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Uganda's PR challenge: shedding light on "the darkest of Africa"

11/11/2014

2 Comments

 
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People do not think very highly of Uganda in my home country of Canada. When my parents saw The Last King of Scotland, Forest Whitaker’s paranoid, cock-eyed glare did not make them want to send their daughter there: to The Darkest of Africa! Here we call it The Pearl of Africa, and actually this country is very bright, orange and green. But Canadians know about Idi Amin, the archetypal murderous dictator. They do not know that much of Kampala’s infrastructure was built during his presidency.

PictureThe true size of Africa - Creative Commons
More recently, we (in the west) have projected the gay debate onto Uganda, with conservative and liberal ideologues waging a kind of proxy Public Relations war, which in the end does not make Uganda look very good at all.

Oh, and then there’s the ebola outbreak of 2014, farther away from this country than the width of The United States, but who really paid attention in geography class anyway?

Uganda’s international reputation right now is worse than Mike Tyson’s after he split out Holyfield’s ear. That’s probably why President Museveni recently hired a D.C. based lobbying firm to represent him in Washington ($600,000 / 1 year). It seems the powers that be are now trying to address Uganda's mammoth  PR challenge.

So, what can be done to improve Uganda’s image abroad? First of all, we need to be telling more positive stories about this country.    

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Polo match at Kakira, Jinja
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One Love Beach, Busabala
In the past week, I have enjoyed great food, music and dance, I’ve attended a polo match, seen the Nile and Mabira forest, and hand fed monkeys in my driveway. I have engaged in long discussions with smart and compassionate Ugandans as we watched the sun set over Lake Victoria. I have discovered that grasshoppers (“nsenene”) are delicious! Every day, I meet talented and ambitious people who are struggling to better their lives and country, but these stories never make it onto the front page of The Toronto Star or The New York Times. Why? There’s a saying: “if it bleeds, it leads.” The problem is that covering disaster every day suggests that our world is a horrible place, the zombie apocalypse is near, so it is better to lock your door and stay in bed. But people are tired of negativity. It is simply not the whole story (check out Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Ted Talk: The Danger of a Single Story). Personally, I am not going to let the fear of death stop me from living. As I always say: there is a good and bad side to everything, and I’m focusing on the good side!

Uganda is not the dangerous and hateful place that western media would have you believe. It is chaotic and nonsensical at times, but within the daily doses of anarchy exist exceptional opportunities. The political issues that define Uganda in the west do not play a major role in the daily lives of most Ugandan residents. What matters to people here is what matters to people everywhere:  the best future for one's children, satisfaction in careers and relationships, and to feel respected and happy. Society here is also steeped in a remarkable history: civilization and culture were thriving in East Africa before the Europeans ever figured it out! Personally, I find great pleasure in escaping the Canadian winter to enjoy the average Ugandan temperature of 27 degrees, every day of the year. But that is just one small piece of what makes this country so wonderful.

If you want to experience Uganda, come see it for yourself! Or, before investing in plane tickets, get a digital taste… Please follow me at @WhiteheadComm on Twitter and @WhiteheadCommunications on Instagram.

While you’re at it, check out these Tweeters:

@Skaheru – Simon Kaheru: brilliant Kampala-based media mogul

@AbramzTekya – Abramz: good hearted Breakdance Project Uganda founder

@TheSoundCup – café in Garden City Mall, Kampala, founded by vocal artist @MauriceKirya

@mjwilkerson – Michael Wilkerson: fellow Canadian, running boda (motorcycle taxi) NGO, Tugende

@EddyKenzoUg – Ugandan artist currently riding high on fame from Sitya Loss hit

@kansiime256 – Anne Kansiime: award-winning Ugandan comedian with a top notch first name

There is a lot more to say on this subject, but I’ve got to go analyze footage I shot of a practice interview now so that I can help my client address Uganda’s reputation in upcoming engagements with foreign media. One story at a time...

Thanks for reading! Please share and comment below.

- Anne Whitehead


2 Comments
Vianney Luggya
11/10/2014 10:40:53 pm

You have nailed it Anne. The news concept of when "man bites dog as opposed to when dog bites man" has inevitably contributed to the misconceptions. The good, and Uganda presents it in plenty, hardly gets to the main pages of major publications. It's a sad reality. All hope is not lost though. Well crafted pieces like yours will slowly but surely get Ug out of this abyss. Thumbs up to you.

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Julius Peter Moto link
11/12/2014 05:05:44 pm

Uganda is on track in doing business and general happiness. For example, 28 years ago, there were only two banks in Lira town, namely The Cooperative Bank Lt and Uganda Commercial Bank. Lira is a tiny little northern town that was affected by the prolonged war of 1979 – widespread looting by rouge soldiers in 1985/86 followed by cattle rustling and insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Movemnet until 2003.
Today, due to total peace and tranquility under the NRM administration, Lira is awash with so many businesses and food processing industries and the farmers are so happy. There are 13 Commercial Banks in Lira as of 13 November 2014.
1. Centenary Bank,
2. Bank of Baroda,
3. Barclays Bank,
4. Diamond Trust Bank,
5. Pride Bank,
6. DfCU Bank,
7. Housing Finance Bank,
8. Kenya Commercial Bank,
9. Bank of Africa,
10. Crane Bank,
11. Finca Bank
12. Stanbic bank
13. Equity Bank

There are two universities in Lira! Ie. All Saints Universities Lira (Private) and Lira University (Public)

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