"In July 2015, Internews launched Open Mic Nepal, a project designed to track and debunk rumors in the earthquake-afected communities. Based on previous pilots of this approach in Gaza and Liberia, the project set out to assess and address information needs by using minimally structured qualitative
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data-gathering approaches to surface trends in community conversations, identify key concerns, misunderstandings and toxic/corrupted information, and to redress them with the provision of reliable and verified information as speedily as possible." (Page 2)
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"Internews has launched a three-part learning module on Boda Boda Talk Talk, the hyperlocal humanitarian information service currently operational in four United Nations Protection of Civilians Sites (PoCs) across the country. Part I of the module focuses on the theory and rationale behind a communi
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ty-led audio program produced to radio broadcast standards, describing how the political and humanitarian context in South Sudan—and unique local information ecosystem within the UN PoC sites—influenced BBTT’s design. Part II is a case study that describes how BBTT was designed and rolled out in Tong Ping (Juba) and Malakal/Wau Shilluk, including sections on challenges, adaptive programming, and recommendations for similar projects." (Internews website)
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"This guide outlines the step-by-step processes and potential challenges that may arise in setting up a Boda Boda Talk Talk (BBTT) project. In it, you will find information and advice on everything from what equipment to purchase, to how to build relationships with other humanitarian actors, to recr
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uiting staff and establishing listening groups. Given its straightforward setup, readily available equipment and relatively low cost, the BBTT model can be easily replicated and adapted to other humanitarian emergency contexts." (Page 7)
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"Smartphones and digital connectivity are essential for refugees seeking protection and safety in Europe, but they also carry risks for them. This research identified a huge gap in the provision of relevant, reliable and timely digital news and information for refugees on their journeys and upon arr
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ival in Europe. There is a growing number of digital resources designed for refugees. Most are inadequately resourced and unsustainable. They can do more harm than good if they disseminate misinformation. Quick ‘tech fixes’ do not work. Governments and newsrooms in Europe are failing to provide what refugees need, because they fear that they may be seen to be facilitating attempts to seek asylum in Europe. This is forcing refugees to rely on alternative, often unverified and unreliable sources of news and information circulated on social media, particularly by smugglers and handlers. This is endangering them and exacerbating an already dire situation." (Summary of findings, page 5)
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"By “ICT” we refer to digital devices and systems which are accessible to everyone, be it refugees, civil society groups, humanitarian or development cooperation actors such as private companies. We talk about projects using personal computers, smartphones and tablets which can access the Intern
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et [...] We will begin by characterising civic tech actors, who are playing a particularly interesting role in the landscape of ICT for refugees. Secondly, we will discuss the use of technology by refugees, which will serve as important framing for subsequent analysis of projects. Thirdly, we will explain further our methodology. We then, fourthly, present a report of our field research in Greece, Jordan and Turkey, outlining key findings and setting them in context. Fifthly we proceed to an overview of key areas of activity and potential, drawing on case studies from our field research. Finally we discuss cooperation and exchange between different kinds of actors, some challenges and risks common to ICT for refugee projects, finishing with recommendations for practitioners and policymakers."
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"The guide is not about how to use media for public relations or fund-raising purposes; it focuses on working with media to share useful and actionable information with communities affected by crisis. Humanitarians call this kind of communication different things: “community engagement”, “comm
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unication with communities”, “beneficiary communication” or “humanitarian communication”. They all mean the same thing: harnessing the power of communication to save lives. The focus is on local and national media because, if you want to reach local communities you need to go through local channels, which can provide specific, localised information and are in close proximity to their audiences." (Introduction)
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"The purpose of Lifeline programming is to make content for people affected by humanitarian crises in order to help save lives and reduce suffering [...] Lifeline programming requires a different approach from conventional newsgathering and reporting. It involves sharing practical, actionable inform
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ation that audiences can use to improve their situation, and also providing encouragement and reassurance. It’s about reporting for those affected rather than about them. Topics may include issues around safety, food, water, shelter, health, hygiene, trauma and more." (Page 4)
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"This report examines the uses of digital media among non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with migrants and refugees primarily in Europe. Based on interviews with leaders at over 20 NGOs, this report documents how organizations are thinking about digital and media literacies for combating
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xenophobia. NGOs are strategically leveraging various storytelling techniques to build effective communication campaigns that identify and respond to discriminatory messages and racist sentiments prevalent in public discourse. This report highlights seven key strategies for digital storytelling that is current practice as well as a five-part framework of emergent practice. The report concludes with a series of recommendations for the management of digital media programs and projects." (Abstract)
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"This handbook focuses on practical principles and best practices of risk communication to support risk management of adverse food safety (including quality) events associated with biological, chemical or physical hazards. Food defence and nutritional aspects are outside the scope. Another focus of
