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Government and communication
The vision of the Government Communication and
Information System (GCIS) is to help meet the communication
and information needs of government and
the people to ensure a better life for all.
It consists of the following chief directorates:
- The Communication Service Agency aims to
provide core communication services to
GCIS and other
government departments, both in-house and
through outsourcing. It also produces the South
Africa Yearbook and Pocket Guide to South
Africa.
- Government and Media Liaison aims to coordinate
effective, integrated and comprehensive
communication and media liaison services
across government. It is also responsible for
BuaNews, a government news service.
- Policy and Research conducts communication
research to provide communication advice and
monitors the development and implementation
of government programmes from a communication
perspective.
- Provincial and Local Liaison supports
development communication and extends
government’s information infrastructure through partnerships with provincial and local
government. It facilitates the establishment of
Thusong Service Centres (former multipurpose
community centres) to make services and
information more accessible to the public,
particularly the disadvantaged.
- Corporate Services provides financial
management, administrative services, and
human-resource (HR) administration and
development. The Project Desk implements
project management and co-ordinates services
to cross-cutting projects driven by GCIS, on behalf of other
departments.
- Vuk’uzenzele, which is published bimonthly,
focuses on economic and other opportunities
created by South Africa’s democracy.
- The 2010 Communication Project Managment Unit facilitates the achievement of the
communication objectives for the first African
World Cup in 2010.
The chief executive officer of GCIS is the official spokesperson for
government.
The GCIS is central to
developing communication strategies and programmes
for government’s transversal campaigns.
It also assists departments with specific
campaigns and events, as well as in developing
departmental communication structures.
The GCIS is responsible for
maintaining the website, Government Online
(www.gov.za), which includes an information portal
for general information about government, and a
services portal, which is a source of information
about all the services rendered by national
government.
The GCIS leads or is
involved in various communication partnerships
and joint processes, including the following:
- An intersectoral programme to set up Thusong
Service Centres, providing information about
how to access government services. By January 2009, 130 Thusong Service Centres were in place
and more centres were being established. A
strategy for setting up one Thusong Service
Centre in each of the country’s municipalities by
2014 has been approved.
- The transformation of the advertising and
marketing industry.
- The Imbizo Campaign of direct interaction
between government and the public.
The following entities report to Government
Communications:
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International Marketing Council
The IMC, the custodian of Brand South Africa, is
a presidential initiative under the auspices of the
GCIS.
The IMC’s role is to build a general climate of
positive opinion, domestically and abroad, that
will encourage a stronger flow of tourism and
increased direct investment into South Africa,
and build national pride among South Africans as
a nation.
The IMC creates the space on which more direct
marketing initiatives by the private sector and
government departments play out. It also works
closely with South African Tourism to ensure that
marketing initiatives in tourism and in investment
and trade are complementary.
On the domestic front, the IMC’s activities seek
to build a nation that is proud of itself and reflects
the spirit of a country that is “Alive With Possibility”.
Particular support is provided to individuals or
institutions that interact regularly with visitors to
the country or who are particularly active abroad
in profiling the opportunities on offer in South
Africa.
The IMC has country managers in the United States of America, United Kingdom and Inida. The country managers work with the South African
diplomatic missions in the various capitals to build
South Africa’s image and deal with challenges to
the country’s reputation.
Through the South African Government’s International
Relations, Peace and Security Cluster, the
IMC and its partners are actively developing ways
to ensure that the marketing of the country is as
effective in places where the IMC does not have
direct representation.
IMC activities fall into the following main categories:
- marketing, which uses various froms of advertising and promotion to reach the broad South
African public and influential business and
opinion leaders in key markets abroad
- public realtions, with a strong media-realtions mphasis, which reinforces the marketing
campaigns and promotes the values associated
with Brand South Africa through editorial coverage
domestically and abroad
- brand integration, involving the development of a substantial cadre of “brand ambassadors” within key organisations, influening the quality of their interaction with tourists and business
visitors to South Africa
- direct representation to priority countries through the country managers whose role in
terms of media relations and partnership building
has proved invaluable
- online communication through the official South African web portal – www.southafrica.info – which rivals major media houses in terms
of the volume it attracts
- initiatives in the area of media relations.
In the build-up to the 2010 World Cup, the IMC
will intensify its efforts to foster good working
relationships with journalists at home and abroad– in view of media interest generated by World
Cup preparations, leadership transition, economic
growth and challenges such as crime and energy
supply.
The IMC tracks international media coverage on
the country through daily monitoring and analysis
from the Communication Resource Centre (CRC).
An additional CRC-specific service was the
establishment of MediaClubSouthAfrica.com. It
is a web-based media service developed by the
IMC in recognition of the important role the media
plays in shaping perceptions of South Africa.
The IMC produces a number of newsletters,
including the online Alive with Possibility, which is
published on a weekly basis and contains positive
stories about the country.
The Boundless Opportunities newsletter is
produced in partnership with the JSE Securities
Exchange Limited (JSE) and targets JSE stakeholders domestically and abroad.
The IMC produced South African Story III – the
third edition of a booklet, which contains facts, quotes and anecdotes that illustrate extraordinary South African stories and the challenges facing
the country.
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Last modified: 23 July 2009 14:11:56.
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