Brand Botswana engages foreign missions
Staff Writer | Thursday March 13, 2014 16:57
These workshops are attended by foreign missions’ staff and some Batswana living in those countries. Workshops have already been conducted in Zimbabwe, South Africa, United Kingdom, Zambia, Namibia, Brazil, Belgium (including the Switzerland and Germany missions), Kuwait and Mozambique.
The main objective of the workshops is to get Batswana informed about Nation Branding and the role that each and every Motswana can play in promoting the country wherever they are around the World. Through the interactions, Brand Botswana also explore ways of collaborating with the missions on initiatives to promote the country in the different jurisdictions.
Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) Chief Executive Officer Letsebe Sejoe says it is important that Batswana based in other countries are sensitised on Nation Branding and how they can promote Botswana where they are based.
He adds that BITC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC), through the foreign missions, should nurture their relationship and collaborate even more to take Botswana’s story to the rest of the world. He hails these ongoing Brand workshops as a good way of fostering this relationship.
Sejoe further noted that the workshops will enable BITC and the foreign missions to work closely and more effectively to identify opportunities to attract Foreign Direct Investment. He reiterated that the foreign missions are an important stakeholder in promoting Botswana internationally.
For her part, Executive Director - Brand Management Esther Norris says BITC is grateful for all the assistance that the MOFAIC is making. “Batswana are very enthusiastic and from the interactions that we have had at the various missions, we have people who can promote the country and willing to do so, they just need to be capacitated and resourced to do so more effectively,” added Norris.
These workshops come as a result of the Botswana Heads of Missions Conference that was held in Gaborone last year. At this conference, both BITC and MOFAIC through missions, committed to ensuring that Brand Botswana conducts workshops to capacitate all officers and other Batswana based in the various countries.
Brand Botswana is tasked with the responsibility of galvanising the community around a single identity, to stimulate community engagement and instill a sense of pride. It also aims to promote Botswana as a preferred destination for investment and tourism.