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this handbook is on the use of risk communication in the process of risk analysis to manage both food safety emergencies (e.g. outbreaks of food-borne illness) and non-emergency or more enduring food safety issues (e.g. food safety and health promotion campaigns). Although the main focus of the handbook is on food safety, many aspects are applicable to effective risk communication in support of feed safety, animal health and zoonotic disease management. Publicly available knowledge on risk communication, existing guides and training materials and ongoing initiatives were carefully reviewed to inform the scope and format of this handbook. The aim was to develop a handbook that is useful for a wide range of countries and regions, with the main focus on the needs of low- and middle-income countries." (Page 3)
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"This study provides insights that can inform disaster communication management, policymaking, and theory building through a nationally representative field experiment (N = 2,015 U.S. adults) grounded in media richness theory, information and communication technologies (ICTs) succession theory, and
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the social-mediated crisis communication (SMCC) model. Key findings include the following: (1) Significant main effects of disaster information source were detected on how likely participants were to seek further disaster information from TV, local government websites, and federal government websites; (2) regardless of information form and source, participants reported strongest intentions to immediately communicate about the disaster predominately via offline interpersonal forms rather than through online organizational and personal forms; and (3) regardless of information source, participants reported strong intentions to evacuate if instructed to do so by the government. These findings call for developing crisis communication theory that is more focused on how publics communicate with each other rather than with organizations about disasters and predict a wider variety of crisis communication outcomes." (Abstract)
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"This Managing Social Media During Emergencies Guide is designed to assist Councils to better plan, manage and continue to improve the effectiveness of social media use during an emergency event." (Intorduction, page 4)
"The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has developed this paper to support Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers in their communication and advocacy on community resilience. The paper explains the IFRC’s definition of and approach to building communi
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ty resilience, sets out key messages, and suggests how to communicate the rationale for promoting community resilience to a broad audience. The document draws on the IFRC’s Framework for Community Resilience and the strategy behind the One Billion Coalition for Resilience. The messages and evidence in this paper should inform discussions, plans and decision-making in national disaster risk reduction or disaster management platforms, policy forums, community consultations, and project design." (Page 4)
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"Good risk communication is crucial for raising awareness among citizens and business about the risks their countries face. However, many countries have seen their risk communication tools fail in the past, leading to persistently low levels of risk awareness, especially in the absence of recent dis
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asters. This OECD report surveys current trends in risk communication policies and practices across OECD and partner countries. It seeks to understand why risk communication tools have failed and what OECD countries can do to improve the effectiveness of their risk communication policies. Based on an OECD-wide survey, the report evaluates the degree to which countries have used risk communication tools to not only increase risk awareness, but to inform stakeholders about potential preparedness and prevention measures they can take to boost their resilience to future risks." (Publisher description)
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"The media can make a real difference in the way people think about and act on disasters. Reporters, commentators, editors, broadcasters, and all members of the media can do more than just inform and raise awareness about disasters. By exploring the root causes of disasters and their social dimensio
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ns, the media can help communities and countries understand more fully what it is that makes them vulnerable, and what they can do to increase their capacities to cope with disasters. The objective of this media kit is to give members of the media a basic knowledge of key disaster management principles and concepts in order to enable them to make an active and meaningful contribution to creating safer and more resilient communities. The media kit has been developed with reference to particular issues and challenges which media practitioners are likely to encounter in Lao PDR." (Page 4)
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"As the world's urban poor increase in numbers, they become acutely vulnerable to hazards from extreme weather events. On 8 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan struck the province of Leyte, Philippines, with casualties numbering in the thousands, largely because of the ensuing storm surge that swept the c
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oastal cmmunities. This study investigates the role and dynamics of risk communication in these events, specifically examining the organizational processing of text within a complex institutional milieu. The authors show how the risk communication process failed to convey meaningful information about the predicted storm surge, transmitting and retransmitting the same routine text instead of communicating authentic messages in earnest. The key insight is that, rather than focus solely on the verbatim transmission of a scripted text, risk communication needs to employ various modes of translation and feedback signals across organizational and institutional boundaries. Adaptation will require overcoming organizational rigidities in order to craft proportionate responses to extreme weather events that may lie outside personal and institutional memory. Future work should build upon the textual processing approach to risk communication, expanding it into a comprehensive relational model of environmental cognition". (Abstract)
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