Thirty three corporate Communication agents drawn from departments, regional and zonal offices of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) attended professional training on communication affairs from September 24__October 02,2004, at the Conference Hall of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Institute. 

 In his opening address at the training program, Ato Tesfaye Biru, General Manager of the Corporation said that such a huge corporation, which was formerly with less organized system, is now under radical reform program and requires extra effort to mobilize all the workforce with common spirit for which communication and better information flow plays a decisive role. And much is expected from the communication agents in this regard including the exerting of effort to be well aware of themselves about the corporation so as to effectively inform and educate the workforce about the corporation in their respective working areas, the General Manager added. 

Ato Tesfaye further indicated that each agent should serve the corporation as a role model and should promote the interest of the corporation. Besides, the agents are responsible to introduce the vision, mission and values of the corporation to ETC community as well as inculcate them with better working culture. He further said, " To be a corporate communication agent means to be the corporation's reform coalition force.'' 

Speaking at the opening session of the training, Ato Abdurahim Ahmed, Communication Affairs Division Manager and Coordinator of the training said, '' The communication Affairs Division is currently engaged in organizing new communication system that demands deep, planned, organized, modern and fast information system. Hence, the communication agents have the responsibility to establish fast communication exchange mechanism among all members of the corporation who are now engaged in implementing huge operational and reform activities including the  customer service reform program. To this effect , the agents are expected to do their level best in mobilizing the whole ETC community with good team spirit and better working culture by creating their awareness on what is going on in the telecom sector.'' 

Ato Abdurahim also highlighted the agents' role in creating better relations between the corporation and its stakeholders and customers as well as between the corporation and other entities including media.  

''As the name implies, we are in the age of  information and being members of the corporation which is an I.C.T. institution, we should get training backup to pursue the professional procedure apart from our goodwill and readiness to be involved in the field which the training program aimed at,'' he added. 

The agents were given  training on the following topics by the instructors from Ethiopian Mass Media Training Institute: Introduction to Journalism, Writing News, Reports & Feature Articles, Introduction to Public Relations & its Practices. Besides, briefings  were given to the agents on the concepts and benefits of ethics and anti-corruption and on the working culture transformation as well as on the concepts of good values and positive thinking and on ETC's historical development and future direction. 

At the final session of the program, the agents held discussion with deputy division managers of the Communication Affairs Division and they design a common action plan to be accomplished jointly. 

 Finally, the agents paid a short visit to some ETC network installations and went back to their respective working place.