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The Caribbean: Communication, Vulnerability, Disaster Management and Climate Change. The Role of Community Radios, 4-6 May 2011, Haiti

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AMARC, the World Association of Community Radio, held a regional conference in Port-au-prince, Haiti, from the 4th to the 6th of May, entitled "Communication, Vulnerability, Emergencies and Climate Change: The Role of Community Radio”.

The goal of the conference was to reinforce the social impact of community radio in regards to climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as to prepare for using community radio in the areas of disaster preparedness and humanitarian response, including food security.

The conference gathered community radio representatives from the Caribbean region and Haiti, as well as delegates from other regions. Representatives of NGOs, governments, FAO emergency projects in Haiti, Onda Rural and FAO Latin America also attended. Best practices in disaster prevention and management, as well as in climate change adaptation and mitigation, were analyzed. The participants exchanged experiences in  strengthening the capacities of community radio in awareness raising and information broadcasting and, particularly, in accompanying  communities during natural disasters, such as those which occurred in Indonesia, Japan, Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Cuba, Chile and elsewhere Finally, participants defined areas of action to increase the effectiveness of community radio and civil society organizations.

During the Conference,  three main activities were implemented:

1. A presentation by Onda Rural entitled “Dealing with climate change, emergencies and vulnerability through communication and community radios”. 
Carlos Rivadeneyra, Onda Rural’s representative, presented the organization’s areas of work, activities and results, including the development of audio and video materials, the training of radio journalists and support of FAO emergency projects. Some of the specific actions shared were the design of an “Andean Information and Communication system for Risk Management”, the creation of an information portal for risk management entitled the Rural Web Radio and Onda Rural’s work in support of the “Eat Healthy” Campaign in Latin America, which has been implemented in six countries in the region and will soon be extended to Haiti, Chile, Paraguay and Colombia.

2. An interactive workshop to assess and launch FAO’s cholera prevention communication strategy for rural areas in Haiti, previously prepared by an FAO emergency project in the country. The workshop was conducted by FAO staff and consultants, with the participation of Haiti and Guadeloupe radio stations. In the past, cholera campaigns have not been as successful as they could have been. During a field visit prior to the workshop, FAO AMARC HAITIdetermined that although people had information on sources of pollution and on the disease itself, they were unable to  implement preventive measures due to lack of necessary conditions, including latrines and drinking water. Moreover, inconsistency in the messages that were disseminated was causing confusion among the population. Despite these deficiencies, it was determined that radio remains the most effective way to reach remote areas.
Some of the recommendations proposed by the radio stations at the workshop were to harmonize the messages disseminated, to broadcast in Creole, to include other community media and to engage the community in key locations and events.

3. An interactive workshop to validate a proposal for a manual on communication guidelines for disaster risk reduction and emergencies. Onda Rural is developing a handbook that aims to provide useful recommendations on how to proceed during emergencies or adverse effects of climate change by disseminating correct messages to the audience. The manual is intended to provide guidelines and tools for a wide range of actors working in development and in emergency situations.

FAO supported the conference in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2008 with AMARC to enhance the use of radio in agriculture and rural development initiatives.
Communication for Development promotes the combined use of participatory approaches, community media and broadcast media in rural areas, and, particularly, the use of community radio in providing access to knowledge and information to rural audiences to enhance their resilience to hazards and natural disasters.

See photos of the event.