SIKHS FEED THE WORLD!

The Sikh Press Association recently celebrated its first year of operation with an event held in London to review its achievements.

The Sikh Press Association’s first Annual Review was attended by representatives from Sikh organisations including Akaal Publishers, Sikh Channel, SWAT, Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen, Midland Langar Seva Society, NSYF, Khalsa Aid, SEVA Group, United Sikhs and more.

These organisations represent just some of those that the Sikh Press Association (Sikh PA) have worked with in its first year, whilst gaining media coverage with an estimated monetary PR (public relations) value of over £1 million. Sikh PA also received excellent feedback on their first year, as illustrated in the testimonials video, which can be seen below.

At its first year review, the Sikh PA outlined the work carried out based on three outlined aims;

To raise the public profile of Sikhs.
Empowering Sikhs by developing skills in media.
Providing a media source for facts, resources and promoting articulate Sikh speakers.

A significant portion of coverage came from self-created PR campaigns such as International Langar Week and Chabeel Week. These initiatives saw groups of Sikhs around the world publicising Sikh concepts to wider communities. These campaigns gained coverage by various international media corporations including the BBC and Times of India.
Sikh PA highlighted work on individual projects of sevadaars and Sikh organisations. There was also an insight given into the work done to publicise Sikh issues, with the most pertinent example being the #SikhLivesMatter campaign.

Another example of the work of Sikh PA shown was the continuation of Media Workshops held across the country, all led by a panel of experienced media professionals. These are designed to explain the workings of the media to the Sikh sangat and how Sikh groups can increase their chances of getting exposure and recognition in the mainstream media. Videos from the workshops have also been made accessible to view. The monetary value estimated for these workshops is £3000 each, bringing the total to £12,000 (with four workshops held from 2015-16). This figure is included in the estimated total value of Sikh PA’s first year of work.

Other future objectives of Sikh PA include hiring a new member of staff, building both regional and international correspondents, running enhanced campaigns and continuing to find articulate Sikhs to connect them with media.

The Sikh PA also provided an opportunity for the sangat to voice any questions with a Q&A session at the event. As a sangat funded organisation, Sikh PA always aim to be transparent with their aims and workings.

~ Source: sikhpa.com.com