Kenyan PR Practitioners Seek to Institutionalize Profession, Weed out Quacks

·         Members endorse accreditation and development through establishment of an institute  to enhance the profession ·         New officials led by PR Academic Kentice Tikolo receive two year mandate to inject new framework as demand for qualified well rounded PR communicators peak
·         Reputation management and increasing need to communicate credible information by organizations and state bodies has placed a premium on well qualified practitioners

Nairobi, May 10^th 2012…Members of the Public Relations Society of Kenya have endorsed far reaching measures expected to up the ante on minimum qualifications for practicing professionals in the public and private sector.   

During the association’s Annual General Meeting held recently, members approved the establishment of the Kenya Institute of Public Relations (KIPR) that will steer the instutionalization of the profession in Kenya. Other initiatives adopted by the members were a continuous professional development (CPD) programme and the accreditation of members who have acquired and attained minimum standards as spelt out by the Society.

During the AGM, members of the Society that brings together some of the most influential communicators in the country elected Mrs. Kentice Tikolo as their new Chairperson for a two year term.    Mrs. Tikolo has a distinguished career in Public Relations and Communication Management spanning over 15 years.   In her acceptance remarks, Mrs. Tikolo underscored her priorities for the Society and the profession laying special emphasis on the constant need for strong performance of the practice that is grounded on research and high professional standards that meet international standards..  Singling out the Kenya Institute of Public Relations initiated by the outgoing team, Kentice reiterated the need to focus resources on the principles of this initiative in order to grow a robust profession with profound impact on the community.

Others elected were Grace Munjuri as Vice Chairman; Angela Nganga Mumo, Secretary; Michael Otieno, Treasurer; Sam Karanja, Assistant Secretary and Beatrice Kungu as Assistant Treasurer. Musyoki Kivindyo, Eunice Muthamia, Esther Walya, Jane Gitau and Edna Onchiri were also elected as Committee Members.

The outgoing Chairman, Mr. Peter Mutie thanked members for their support noting that the Society had continued to achieve a solid performance with excellent results in both membership and financial growth.  He further noted that these results were achieved in what was a particularly challenging period not only in the country but globally.  This he noted is acceptance of the changing face of the profession as an asset to organizational reputation.  Welcoming the new team, he concluded that the Society and the profession are well positioned to go beyond any challenges and called on members to support the team in order to respond and seize the many opportunities that are emerging.