SOUTH AFRICA CHALLENGED TO ‘STAY IN’ BUT ALSO TO ‘REACH OUT’

A new initiative aims to maintain important human connections while we are social distancing at home.

Johannesburg, 31 March 2020: Yesterday South Africans woke up to the realities of a first Monday morning in lockdown. None of the usual routines apply and the big ‘quiet’ feels strange to us all.  In these challenging and unprecedented times there has never been more need to reach out.

The #stayINreachOUT initiative, launched by communications group Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) Africa, challenges people to reach out while we are all required to stay in.  It aims to move people through difficult times by just making contact and showing they care.

Very simply it asks each one of us to identify a personal circle of contacts and commit to reaching out to them regularly, while we are all staying at home. “This is precisely what consistent communication is all about, we are in the communication space and we know the importance as well as the value of credible communication at all times.” says PRISA CEO, Victor Sibeko.

PRISA is delighted to join the challenge led by the astute, BCW Africa’s Chairman and CEO Robyn de Villiers, the Multi-Award winner and 2019 PRISM Awards Lifetime Winner for her contribution to the communication industry.” added Sibeko.  

“We are committing to staying IN, but also to reaching OUT – to our colleagues, working remotely, perhaps feeling isolated and disconnected from their team members; to our clients, some uncertain how to navigate their communications needs; to people in our networks facing daily challenges of keeping businesses open and revenue coming in; to our friends in ‘lockdown’; and to our vulnerable family members with health fears,” says Robyn de Villiers.

An engaging “nomination video” concept, using a combination of the globally recognised elbow bump, that has become the new handshake, with the physical gesture of reaching out will encourage people to share the message.

“We are challenging others to join this movement, sharing #stayINreachOUT in their own spheres of influence in ways that are human, empathetic and relevant right now,”de Villiers concludes.

The challenge will run across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.