The President of the African Public Relations Association (APRA), Mr Arik Karani, has reaffirmed the Association’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with the African Union (AU) to support the implementation of the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa.
Speaking after his re-election as APRA president, Karani said the association would intensify efforts to promote public awareness, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and advance digital literacy across the continent.
He explained that APRA would also champion ethical digital communication practices while building the capacity of communication professionals in critical areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and other emerging technologies.
According to him, the association will foster stronger collaboration among governments, policymakers, the media, academia, civil society organisations and the private sector to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation.
Karani expressed gratitude to delegates for renewing their confidence in the leadership team and pledged to implement APRA’s next strategic agenda.
He noted that the association remains committed to positioning public relations as a strategic driver of Africa’s digital economy and a key enabler of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The re-elected Executive Council has also been mandated to complete the process of filling newly created leadership positions ahead of APRA’s 37th Annual Conference, which will be held alongside the World Public Relations Forum (WPRF) in Abuja from 15 to 21 November 2026.
Earlier, the African Public Relations Association re-elected its president, vice president, and secretary general during its annual general meeting held in Swakopmund, Namibia.
The meeting, which concluded on Thursday, returned Mr Arik Karani of Kenya as president, Professor Michele Mekeme of Cameroon as vice president, and Dr Omoniyi Ibietan of Nigeria as secretary general for another term.
The election took place on the sidelines of the Effective Communicators Conference, attended by Namibia’s Vice President, Lucia Witbooi; Botswana’s Vice President, Ndaba Gaolathe; the Governor of Namibia’s Erongo Region, Natalia Goagoses; and Namibia’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Emma Theofelus.
Delegates commended the outgoing Executive Council for strengthening national and regional public relations associations across Africa, deepening collaboration with ministers responsible for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and other stakeholders, and enhancing the Association’s governance and operational framework.
In recognition of these achievements, the General Assembly unanimously renewed the mandate of the three elected officers. They will continue to serve alongside the immediate past president, Chief Yomi Badejo–Okusanya, who remains a non-elective member of the Executive Council.
The Assembly also ratified a new APRA Constitution, expanding the Executive Council to include the positions of treasurer, assistant secretary general and six regional coordinators representing East Africa, Francophone Africa, the Indian Ocean Islands and other African-associated islands, North Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa.
Karani is a communications strategist with extensive experience advising governments, non-governmental organisations and private sector institutions on digital strategy, stakeholder engagement, crisis communication, and the integration of artificial intelligence. He has previously worked with the World Bank Group, ChildFund, and the Government of Kenya.
Professor Mekeme is a renowned public relations and communication scholar who teaches at state universities in Cameroon and across the Central African sub-region.
Dr. Ibietan serves on the faculty of the Rome Business School’s Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Programme. He has consulted for the MacArthur Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, and Heinrich Böll Foundation. He also served as regional media researcher for Freedom House and as special media adviser to a former Nigerian minister of information and national orientation.
The renewed leadership is expected to build on APRA’s efforts to strengthen professional communication standards, promote ethical public relations practice, and support Africa’s broader development agenda through strategic communication.
