Proposed ISDR Five Year Strategic Communication Plan:Building a People-based Culture of Prevention

Presentation to IATF/DR12th Session

22-24 November 2005Geneva, Palais des Nations

www.unisdr.org

Contents:

I. ContextII. RationaleII. A « people-based » approachIV. Five Year Communication Plan Overview

a) Vision, Goal, Objectivesb) Annual Campaign Themesc) Audiencesd) Proposed Framework e) Important Considerations

V. ChallengesVI. BudgetVII. Proposed Task Force Involvement & Questions

I. Context

Hyogo Framework for Action:

-ISDR secretariat and ISDR partners have a major role in communicating the goals and priorities for action Multi-Stakeholder Workshop on Strengthening the ISDR:

-called for the ISDR secretariat to raise the profile of disaster risk reduction through public awareness campaigns

II. Rationale

The momentum for disaster riskreduction is building…

-recent disasters, and broad mediacoverage, have raised publicawareness of vulnerability

-governments are strengtheningtheir commitment to implement theHyogo Framework

-opinion leaders are becominginvolved (e.g.President Clinton.Prime Minister Blair, at G8 )

III. Making disaster risk reduction real through a « people-based » approach

-disaster risk reduction must become part of our daily lives and behaviour

How?-giving « a face » to the Hyogo framework

-raising awareness about practical actions that individuals and communities can take to reduce disaster losses will be a major focus of the five-year communication strategy

IV. Five Year Communication Plan Overview

a) Vision, Goal, Objectives

Vision: Change behaviour, so that there is a movement from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention.

Goal:Inform communities and individuals about disaster risk reduction, and empower them to take practical action to reduce disaster losses. Informing them that DR is possible, cost effective and in their best interest.

Objectives of Communication Plan

1. Increase political commitment to disaster risk reduction, particularly at the local level.

2. Strengthen the media’s understanding and role in providing information to the public.

3. Stimulate the dissemination of information at national and local levels.

4. Highlight partnerships and activities supporting community initiatives

b) Annual Campaign Themes

Five annual campaigns will be developed, reflecting priority areas for action from the Hyogo Framework, and practical disaster risk reduction actions that have immediate relevance to individuals and communities.

YEAR 1:  Prevention Starts at School (2006)

(a) Promoting disaster risk reduction in school curricula, formal, informal, and non-formal education

(b) Building schools that can withstand natural hazards(c) Schools as community resource centres for disaster risk reduction

  

Annual Campaign Themes

The ISDR secretariat is seeking input to further develop the campaign themes for 2007-2010.

YEAR 2: Theme related to the health sector (2007)

(a) Protecting health facilities- avoiding a second disaster(b) Health workers promoting disaster risk reduction(c)  …

 

YEAR 3:  Safer Cities (2008)

(a)    Integrating disaster risk reduction in city policies, planning, and infrastructure(b)      …(c)       …

Annual Campaign Themes

YEAR 4:  Preparing your home and community for disasters (2009)

(a)    Protecting housing, livelihoods, and animals(b)    …(c)     …

YEAR 5: Protecting the environment to reduce disaster risks (2010)

(a)     Contributions of science and technology(b)     Energy and risk reduction(c)     …

 

 

c) Audiences for Communications ActivitiesAudiences e.g. 2006 Campaign

National and local political leaders -ministers/key decision makers in education, finance, planning, public works, social affairs ministries

-mayors and associations of mayors

-national opinion leaders

Media -broadcasting unions

-national editorial boards

-national and local newspapers and journals

Civil Society -teachers’, parents’, and students’ associations

-Global Alliance of Youth

-education-related NGOs, e.g. Global Campaign for Education

Private Sector -Private schools

-Private building companies

d) Proposed Framework

The following framework is proposed for developing the annual campaigns. The framework is structured into three phases, which would be repeated each year.

I. Preparation and pre-positioning (October-December of year prior to launch)

II. Launch and Implementation (January launch, implementation of communication activities on-going)

III. Assessment (final quarter of year)

Proposed FrameworkI. Preparation & Pre-

positioning

(October-December)

-finalize details of campaign, e.g. key messages, champions, partners, experts for media interviews

-design web page, and products (e.g. « SIM-cities » type video game)

-revise budget and identify potential donors

-plan launch and notify media

-seek opportunities to pre-position campaign (e.g. Tilly Smith interview)

Proposed FrameworkII. Launch and implementation

(January - December)

-launch in mid-January

-co-organize country-level events with campaign champion

-raise visibility of innovative national initiatives, via articles, ISDR website

-prepare 3 to 4 video demonstrating best practices

-organize workshops with international broadcasting companies

-develop feature story with national and local TV networks, and special events with MTV or other big children networks

-use Sasakawa Award to crown innovative project related to theme

-prepare International Day

-explore private sector partnership (statistics brochure, billboards)

III. Assessment

(final quarter of year)

-evaluation of activities

-revision of plans for subsequent year

-yearly progress report for donors

Approach to Implementation:

-Focus efforts at the national and community levels, in disaster-prone regions;

- Identify “champions of disaster reduction”, representing different cultures and experiences.

-Work in partnership across sectors and with a wide variety of stakeholders;

-Leverage the communications potential of existing coalitions and organizations to effectively and efficiently convey messages and distribute products;

e) Important Considerations

-Multi-hazard approach

-Gender perspective and cultural diversity

-Multi-sector partnerships

-Least developed, disaster-prone countries

-Links to Millennium Development Goals

V. Challenges

-target audiences are numerous and diverse

-information is abundant, but not widely available or useful for all audiences

-media attention is largely focused on the consequences of disaster, rather than disaster risk reduction initiatives

-limited resources

VI. Estimated Budget

Resources:

-two full-time Geneva-based staff members -full engagement from regional ISDR offices -budget to be discussed

VII. Proposed Task Force Involvement

1. Consider acting as a key partner for relevant theme areas, for example:

Campaign Theme Examples of Potential Partners

2006, Prevention Starts at School

UNESCO, UNDP, IFRC, ADPC, Action Aid, CRED

2007, Theme related to health WHO (PAHO), IFRC

2008, Safer Cities UN-Habitat, EMI

2009, Preparing your home and community for disaster risks

UN-Habitat

2010, Protecting the environment to reduce disaster risks

UNEP, FAO, ICSU

Proposed Task Force Involvement

2. Include articles in organization newsletters and publications

3. Inform ISDR secretariat about relevant events and opportunities for conveying campaign messages

4. Assist with dissemination of campaign material

5. Provide experts and spokespeople for key events, media interviews, press conferences

6. Provide guidance on campaign themes

VII. Questions for Task Force

1. Does the Task Force agree with the goal, objectives, and approach of the strategy?

2. Does the Task Force have any views on the secretariat’s proposed themes and/or activities?

3. Does the Task Force have any views regarding timing, leverage, audiences, partners and outreach?

Next Steps

-finalize strategy based on Task Force input

-finalize 2006 Action Plan (meet with key partners, develop products and messages, etc.)

-finalize budget and financing

For further information, please contact:

Brigitte Leoni Media Relations Officer & Campaign CoordinatorISDR secretariatleonib@un.org

**Copies of Proposed Five Year Strategic Communication Plan are available on request.