“Empowering Malaysian CSOs: Transformative Communications Strategies for Non-Profit Success”

We were invited by the CSO Platform for Reform in Malaysia to conduct a training session on communications strategy for local civil society organisations (CSOs) as part of a EU Delegation programme. Together with Jerald Joseph (advisor to the organisation and former Commissioner of SUHAKAM) we learnt that these organisations were finding it challenging to get their good work publicly noticed. That made us change the direction of the session from just telling them how to better manage their communications to actually sharing all we could to enable each CSO to plan their own communications, the way Rantau Golin would strategise for our clients.

It was truly heartening to see the work each of the 40-odd participants were willing to put in and some of the early results. Yes, each document that we shared was formed from the many hard years Rantau has worked in this industry and are proprietary tools to us, but if we are able to help a handful of these organisations make a difference and be seen, then it was worth it.

One key learning we shared from a highly successful global environmental-related organisation that Rantau has the honour of collaborating with, was the need for CSOs to think like a business and to perhaps start considering themselves as a ‘not-for-profit organisation’ instead of non-governmental organisations, which then sets them off on a different pathway and identity.

To all the CSOs that we had the pleasure of working with, good luck with 2023 and we hope to read about the successes you achieve and the changes you are making for the betterment of Malaysia.