Nigerian Women in Public Relations advocates PR for conflict resolution

Onome Amuge

The Nigerian Women in Public Relations (NWiPR), an  impact organisation that advocates for and provides growth resources to Nigerian Women working in public relations  and communications, recently concluded its 2024 Experiencing PR conference with a call for stronger relationships, greater ethical standards, and a more positive image of the public relations industry.

The conference, themed “Quiet Wars: Leveraging Public Relations for Conflict Management”,  was recently held at the Civic Towers in Victoria Island, Lagos.

During her keynote address on the conference theme, Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, founder of LEAP Africa and African Food Changemakers, urged the industry to place greater emphasis on trust, integrity, and consistency in addressing conflict management, stating that these values are the cornerstone of effective crisis management, which is essential to mitigate the negative effects of conflict on society.

Drawing on the acronym REST (Relationship, Excellence, Service, and Tenacity), Nwuneli spoke at length about the skills and qualities that PR professionals should possess in order to successfully manage conflicts, or what she called “quiet wars.” She stressed the importance of building and maintaining quality relationships based on trust, integrity, loyalty, and consistency. These qualities, Nwuneli said, are essential for effective PR and for facilitating conflict resolution.

“As a PR professional, build and leverage quality relationships with everybody. You need to build relationships with multiple stakeholders because the most powerful PR workers and leaders are people who can call anyone and they will respond positively,” she advised.

James Hewes, chief executive officer of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), in a virtual address, commended the growing community of PR professionals in Nigeria and West Africa. He highlighted PRCA’s key priorities for the next few years, including campaigns around artificial intelligence and accessibility. He stressed the importance of expanding the talent pool for PR communications, and outlined the need to make PR a career of choice for young people around the world.

The conference featured two panel discussions on the topics, “From the Generals: Stakeholder Management Strategies that Worked” and “PR Strategies to Win Quiet Wars in Business and Government”, focused on effective stakeholder management strategies and how PR can be used to resolve conflicts in the public and private sectors.

The conference sessions were led by a lineup of distinguished speakers, including: Lucy Pearson, country director of the British Council in Nigeria and director of West Africa; Nene Bejide, founder of Blanche Aigle Communications; Debbie Larry-Izamojie, COO of Brila Media Limited; Bolaji Abimbola, MD/CEO of Integrated Indigo; Eloine Barry, founder and CEO of the African Media Agency; and Edemekong Uyoh, regional head of marketing and communications for the British Council’s cultural engagement division in sub-Saharan Africa.

The conference also marked the launch of two publications: a book titled “Experiencing Public Relations: Nine Women, Nine Perspectives” and a magazine, “ExperiencingPR Issue 002”.

Earlier in her welcome address, Tolulope Olorundero, founder of the Nigerian Women in PR and convener of the annual conference, expressed gratitude to the conference attendees, stakeholders, partners, and sponsors.

“Experiencing PR, which started as a vision, has become a movement, a legacy both for me and every Nigerian woman who is practising public relations in any part of the world. It has been my privilege and honour to lead this movement, to have gotten the vision and to have done it,” she said.

According to Olorundero, the conference’s theme highlights the role of communication in conflict mitigation and prevention. She noted further that communication is a powerful tool that can be used to diffuse tension and avoid conflict, even in the most difficult situations.

Olorundero also shared some of the plans for the upcoming Experiencing PR 2025 conference, stating that the organisation would be opening up opportunities for volunteers to be involved in the delivery of its events and initiatives beginning in 2025. This, she said, would create more opportunities for individuals to engage with and support the organisation’s mission and vision.