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The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa has urged public relations practitioners to use their proficiency to build Uganda’s image and eventually its national ethos.
“What is Uganda known for, what are Ugandans known for? We do not have anything which makes us stand out as a country. I want to urge you to use the platforms we have to build a good image of our country,” said Tayebwa.
Tayebwa was speaking as the chief guest at the third national symposium for Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU), held at Golf Course Hotel Kampala on Friday, 08 June 2024.
The symposium was organised under the theme; Advancing public relations excellence through emerging trends; and brought together top company executives and experts in the profession.
Tayebwa said he was irked by Ugandan social media influencers who are consistently casting negativity about Uganda, which he said affects every other individual in the country.
“There are people who are influencing how successful they can be but they are bashing their country. Your influence is in Uganda but you are attacking it, so why would I associate with the brand you are bashing?” he asked.
The Deputy Speaker cited Kenya, which is internationally known as a hard working nation, and asked PRAU to pick from the outstanding attributes of Ugandans in shaping the national identifier.
“Here we even have beautiful and handsome people, we can be known as honest people, hospitable people, because we are very hospitable people, then you market it so that it is a clear identifier as the national ethos,” he said.
On learning that PRAU is in talks to become a professional body, Tayebwa pledged his cooperation once the legislative process begins.
“Let us work together, we put together our thoughts and see how to recognise you as a professional body clearly backed by the law. This will help to weed out pretenders, wrong elements in the profession, those who are driven by money,” he said.
The Commissioner General for Uganda Revenue Authority, John Musinguzi, who spoke as a key panelist at the symposium, stressed the value for a professional public relations body, saying complex matters such as taxation have been made easy to the common man by the experts.
“Every financial year the tax laws change causing a big knowledge gap between tax payers and the taxman. Therefore, it is the role of communicators to break these complexities down to support tax payers in meeting their obligations,” he said.
PRAU President, Tina Wamala, noted that through the symposium, PR professionals would gain a higher understanding of new trends in the practice so as to remain competitive.
“We have tailored the content to emerging trends such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, to support your career elevation and to support you stay ahead of the curve,” said Wamala.