COMSIP Wins Excellence in Development Communication Award

COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited has won the Excellence in Development Communication award at the 2026 Public Relations Society of Malawi (PRSM) Annual Conference, recognising the organisation’s innovative and impactful use of communication to support development and engage communities.

COMSIP emerged as the winner from three organisations shortlisted for the award: The European Union, COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited and Mwapata Holdings.

The award recognises an organisation in the development sector that demonstrates excellence through innovative and impactful public relations practices in advocacy, community engagement, strategic communication, campaign execution and outreach, contributing to social change, public understanding and sustainable development.

In announcing COMSIP as the winner, Chief Judge Dr Catherine Chaweza said the organisation had distinguished itself through a strategic and innovative communication approach that effectively connects development initiatives with the communities they serve.

She highlighted COMSIP’s communication ecosystem, which combines appropriate technology with participatory, community-based approaches to reach diverse audiences.

According to the judges, COMSIP uses a range of communication channels and approaches, including memory cards, drama, jingles, local-language messaging, SMS, national and community radio, digital platforms, beneficiary stories and direct community engagement.

The Chief Judge also applauded COMSIP’s use of human success stories to communicate development impact, highlighting the organisation’s ability to bring development work to life through the experiences and achievements of the people and communities it serves.

The judges further commended the organisation for using purposeful messaging and meaningful stakeholder engagement to translate complex development issues into accessible, relevant and impactful communication.

The recognition comes as COMSIP continues to strengthen communication around its programmes and services, using both traditional and digital platforms to reach members, communities, partners and other stakeholders.

Through community radio programming, digital communication, beneficiary stories, publications, local-language messaging and direct engagement, COMSIP has continued to bring development information closer to the people it serves.

COMSIP Chief Executive Officer Tenneson Gondwe said the award was a reflection of the organisation’s commitment to ensuring that communication remains an integral part of development work.

“We are deeply honoured to receive this award. It affirms our belief that effective development communication is not simply about sharing information, but about listening to communities, understanding their realities and communicating in ways that are relevant and accessible to them.”

He added that the recognition would further motivate COMSIP to strengthen its communication approaches and ensure that the voices, experiences and achievements of its members and communities remain central to its storytelling.

The award also comes alongside individual recognition for COMSIP’s Development Communication Officer, Mercy Chaluma, who was among the three shortlisted nominees for the Excellence in Development Communication Practitioner award. She was shortlisted alongside communication practitioners from UNICEF and UNDP, with the award ultimately going to the UNICEF nominee.

Chaluma’s nomination highlights the professional recognition of the communication work being undertaken at COMSIP and adds to the organisation’s achievement at this year’s PRSM Annual Conference.

The award was presented during the PRSM Annual Conference, bringing together public relations and communication professionals and organisations from across Malawi.

For COMSIP, the recognition is a celebration of communication as a tool for community engagement, public understanding and sustainable development, and a reaffirmation of the organisation’s commitment to putting people at the centre of its communication work.