curricula
PRISA leading the way
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Kenya
Also a former British colony, until 1963
Unsteady democratic growth since independence, but stability gaining
Recent unrest appears to be on the mend
Still, corruption is perceived as a problem
Poverty and unemployment remain endemic
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PR in Kenya
Early use was to manage public opinion
Personal relationship building central to practice
PRSK helping to advance practice Hosted first gathering of African
practitioners Less associated with propaganda
than in the past; university programs expanding