Home Affairs Ministry Equips Public Relations Officers with Effective Communication Strategies for the Digital Era
The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) held a Technical Guidance (Bimtek) session on Communication Strategy Development for Functional Public Relations Officers within the Ministry. The activity is part of efforts to strengthen the capacity of public relations apparatus in formulating effective communication strategies in the digital era.
While opening the event on Thursday (30/7/2026), the Expert Staff to the Minister for Apparatus and Public Services at Kemendagri, Anwar Harun Damanik, emphasised the important role of Public Relations Officers in supporting the success of government communications.
“This Bimtek serves as a space to strengthen the capacity of all Public Relations Officers in developing communication strategies that are appropriate, effective, and capable of supporting the implementation of their respective organisational duties and functions,” Anwar stated in a written statement on Thursday (30/7/2026).
According to him, the development of information technology has significantly changed public communication patterns. Advances in AI and social media allow information to spread in seconds, but at the same time also accelerate the spread of disinformation and misinformation.
Therefore, government apparatus, particularly Public Relations Officers, are required to be able to deliver information that is fast, accurate, transparent, easy to understand, and trustworthy.
Anwar stressed that government communication can no longer stop at merely conveying information. More than that, communication must be able to build public understanding regarding the objectives and benefits of every policy, thereby minimising misunderstandings or differences in perception within society.
“Speed must not sacrifice accuracy, and creativity must not ignore the truth. The use of technology must still be carried out responsibly,” he asserted.
He explained that the challenges of government communication are growing larger along with the increase in public activity in the digital space. According to the Digital 2026 report published by DataReportal, Indonesia has approximately 230 million internet users, or 80.5 percent of the total population, with around 180 million active social media users.
Consequently, this vast digital space demands that the government develop communication strategies that are adaptive, data-based, and capable of reaching the public effectively through various channels.
In this context, Anwar continued, the role of Public Relations Officers is becoming increasingly strategic. They are not only tasked with publicising government activities but also serve as the front line in communicating various policies to the public.
Therefore, Public Relations Officers must be able to recognise issue dynamics, understand public information needs, craft appropriate messages, select credible media, and wisely utilise technological developments so that government communication is carried out in a planned, consistent, and anticipatory manner.
Concluding his directives, Anwar invited all Public Relations Officers within Kemendagri to continue enhancing professionalism, remain adaptive to technological developments, and strengthen coordination and synergy between work units.
He stated that every government policy must be supported by a communication strategy that is planned, data-based, consistent, and easily understood by the public, in order to build public trust while supporting the successful implementation of government policies.