Disaster Risk Reduction
Saving Lives: Preparing For Disasters
Closing of the ABU/ESCAP DRR Broadcast Media Initiative
Ms Natalia Ilieva Executive Secretary to ABU Secretary-General
A
BU successfully completed its second co-operation project with UNESCAP – United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, on integrating media in national disaster management decision-making and communications. The project was implemented over three years in the targeted countries – India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
The DRR Broadcast Media Initiative engaged over 1,000 broadcast professionals, representatives of Meteorological Offices, National Disaster Management Agencies and community level NGOs. They met, exchanged ideas and planned for future cooperation through in-country consultation meetings, regional workshops and established ABU forums such as the Media Summit on Climate Change and DRR (Jakarta, June 2014) and the 2nd Global News Forum (Sendai, March 2015).
Such cooperation between media and the other stakeholders in disaster management had rarely occurred in the past. In some countries it even would have been impossible without the facilitation of ABU, which is seen as an honest broker.
Thanks to this project, there is a paradigm shift in the targeted countries towards giving broadcast media a greater role in disaster risk reduction and preparedness. The other stakeholders begin to accept media as a partner who can accelerate the process to empower people and build disaster knowledgeable society.
A special focus of the Initiative was building awareness about the needs of the most vulnerable groups – women, children, persons with disabilities and the elders. Our partner organization,
the Global Alliance on Accessible and Inclusive Technologies, produced Guidelines on Communications with Persons with Disabilities in Emergency.
During the implementation of the project we also tested the usefulness of the ABU Radio-in-a-Box (RIB) in emergency situations. This is a small and easy to operate radio station with 10 km radius of coverage. It could be deployed and be on air in a matter of minutes. RIB was recognized by many authorities and broadcasters as a valuable component for disaster preparedness. It could be a backup for normal radio facilities and is extremely useful tool to inform communities in danger when all other communication channels are down.
As part of the project, ABU is publishing a Lessons Learned Report, to be shared on the special website Saving Lives. ABU is also launching a bold strategy for helping ABU members to empower their audiences – the Disaster Literacy campaign.
Probably the biggest outcome of the project is that all stakeholders in the disaster management process (media, government and non-government organisations) are now committed to work together to “walk the last mile” and reach people in danger with timely, accurate and understandable information. However, this is just the beginning. There is a long journey ahead to dismantle the “silos” in which different agencies work and cooperate on every step to build resilient communities.
For the ABU this project was a profound learning journey and a milestone. It marks a clear new vision for the ABU’s role in mobilizing its members to be pro-active in saving lives and livelihoods. The new approach is to expand the role of broadcasters from early warnings and covering of disasters
to mainstreaming disaster preparedness in all programmes – from news to entertainment.
Turning information into knowledge and building a disaster literate society is the way the broadcast media can make a difference and save lives. This is a mandate the ABU is committed to carry on.
The support for the DRR Broadcast Media Initiative comes from the ESCAP administered Trust Fund for Tsunami, Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness. The Trust Fund was established after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The disaster, which took the lives of over 230,000 people, was a wakeup call for the media, governments and international organisations to introduce an Early Warning System for tsunami and coastal and other hazards throughout the region.
The ABU Secretariat would like to thank the UNESCAP for its trust and support for the implementation of the project.
The Secretariat also expressed its gratitude all ABU members who made this project possible by providing venues, facilities, conference packages for the meetings and bringing relevant staff to the events at their own cost. Thank you AIR and DDI, India; RTM, Malaysia; PMS, Maldives (formerly MBC); MRTV and Forever Group, Myanmar; PTV and HUM TV, Pakistan; Maharaja Media Group, Sri Lanka; VOV and VTV, Viet Nam. Special thanks go to NHK, Japan. Their journalists and technical experts selflessly shared their vast knowledge and expertise in early warnings and disaster coverage throughout the project.
ABU News 15
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