Kinshasa, September 23rd, 2026 (CPA).- The media in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been called upon to raise greater awareness of the projects, programmes and achievements of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), during a virtual meeting with the organisation’s secretariat at the Ministry of Regional Integration.
“This is not just the reality in DRC alone; our people are not sufficiently informed about the programmes or even the achievements of the SADC in the various countries (…) And raising awareness of the activities, achievements and everything that is being done within the SADC means raising awareness of our investment in the organisation to which we belong. So we must get more involved,” has declared Jean-Felix Mwema, Adviser to the Minister in charge of Regional Integration, responsible for SADC.
According to him, the meeting provided an opportunity to raise awareness amongst media professionals so that they can grasp the opportunities associated with reporting on the various developments concerning this regional organisation.
“(…) We felt it was important, at a local level, to involve media representatives in DRC – as had also been recommended – so that they could see that opportunities exist, so that communication about projects and programmes in the region can take place more frequently, and so that our communities are adequately informed about everything that is happening in our region,” he has said.
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As a member state, Mr Mwema emphasised, the DRC normally takes part in all the organisation’s activities, not only as a contributing country but also as a beneficiary of the Community’s programmes.
The implementation of the SADC Communication, Awareness-raising and Visibility Strategy 2025–2030 was at the heart of this meeting between media stakeholders and the organisation’s Secretariat, through its Communication and Public Relations Unit. “ The meeting was organised to strengthen partnerships between the SADC Secretariat, Member States, community media, media organisations and information and communication intermediaries, and to enhance collaboration in promoting visibility, awareness, citizen engagement and public understanding of SADC’s programmes, policies, achievements and regional integration initiatives”, the working paper stated They were also required to agree on priority actions aimed at improving communication, raising awareness and enhancing the visibility of SADC programmes and initiatives.ACP/