The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has added another feather to its cap in the area of Public Relations (PR) and Information Management by winning the prestigious International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Award for Excellence (GWA) in the Crisis Communication Management category.
The Award, which was presented at the colourful 2019 IPRA GWA Awards Night held in Yerevan, the ancient capital city of Armenia, on 27 September 2019, was given in recognition of the NAF’s management of communication in the aftermath of the attack on Metele in the Northeast of Nigeria, in partnership with Image Merchants Promotions (IMP) Limited.
Speaking after receiving the award on behalf of the NAF, the Chief of Administration (COA) Headquarters NAF, Air Vice Marshal Kingsley Lar, stated that the award was a testament to the hard work and dedication of personnel of the NAF Directorate of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI) backed by the unwavering support and guidance of the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar. He noted this was yet another laudable achievement facilitated by the CAS’ visionary leadership which over the past 4 years has repositioned the NAF into a highly professional and disciplined force that is well respected both at home and abroad.
AVM Lar reiterated that the NAF, in collaboration with other security agencies, will sustain the onslaught against terrorists and other criminal elements in the country to ensure that law abiding citizens can pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear. Also speaking after the event, the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, appreciated the organisers of the Annual GWA Ceremony for recognising the NAF’s contribution to PR practice. “We commend IPRA for finding the NAF worthy of this honour. We also acknowledge IMP Limited, publishers of PRNigeria, for its support and nomination of our modest contribution for the award”, he said.
Earlier, the IPRA President, Svetlana Stavreva, who was also the Chairperson of the Panel of Judges, stated that the GWA celebrates the demonstration of excellence in PR practice across the globe. She noted that the 2019 GWA witnessed a record highest number of entries, which were subjected to 2 rounds of assessment, the last of which was conducted by a Jury of 25 judges from 23 different Countries; out of which 89 winners were selected in 37 different categories. Two of these were from Nigeria; the NAF and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Established in 1955, IPRA is the leading global network for PR professionals. The Association aims to advance trusted communication and the ethical practice of PR through networking, code of conduct and intellectual leadership of the profession. The IPRA, which has about 90 member Associations across the globe, including the African Public Relations Association (APRA), has run the GWA since 1990 to highlight excellence in PR practice worldwide. It may be recalled that the NAF’s outstanding efforts in PR and Information Management were similarly rewarded at the 2019 APRA Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda on 16 May 2019; where the Service received a ‘Certificate of Excellence’, in the ‘Public Sector/Government Award Category’ from the Holmes Report/APRA SABRE Awards Africa for its crisis communication campaign on the counter insurgency operation in the Northeast.
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