16 August 2006

The 2010 Fifa World Cup will leave behind a legacy of a country and a continent that is united and confident "about who we are and what we want to become," says Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad.

Opening the first 2010 National Communication Partnership Conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Pahad said the event would be seen by billions of people across the world. For the next four years they would "be looking at our country and our continent with an intensity that is unlikely to repeat itself for decades.

"As we had already seen, this can be a double-edged sword," Pahad told more than 400 communication experts from both the private and public sector. "Some will use it to nurture pessimism or push their own causes.

All resources from the conference are available on the International Marketing Council website

"This means that for communicators to seize the opportunities of 2010, they will need to be effective in displacing that kind of negativity with a compelling vision and flow of information that speaks of the reality of progress and of united action to deal with potential problems and challenges.

"We also need to mobilise all South Africans to work together to ensure that preparations go smoothly and on schedule, to take economic opportunities that come, and to make this World Cup an unforgettable experience for our visitors and citizens".

The minister said the World Cup would not only speed up development programmes within the country but also be a catalyst for nation building, regional integration and continental solidarity.

Pahad also urged the country's communicators to work with the rest of the continent. "We need to convey the message that South Africa is alive with possibilities and the continent with great opportunities"

Pahad said discussions on how the continent should work together for 2010 would be high on the agenda at the African Union's next meeting in January 2007.

SA's communicators, he said, had an important role to play in ensuring that the soccer tournament would be remembered for decades to come "as an event that left our country and the continent more united and confident."

Tuesday's conference was the first in a series of 2010 National Communication Partnership Conferences, to be held annually over the next four years in order to help the country's communicators build and implement a shared strategy for the World Cup.

It was hosted by the International Marketing Council of South Africa on behalf of the 2010 National Communication Partnership Task Team, which includes representatives from the government, business and the 2010 Local Organising Committee.

SouthAfrica.info reporter and BuaNews

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2010 Fifa World Cup SA - We've hosted major international events, but the Football World Cup is in a class of its own. Come June 2010, the eyes of millions of visitors and billions of TV viewers will be focused on the southern tip of Africa. We don't aim to disappoint.

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