By Peter Martey AGBEKO
As the Harmattan wind stirs dust along the forest roads of Ashanti, I find myself on the cusp of two momentous voyages — journeys not merely of miles, but of mission.
From November 7\xa0to 9, 2025, I will join some 500 of my colleagues in Kumasi for the Ghana Journalists Association’s 29th Media Awards — the landmark “Kumasi Experience” at Manhyia Palace, under the theme\xa0“Safeguarding Ghana’s Future: The role of the media in promoting peace, security and the fight against galamsey.”\xa0Then, a few days later, I will travel to the Western Region (Best Western Atlantic Hotel)\xa0from November 13\xa0to 15 for the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana’s National PR Summit, AGM and Excellence Awards, themed\xa0“Reimagining PR in a Contemporary World.”
For me, these are more than calendar entries. They are capstones of a calling — as journalist, as communicator, as guardian of public trust.
A Homecoming for the GJA
When the GJA announced in October that this year’s Media Awards would be held for the first time in Kumasi, the move struck many as bold.\xa0Traditionally staged in Accra, the shift to Manhyia Palace marks both a nod to Ghana’s heartland and a symbolic decentralisation of the media’s celebratory gaze.\xa0\xa0It is a historic embrace of Ashanti’s cultural gravitas.
The official nine-member Media Awards Committee has been named, chaired by Mr Gabriel Bosompem.\xa0Among the key awards to be conferred are the GJA / P.A.V. Ansah Journalist of the Year, Best Female Journalist, Komla Dumor Most Promising Journalist, and Best Student Journalist.\xa0Yet beyond the trophies and accolades, the gathering is poised to be a crucible for discourse on media’s role in shaping peace, security, and environmental stewardship in Ghana.
As a long-time member of the GJA Awards Committee (2016–2017 & 2018), former Secretary of the Elections Committee (2022) and current Chairman of that committee (2025), I approach the Kumasi Experience with a deep sense of stewardship. I have witnessed the evolution of criteria, the contests, the internal debates — each year testing our fidelity to fairness, quality, and integrity. This time, amidst the palatial courtyards of Manhyia, I hope to listen, to learn, and to reaffirm what journalism must be: a beacon in unsettled times.
In the Footsteps of Asante Kings
To walk the grounds of Manhyia Palace is to tread in the footsteps of rulers, statesmen and custodians of culture. It is here that the Asantehene’s patronage will lend dignity and weight to our gathering. Journalists from every region will gather, not only to celebrate peer excellence but to engage in serious reflection: how do we, in media, uphold peace in Ghana’s fractious times? How can our pen, microphone, camera, editorial stance help check the scourge of illegal small-scale mining — galamsey — that threatens water, land and livelihoods? These are the fulcrums of the theme,\xa0“Safeguarding Ghana’s Future.”
KGL, the major sponsor, stands as more than a corporate backer. A wholly Ghanaian conglomerate with interests spanning fintech, logistics, trade, property and innovation, KGL has actively embraced corporate social responsibility via its foundation in education, youth empowerment and culture.\xa0Their sponsorship affirms the conviction that media, culture, and development must walk hand in hand.
As I prepare the “Kumasi Experience” , I cannot help but feel a familiar stirring — the same feeling that beckoned me into journalism decades ago. The chance to help shape not just prize winners, but the moral posture of our craft in Ghana. I look to Kumasi for inspiration, for challenge, for renewal.
From Ashanti to Atlantic Shores: Next Stop, Sekondi-Takoradi
Barely days after the GJA event, my itinerary carries me westwards, to the Western Region (Best Western Atlantic Hotel) for IPR Ghana’s National PR Summit, AGM, and Excellence Awards. Under the theme\xa0“Reimagining PR in a Contemporary World,”\xa0communication professionals will gather to examine how public relations must evolve — through digital transformation, trusted narrative, crisis response, and stakeholder engagement.
At IPR, my roles are multiple: I sit on council, chair the International Relations Committee, and adjudicate the Excellence Awards. Thus, I will not only observe but actively shape proceedings. It is an opportunity to bridge journalism and public relations — two spheres of public discourse that too often see themselves at odds, but which share a sacred duty: to inform, to persuade, to hold power accountable.
I anticipate spirited plenaries, panels on reputation in the age of misinformation, and breakouts on community communications, climate risk messaging, and strategic communications ethics. The Western Region, with its coastal towns, mining frontiers and economic promise, will bring its own local resonance to these themes.
What This Means to Me — and to Ghana
These twin journeys are breaths of affirmation in a sometimes uncertain profession. As an active member of both GJA and IPR, I carry with me the cumulative wisdom of years — committee debates, electoral oversight, awards judging — and a keen sense of responsibility not only to colleagues, but to the public.
Journalism is not a spectator sport; it is a calling. Public relations is not spin; it is a pact with truth (and trust). Both must constantly relearn, recalibrate, resist capture by money or power. In Kumasi, we will raise voices for peace and for environmental justice. In Sekondi, we will reimagine how messages, institutions and publics interact in an era of flux.
For me, the journey begins now: mapping my schedule, coordinating panelists, polishing remarks, reaching out to new contacts, and readying myself for two weeks of learning, fellowship, and challenge. But more than that, I carry a conviction: that media and communication must safeguard Ghana’s future — in every region, in every sector.
Kumasi will beckon. Then the Atlantic shores. I will arrive with curiosity, humility, determination — and the hope that, at these gatherings, we might not only celebrate the work we do, but push together toward a better Ghana.
(Peter Martey Agbeko is a journalist and PR practitioner. He is the managing editor of the Catholic Standard newspaper. He serves as Chairman of the GJA Elections Committee, and holds leadership roles in IPR Ghana.)
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
0 Komentar