Busy bee

The time I had been anxiously waiting for has come. I have now become very busy at work as an intern! When Lesley first came to visit me to find out how I was doing I remember being very upset when she asked me “How has been your internship”? I told her that “Generally the staff here are very good I found it very easy to fit in. I think it hasn’t been going on as I expected. I expected a fast paced environment where I am delivering quickly. For instance I would have loved to be rounding up my first issue of the dialogue but it hasn’t happened that way. I think it’s also because of the work programme here. I think its structured in a way that they do their agreements and they way they do their meetings, its such that you cannot preempt what is going to happen. I think that’s the main reason why I haven’t been able to do anything.” Well all that has changed.

Recently I have been working on getting to have our first Dialogue Newsletter out before our next Executive Committee Meeting dubbed the EXCO which is scheduled for the end of June. The executive council meets quarterly every year to receive feed back from the various chambers that is the Public Finance and Monetary Policy Chamber, Trade and Industry chamber, Labour Market chamber; and the Development chamber. It is EXCO’s mandatory duty to review progress, reach consensus and conclude agreements between the parties. The executive council also defines the broad mandates of the Nedlac’s structures and to developing its overall macro-economic strategy.

So this newsletter which will be about 16 pages will focus on past achievements of all the chambers and some of the current work that they are doing. I am very excited about it because I will be very very involved in its overall coordination layout designing and printing. I wish I had some printing and desktop publishing experience as this would mean that I am in control of the whole process instead of subscribing to some already fixed template. I will definitely see to it that I acquire this special skill before the end of this year because not only will it enhance my qualifications it will make me more attractive in the communications market.

I am also liaising with designing and printing companies to make sure that a Nedlac booklet is developed in time for the EXCO as well. This booklet will have the Nedlac Founding document the Nedlac Founding Act and the Nedlac Protocol for tabling issues. Basically its meant to be a one stop shop for anyone who needs to know and get information about Nedlac. Its going to be a light handbook and will be easy on the eyes.

There is also the issue of organising a press conference after the EXCO is over. This also is going to be an exciting experience and will see Nedlac making the news. The intention is to invite journalists from all the mainstream print and broadcasting media houses to ensure an all round coverage of the event. There will be a lot of high flying delegates from all of Nedlac’s constituencies, that is government, business, labour and community.