Speakers announced for the 27th APRA conference

20 Apr 2015

As the 27th edition of the African Public Relations Association (APRA) conference gathers momentum, more renowned speakers have joined the league of facilitators for the conference scheduled to be held from 12-14 May 2015 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. At the same time the organization will celebrate its 40th anniversary.

Themed 'Africa Trending: Contemporary Challenges, Opportunities in Reputation and Crisis Management', the conference, which is expected to draw attendees, speakers and facilitators from all over Africa, Europe, Asia and North America, will deal with such diverse topics as Global Tendencies in the PR Industry, Developing a Communications Strategy, Reputation Management, Effective Internal Communications/Employer Branding, Leadership & Communication as well as Crisis Communication Theory, Case Study and a group crisis simulation exercise.

Speakers

The conference parades an array of renowned speakers, including HE Mr. Erastus Mwencha, the Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission, Mr. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Cameroonian Minister of Communications, who is keynote speaker and Dr. Roger Hayes, a leading international public relations and public affairs professional and former Global President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA).

Also speaking at the conference is Jeremy Galbraith who, in 2014, was named by The Sunday Times and Debrett's as one of the UK's 500 most influential people, and ranked among the top 20 influential professionals in the PR field. Jeremy has spent the past 20+ years helping leading companies, organisations, CEOs, Presidents, Prime Ministers and regulators position themselves with almost every type of stakeholder as well as manage critical issues.

Jean-Léopold Schuybroek is the Founder and Honorary Chairman of the Interel Group, which is a fully integrated, international consultancy specialising in strategic communications, public affairs and association management.

Speaking on Global Tendencies in the PR Industry, Jean-Léopold has an impressive track record of leadership positions within the PR and Public Affairs industry, including immediate past president of ICCO (the international association of public relations consultancies) as well as past president of PROI (Public Relations Organisation International), which is the world's largest international partnership of independent PR consultancies. He has been responsible for the management of some of the most complex and high profile campaigns in Europe, ranging across a wide number of policy areas, including environment, financial services, labour relations, anti-trust, health and food scares.

Other speakers include Robyn de Villiers, Chairman and CEO of Burson-Marsteller: Africa who has well over 25 years of strategic communications experience advising clients across multiple sectors and including from privately-owned companies to multinationals, NGOs and government bodies; Claudine Moore, who is an international award-winning senior public relations executive. Claudine was honored on the UK Powerlist: Britain's Top 100 most influential Black People and listed by The Network Journal as one of the top 40 Under Forty US High Achievers.

The conference will attract over 200 delegates cutting across different communication sectors and professional groupings thus making it a 'must attend' for any discerning communication practitioner in Africa.