SECAM partners with APO Group to support African communication

By Paul Samasumo, Vatican City

In a statement made available to Vatican News, SECAM said its partnership with the APO Group would bring greater cohesion to the Church’s pastoral communications strategy and help deliver the core messages of the Church to the world.

SECAM’s communication initiative

The SECAM project is also being carried out in collaboration with the Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS) to ensure the Church’s communication initiatives are disseminated across Africa and beyond. The agreement has received a nod from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication.

On Tuesday, the SECAM – APO partnership was formalised during a signing ceremony in the Vatican by Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo, Burkina Faso’s Archbishop of Ouagadougou and President of SECAM. Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, founder and chairman of APO Group, also appended his signature to the accord. Also present at the signing ceremony was Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of the Diocese of Oyo in Nigeria. The latter is Africa’s President of CEPACS and Dicastery for Communications commission member. 

CEPAS is a Catholic communications organisation in Africa whose French acronym means Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications.

APO group to provide support and training

The partnership means that for SECAM, APO Group will provide support across a broad range of communications services, including the distribution of press releases, training of communications staff, and the organisation of meetings with media and other organisations intended to foster new relationships and raise the profile of the Catholic Church in Africa. 

“Through APO Group’s communications experience and public relations expertise, we can make deeper connections with media and other prominent organisations,” said Cardinal Ouédraogo. 

APO: An exciting and ambitious project

Referring to the partnership, APO’s Pompigne-Mognard expressed happiness with the unfolding collaboration.

“This is an exciting and ambitious project that allows us to harness our truly Pan-African reach,” said Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard. He added, “I’m grateful to Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo, Bishop Emmanuel Badejo, and the Catholic Church in Africa for the opportunity to work closely with the episcopal conferences in delivering informative, positive pastoral content to millions of Africans,” said APO’s founder.

For his part, CEPACS President Bishop Badejo said, “Our mission is to ensure that Catholics from all over Africa feel connected to the Holy Father, the universal Church and the Vatican in their day-to-day faith experience,” he said. 

APO Group, SECAM and CEPACS

Founded in 2007, APO Group is described as a leading pan-African communications consultancy and press release distribution service. The organisation assists private and public organisations in sharpening their reputation and increasing their brand equity in target countries across Africa.

CEPACS was established in 1971 in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications to support SECAM as an episcopal committee that coordinates pastoral communications in the mission of the Church in Africa.