Introductory remarks by Barbara Lopi at the launch of the SADC Communication Strategy

Gaborone, Botswana, 18 November 2025

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A very good morning to you all, and welcome to the official launch and orientation of the SADC Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy 2025-2030. On behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, I extend our heartfelt gratitude for your presence today.

The SADC Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy 2025-2030 builds upon the solid foundation laid by the revised SADC Communications and Promotions Strategy 2016-2020. It reflects our evolving priorities, the insights we have gained, and the realities of an ever-changing media landscape in which we now operate.

Our previous communication strategy served us well. It amplified our voice, strengthened our online presence, and deepened engagement with stakeholders. Yet, as the communication environment continues to evolve, so too must our approach. That is why today we are proud to unveil a renewed communication strategy, one that honours past achievements, addresses emerging challenges, and positions us for even greater impact and reach.

Following the official launch this morning, my colleague will provide a detailed walkthrough of the strategy, outline its guiding principles, and illustrate how it will shape and strengthen our communication efforts in the years to come.

The SADC Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy 2025-2030, approved by the SADC council of ministers in August 2025, is the result of extensive stakeholder engagement and consultation conducted across our member states between 2020 and 2025. This inclusive process has ensured both regional ownership and contextual relevance. These consultations included audience perception surveys and engagements during SADC meetings and exhibitions; virtual dialogues with National Media Coordinators, public relations officers, and media representatives; a regional consultative workshop with SADC National Media Coordinators and SADC National Contact Points; a webinar with communications officers from ministries of foreign affairs; and a validation workshop with representatives from SADC member states, the Media Institute of Southern Africa regional office, the Editors Forum of Southern Africa, the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre, and the Southern Africa Youth Forum.

These engagements enriched the strategy with invaluable insights in communication, public relations, and information management. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all contributors, many of whom are with us today, for your dedication and expertise.

We are especially grateful to the government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the financial support towards the development of this strategy through the SADC-German cooperation project, Strengthening National-Regional Linkages in SADC, implemented by GIZ.

Let us embrace this strategy as our collective commitment to communicate with clarity, conviction, and compassion, to ensure that citizens across the 16 SADC member states – from the shores of Angola to the highlands of Lesotho – feel connected to the mission and values of SADC.

As SADC National Contact Points, communicators, and media professionals, we are the heartbeat of regional integration. Let us work together to translate policy into public understanding, amplify untold successes, and share the stories of transformation unfolding across our region.

This strategy is not only about communicating what SADC does, but also about why SADC matters. Why SADC matters to the student crossing borders for education, the farmer thriving through regional trade, the young entrepreneur navigating a harmonised market, and the trader whose livelihood depends on regional cooperation.

We know that facts alone do not move hearts, but stories do. And that is where each one of you in this room comes in. We need your voices, your platforms, and your creativity to reveal the human face of integration, to make regional development not only understandable, but also relatable and inspiring.

Together, let us promote a communication culture that informs, empowers, and connects.

Thank you once again for being here and for joining us on this journey.
Merci beaucoup.
Muito obrigada.
Asante sana.

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