Regional Public Relations Officers (PROs) of the Forestry Commission, drawn from the Northern Zone of the country, have undergone a 2-day capacity building program to hone their skills in their new field.
The PROs were drawn from Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper East and Upper West Regions and converged at the University of Development Studies (UDS) Tamale campus for the event.
In attendance were some members of the Public & International Relations Committee (PIRC), a Committee of the Forestry Commission Board, namely Mr. Kenneth Ofori Amankwah, Chairman; Prof. Samuel Kingsley Oppong, Member; Mr. Gustav Adu, Member; and Mrs. Joyce Ofori Kwafo, Secretary and Manager for Corporate Affairs & Media Relations. Mr. Mitchell Attipoe, Corporate HR Manager; and Mr. Kwasi Frimpong, Northern Regional Manager for the Forest Services Division (FSD) also attended the event.
The FSD Regional Manager welcomed all present to Tamale and said he deemed it a great honour done to him for his Region to be selected as the venue for such an important program. He expressed the optimism that “This platform will offer the participants the requisite information to sharpen their skills and competencies for the task ahead, which would, in the long run, benefit the Forestry Commission”. He wished the participants well in the two-day event.
Opening the program, Mr. Kenneth Ofori Amankwah mentioned that the event was “a novelty in the history of the Commission and I am privileged that it was during my time as the Chairman of the PIRC that this training took place”. He continued that the program was so important to the PIRC that “We left all our hefty schedules behind to be a part of this event. We place a lot of importance on the role of the Regional PROs as they act as ears and eyes of the Commission”, he said. He admonished the PROs to make the best out of the program.
This program, a sequel to the maiden one which took place in December 2023, was to assess the level of understanding of the PROs and how they have been able to apply what they learnt in their fields of operations. It was also to fill in their knowledge and skill gaps to enable them to work effectively in their new roles.
The Resource Person for the program, Prof. Abena Yeboah–Banin, a Communications Consultant and Head of Department of the School of Communications Studies, University of Ghana, assessed participants during an “Experience Sharing Session”, where the PROs took turns to share their practical experiences of work done so far since their maiden training session took place about eight months ago. This was interspersed with questions for clarification, and comments for improvement, among others.
The Resource Person took the participants through the steps of drawing up a Communications and PR Strategy, after which participants formed three groups and were tasked to draw up a Communications Strategy for their various divisions. The groups presented their work and received commendations and constructive criticisms for further improvement. Participants were also taken through the importance of a social media plan, and how it is drawn up and executed to achieve the desired results.
Mr. Kenneth Ofori Amankwah in closing the program, thanked Prof. Abena Yeboah–Banin for the successful execution of the 2-day program and the participants for exhibiting such great understanding throughout the event. He admonished the PROs to be ”Proactive in your lines of duty and be the mouthpiece for FC in your various regions”.