APRA Elects Seasoned PR Practitioners as President, VP and Secretary-General

APRA Elects Seasoned PR Practitioners as President, VP and Secretary-General

The African Public Relations Association (APRA) has announced the election of Mr. Arik Karani from Kenya as its new president, Dr. Michele Mekeme from Cameroon as vice president, and Omoniyi Ibietan from Nigeria as secretary-general.

Mr. Karani, the new APRA President, is the Communication Lead for Community Resilience and Sustainability at the Wikimedia Foundation. He is also the current President of the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK). Throughout his career, Mr. Karani has advised governments, civil society organizations, NGOs, and private sector entities on stakeholder engagement, digital strategy, disinformation, and crisis communication, among other areas, with experience working with organizations such as the World Bank Group, the Government of Kenya, Child Fund International, and Amref Health Africa.

Dr. Michele Mekeme, the new Vice President, is a Senior Lecturer at the Advanced School of Mass Communication (ASMAC-Yaounde, Cameroon) and holds a Ph.D. from the Russian Friendship University. Fluent in Russian, Dr. Mekeme is a prolific researcher with expertise in public relations and communication, having published several papers in local and international journals.

Omoniyi Ibietan, the new Secretary-General, serves as the Head of Media Relations Management at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). With a Ph.D. in Communication from the North-West University in South Africa and a specialization in political communication, Ibietan is a member of various professional communication organizations and a fellow of both the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the African Public Relations Association (APRA).