Johannesburg, 01 August 2019 – Today, Decode Communications (Decode) hosted the first ‘free’ social media training for the communicators of the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. Three weeks ago the CEO of  Decode, Lorato Tshenkeng, made a daring offer to train public sector communicators on effective social media management for free. The GDoH was first off the blocks to take up the offer.  

The offer which is born out of patriotism and in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s clarion call – Thuma Mina, is intended to support public sector communicators’ efforts of rebuilding trust and confidence with the public through effective communication. 

The Social Media Training For Government Communicators marks the birth of #GovCommsSocial – a knowledge sharing platform aimed at guiding government communicators and public sector social media professionals through the complex issues and opportunities that come with using social media for citizen engagement. 

Over and above the social media training and coaching – the #GovCommsSocial platform will be in a form of a community that brings together public sector communicators, social network representatives and platform providers for education, sharing of best practices, successes and lessons learned through events and a web portal. 

Decode believes that when citizens are informed and engaged – they become active and more responsible thus the partnership with Brand South Africa to support the launch of #GovCommsSocial initiative. The initiative is in line with the Brand South Africa’s national mobilization campaign Play Your Part which is about citizens engagement. This partnership also supports Brand South Africa’s offering of free Nation Brand Master Class intended to empower citizens, in this case public sector communicators to have an in depth understanding of the country brand strengths, reputation and image drivers. 

Tshenkeng says, “I believe that if South Africa is to achieve most of its Vision 2030 goals – in particular ‘building a capable state’ – communication should be a priority. With technology disrupting how we live, work and play – public sector communicators have to adapt as quickly by being on top of trends and best practices of communicating in the digital age. In my many years of working with government communicators and conducting social media training, I have a good comprehension of their many challenges including capacity and skills gap. With this platform – we hope to augment the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of public sector communicators because we know how important sharp digital skills in the knowledge economy.”  

In the coming weeks, Decode will continue to host a series of Social Media Training For Public Sector Communicators for various government departments and agencies. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT – Lorato Tshenkeng

Tel:                  011 037 6929 or 071 737 6370

Email:             This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Connect with us on: facebook.com/DecodeComms and @Decode_Comms on twitter

Join the conversation on: #GovCommsSocial 

ABOUT DECODE COMMUNICATIONS

Decode Communications is a Johannesburg based reputation management agency. Founded by Lorato Tshenkeng – the Mail and Guardian Top 200 recognised communication strategist, Decode is a communications agency for the digital age thatexists to help its clients connect and engage with the people who matter to their business.  

ABOUT BRAND SOUTH AFRICA

Brand South Africa is the official marketing agency of South Africa with a mandate to manage the country’s brand reputation. For more information, log on to www.brandsouthafrica.comor like facebook.com/BrandSouthAfrica and follow @BrandSouthAfrica on Instagram and twitter for regular updates. 

ABOUT PLAY YOUR PART

Play Your Part is a nationwide movement created to inspire, empower and celebrate active citizenship in South Africa. Its objective is to lift the spirit of our nation by inspiring all South Africans to contribute to positive change, become involved and start doing – because a nation of people who care deeply for one another and the environment in which they live is good for everyone. The campaign is driven by the Brand South Africa.