Issued by: FAPRA

Kate Bapela

FAPRA is an influential, non-governmental, non-political and non-profit making professional association established to foster unity and interaction amongst Public Relations Practitioners in Africa as a whole. It describes its primary purpose as "to help in creating an enabling professional environment for accurate perception, goodwill and understanding of necessary and effective performance of Public Relations practice in Africa".

The Federation of African Public Relations Associations (FAPRA) was formed on June 10, 1975, at an International Public Relations Association (IPRA) conference held in Nairobi, Kenya. Membership of FAPRA is drawn from all the national PR associations in the continent of Africa. It is also affiliated to the global PR body, The Global Alliance.

Bapela, who was the first black woman to head up PRISA, is one of five vice presidents of FAPRA charged with establishing and/or developing regional structures on the African continent: West Africa; East Africa; Southern Africa (Kate Bapela); North Africa; and Central Africa.

Bapela, who has been working tirelessly and with no budgets, has succeeded in lobbying local communications stakeholders, media and Government as to the value of being involved in such an influential communications body - particularly since the 2006 FAPRA annual conference is being held in Johannesburg in May, followed by an equally impressive gathering of global PR professionals at The Global Alliance's 2007 conference, also in South Africa.

Bapela is currently leading a team of PR professionals, including a delegation from SA Tourism at the FAPRA annual conference in Kenya this week (7 - 10 June 2005).

In her two year tenure as President of the local South Africa body, Bapela worked hard to transform the profession and give it a more professional and relevant voice to combat credibility issues in top Government and business structures in South Africa, growing the PRISA brand and raising the profession's voice across Africa.

Coming from a strong communications background in state structures and a business network that stretches into the continent, Bapela has an effervescent personality that gathers up all around her, bringing leaders in the profession together to spark off each other. She has also been a finalist in the SABC/Shoprite Checkers Woman of the Year Award in recognition of her efforts as a communicator.

Bizcommunity.com is proud to be a media partner in efforts to ramp up the profession's place in top business structures, as well as FAPRA's efforts to build regional structures in Southern Africa in its aim to grow the profession across the continent. Bizcommunity.com Editor, Louise Marsland, has also been co-opted onto the Media & Communications committee of the new FAPRA Southern African organizing committee for the 2006 conference, as an associate member and media partner.

Go to www.fapra.org for more information.

FEDERATION OF AFRICAN PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATIONS (FAPRA) 2006 ORGANISING COMMITTEE: SOUTH AFRICA

NAME & SURNAME	ORGANISATION
Kate Bapela	Vice President of FAPRA SADC region & Head of FAPRA 2006 Organising committee.
Elvis Presslin	Fundi Communications and Advertising
Gene van Heerden	University of Pretoria
Yolisa Tyantsi	Rand Water
Louise Marsland	Bizcommunity.com
Victor Sibeko	Transnet Pension Fund Administrators
Rianette Otto	Text 100
Rene Benecke	University of Johannesburg
Dianne Regisford	Black Magic
Helen Molete	Marcus Evans
Ntebo Lesetla	Telkom Directory Services
Glenn Bryant	Cohesion Communication Research & Development
Stephanie Griffiths	Cohesion Communication Research & Development

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: FAPRA is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit making professional Association established to foster unity and interaction amongst Public Relations Practitioners in Africa as a whole. - more....

[7 Jun 2005 14:49]

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