Zambia has committed to sending a robust ministerial delegation to Nigeria for the November 2026 World Public Relations Forum, describing the West African nation's voice as representative of the entire continent.
Zambia’s Information and Media Minister, Cornelius Mweetwa, made the pledge during a meeting with a delegation led by Global Alliance President, Prof. Justin Green on the sidelines of the African Public Relations Association's 50th anniversary conference in Mombasa, Kenya.
“As Zambia, I will like to expressly say that at ministerial level, and among all my colleagues performing public relations functions, we will be in Nigeria. This is our time to stand up, not to the world but with the world,” Mweetwa declared, characterising Nigeria's voice as Africa's collective voice.
This would mark the second time the Forum would be hosted on African soil since its inception in 2001. The first continental hosting was in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2007.
Minister Mweetwa highlighted public relations as a critical instrument for maintaining peace and driving national and global development, reaffirming Zambia's continued commitment to advancing the profession.
Prof. Green commended Zambia for pioneering strategic communication professionalisation in Africa and encouraged the government's backing for the historic Nigerian event.
During the discussions, Dr. Ike Neliaku, President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, unveiled plans for a groundbreaking pan-African consortium designed to provide strategic communication services for African leaders.
“Africa has come of age to provide strategic communication for African Presidents. We have all it takes to do that, so we are coming together to float this idea. You are one of those we want to invite as ambassadors of that framework,” Neliaku told the Zambian minister, emphasising the initiative's goal to end reliance on non-African consultants for presidential communication.