In November 2012, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenabeit (GIZ) in support of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), commissioned CommsConsult to facilitate a review and revision of the SADC Communications Strategy. Through a consultative process with communications experts and delegates from Member States and staff from the SADC Secretariat, CommsConsult facilitated a three-day workshop between delegates from Member States and the Communications Department of the SADC Secretariat.
The consultative revision of the SADC Communications Strategy consisted of interviews with key stakeholders within the SADC Secretariat including Directorate Heads, the Executive Secretary Dr. Tomaz Salomao (August 2005 – September 2013) and communications personnel. Members States provided their input through a three day workshop where key elements of the SADC Strategy were reviewed and revised through working groups and plenary sessions.
CommsConsult went on to compile a Communications Strategy in line with findings from interviews and the consultative workshop process.
Key recommendations included:
- The development of a Social Media Strategy to allow the Secretariat to communicate with a broader range of stakeholders, including the youth who were identified as a key target audience for SADC messages.
- A staff retreat was encouraged to facilitate better communication and team building within the SADC communications team (this took place in early 2013 and was reported to be a success).
The Communications Strategy developed by CommsConsult is currently undergoing the SADC approval process which will be finalised by Member States after the completion of the internal SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP).
