APO Group, the leading Pan-African communications and media relations consultancy, has earned two major accolades at the prestigious 2025 Davos Communications Awards held on 11 April 2025, in Davos, Switzerland: a Gold Award for Canon’s ‘World Unseen’ campaign at GITEX Africa and a Bronze Award for the ‘10 Years of Miraisha’ celebration. The Davos Communications Awards, presented by the World Communications Forum Association (WCFA), recognise exceptional communications firms, experts, and internal teams that have produced excellence and achieved quantifiable impact worldwide.
Canon’s World Unseen Experience, which won Gold, was a PR event that broke new ground. It launched at GITEX Africa, enabling individuals who have lost their sight or are visually impaired to experience the power of photography, unlike ever before. By providing an opportunity to engage with photography through various sensory inputs, Canon challenged societal perceptions and broke new ground in the field of inclusive technology.
The Miraisha campaign, which earned Bronze, marked 10 years of Canon’s youth programme in Africa. It did this through stories, getting people involved and grabbing attention from big media outlets.
These awards add to a growing list of international accolades for APO Group in the past year, including:
- Africa’s Leading PR Agency 2025 – Brands Review Magazine
- Most Innovative Woman of the Year 2025 Bronze Stevie® Awards category – Rania El-Rafie, Vice President, PR & Strategic Communications at APO Group
- Five Awards at the 2023 SABRE Awards Africa – including wins for excellence in reputation management, brand building, and social media strategy
Founder and Chairman of APO Group Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard added: “From Canon to many other remarkable partners, these accolades reflect the strength of our collaborations and our commitment to promoting positive narratives across the continent. APO Group continues to lead the way in shaping Africa’s communications landscape.”
Somesh Adukia, Managing Director of Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA), commented:
“At Canon, we are driven by a purpose that goes beyond imaging—it’s about creating stories that inspire, empower, and drive positive change. ‘World Unseen’ is a testament to our commitment to inclusivity, bringing to light perspectives that are often overlooked, while ‘10 Years of Miraisha Programme’ represents a decade of empowering African talent, nurturing creativity, and providing opportunities across the continent”.
“Our partnership with APO Group has been instrumental in bringing these stories to life. Their deep understanding of the African media landscape, combined with their strategic storytelling approach, has helped amplify our vision and connect with diverse audiences across the region. These award-winning campaigns are not just milestones; they are proof of the impact we can achieve together.
“We are proud of what we have accomplished with APO Group and look forward to continuing this journey, creating initiatives that leave a lasting impact and drive meaningful change for Canon and the communities we serve”.
As APO Group continues to elevate African stories to the global stage, these awards strengthen its standing as the top pan-African PR and communications firm, trusted by multinational corporations, organisations, governments, NGOs and the media.
Africa Fact: The Labyrinth in the Egyptian city of Hawara with its massive layout, multiple courtyards, chambers and halls, was the very largest building in antiquity. Boasting three thousand rooms, 1,500 of them were above ground and the other 1,500 were underground.
Dallas Foxface
Skebenga / Skelm – a crook / gangster [skuh-beng-guh] A Zulu word for gangster.
Poppin Loot
Van is getting married, but he and his fiancee have never done the deed – in fact he\’s never been with any woman before. He\’s getting more and more nervous as the big day approaches, so he confides in his friend. His friend says \’No worries man. I\’ll come by the honeymoon suite before you guys get there, and I\’ll hide behind the curtain, and I\’ll whisper instructions to you.\’
\’You\’d do that for me?\’
\’Sure thing man!\’
So the wedding day arrives, it was a lovely service (so I was told, I wasn\’t there myself) and Van\’s friend sneaks into the honeymoon suite as promised and hides behind the curtain.
Van and his new wife arrive in the room, get settled on the bed, and things are getting steamy.
But Van is still super nervous and his tummy is bubbling, so he murmers to his wife, \’Listen babe, I\’m just gonna go to the bathroom quick. I think it\’s that wors roll from earlier.\’
\’Sure thing babe.\’
So Van goes into the bathroom, and he\’s taking quite a long time. And his wife is starting to feel the nerves herself. And it\’s getting worse. She can\’t hold it in. But she doesn\’t want to go after he\’s gone and totally ruin the mood. So she looks around and finally finds a shoebox. Quickly, she does her business in the shoebox, and she shoves it under the bed just as Van comes back from the loo.
Van gets back on the bed and they go at it again. But after a minute or so Van smells something not so lekker.
\’What\’s that smell?\’
\’Nothing babe,\’ he wife tries to assure him.
\’No man there\’s definitely something not so lekker in this room!\’VSo Van starts looking around the room, in the corners, in the cupboard, and finally he looks under the bed, and sees the shoebox.
He pull it out, and opens it up, and in horror he shouts \’Sies! Daar\’s kak in hierdie doos!\’
And from behind the curtain his friend yells, \’NEE MAN, DRAAI HAAR OM!\”