Caritas Communications, a leading reputation solution and strategic communications company, in partnership with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, (NIPR) has held the maiden edition of its Reputation Leadership Roundtable Summit in Lagos.
The summit, which had the theme, ‘Ethics, Reputation & Technology in a VUCA Economy,’’ attracted key players from the public relations management industry as well as executives drawn from industries including oil and gas, financial services, FMCG, academia, media among others.
In his opening remark, the chairman of the occasion, Femi Adesina who is senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity noted that ethical practice is vital to public relations and the media industry. He noted that abiding by the ethos of journalism and PR guidelines will save practitioners from embarrassing situations, especially litigations and reputational damage caused by the adverse effects of fake news.
The keynote address at the event was delivered by Emeka Oparah, Vice President, Corporate Communications & CSR, Airtel. According to Mr. Oparah, “practitioners have to get back to the basics, and do what they need to do to improve journalism and public relations practice.”
The keynote address was followed by a robust panel discussion that explored new themes in reputation management, strategic communications in crisis situations, and the influence of modern technology on reputation management. The discussion was moderated by John Ehiguese, president PRCAN and CEO, Mediacraft while the panel was made up of Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, President African Public Relations Association (APRA); Tunji Abioye, CEO, Fuel Communications, and Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, Head, Sustainability, Access Bank.
The panel unanimously agreed that reputation management practitioners must engage in continuous education, research and implementation of best practice in reputation management. Panel members also highlighted the role that technology plays in information dissemination in the 21 Century, while calling for vigilance against fake news.
Also speaking at the event, Adedayo Ojo, MD/CEO of Caritas Communications said “this is our way of encouraging best practice in the industry and we believe that this should transcend PR practice and affect all ramifications of national issues. We need to collectively do the right thing, to move Nigeria forward.”
The event also had in attendance, the Chairman of the board of Caritas Communications, John Addeh, Bunmi Popoola-Mordi, Company Secretary Total, among other dignitaries.