The Member States and Media Experts from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region have been called upon to enhance communication, awareness and visibility of SADC programmes and impact at all levels.
The call was made by Mr. Lawrence Masera, Communications Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Chairperson of the Workshop and Ms. Barbara Lopi, Head of Communication and Public Relations at the SADC Secretariat during the Validation Workshop for the Draft SADC Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy 2025-2030 in Johannesburg, South Africa from 15-16 April 2025.
Ms. Lopi emphasised the importance of a robust Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy for SADC's visibility which will serve as foundation for enhanced strategic communication in the regionally and globally.
She highlighted that since its establishment in 1980, SADC institution has registered significant milestones in advancing regional integration and development which require sustained communication, awareness and visibility efforts by all stakeholders.
“SADC is relevant, and the region is better off with SADC than without," stressed Ms. Lopi.
On his part, Mr. Masera called for a strategy that reflects the region’s collective aspirations and innovative spirit, and emphasised the need to effectively reach remote communities and adapt to evolving media landscape.
He highlighted that the responsibility to enhance SADC’s communication, awareness and visibility responsibility rests with all stakeholders in collaboration with the SADC Secretariat.
Ms. Rajoelson Andriambolona Rindrantsoa Tsifaniaina, Head of Department for Press, Communications of the Republic of Madagascar, the Incoming SADC Chair, thanked the participants for the insightful, constructive and engaging discussions on the draft SADC Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy 2025-2030, which demonstrated the collective understanding of the of regional communication priorities.
The validation workshop was attended by SADC National Media Coordinators from Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as Media and Communications Experts from the SADC region, representatives of the Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Secretariat, Editors Forum in Southern Africa and Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF).
The Workshop provided a platform for stakeholders to review, discuss and validate the draft SADCCommunication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy 2025-2030 before its submission to the SADC Council of Ministers for approval in August 2025.
During the Workshop, the draft SADC Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy 2025-2030 was presented to stakeholders, and the participants reviewed the content, approach, and implementation mechanisms proposed in the draft strategy. The participants shared their experiences in implementing the previous strategy, including reaching remote communities and adapting to changing media.
This workshop was organised by the SADC Secretariat with financial and technical support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)) through the SADC National-Regional Linkages (SNRL) project which supports SADC Member States structures to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of the regional agenda.
