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Key achievements and recommendations

Disseminationthroughtraditionalprintedmaterials(IECs)whencombinedwithtwo-way

dialogue by community volunteers encourages the communities to be more involved

and engaged.

Theidenticationandselectionoftheculturalreferencepoint,inthis caseLahLun,

triggered discussion on the topic o disaster risk reduction which increased the impact

o the communication materials.

TheengagementoflocalknowledgeandlocalresourcesbyPMI,includingartistsfrom

West Sumatra to design materials and incorporate local traditions to acilitate community

involvement, resulted in genuine ownership by local stakeholders and groups.

Resourcetheassessmentof communitysinformationneeds andcommunicationpat terns

to ensure eective and relevant messages are delivered to the community. This could

be integrated within existing assessments such as vulnerability capacity assessments

(VCAs) or the baseline survey.

Partner with local communication proessionals to translate the baseline results into a

creative, eective and localized communication strategy.

PromotionactivitiesintheICBRRlogframeshouldincludeacomprehensiveassessment

o communication channels and i ncorporate two way communication.

Buildonlocalassetsto communicate.Integratingmessagesintoa culturalreference

pointsuchasLahLunwashighlyeffective.

Understandthecapacityoftheorganizationtocommunicateeffectiveoutwards.Createa decision map or tree to understand how inormation moves within the organization

and when inormation should reach decision makers during a disaster.

Understandthecapacityoftheprovinceandorganizationtorespondtofeedbackfrom

thecommunity.Designandtestyourfeedbacksystemwiththecommunity.

Workwithorganizationalleaderstoensuretheyarerelaxedaboutcommunitiesadding

their voices and content to the programme.

Successfulcommunicationtoandwithcommunitiesthatsupportsresiliencebuilding

should supply the content, motivation and tools to communities. This will help commu-nities mobilize themselves to act autonomously.

Communicationwithcommunitiesshouldplacecommunitiesatthecentre,ratherthan

the brand or organization. Messaging that is engaging and with the potential to motivate,

rather than a conventional brand message, should be embraced.

5International Federationof Red Crossand Red CrescentSocieties

Role of communication in building resilence

PMI / Indonesia Red Cross

Aulia ArrianiHead o Public Relation Bureau

Email: aulia_arriani@pmi.or.id

Bevita Dwi MedityawatiHead o Sub Division

Disaster ManagementEmail: bevita-dwi@pmi.or.id

Casestudy authors: Husniand CarolineAustin.

Contact information:

Croix Rouge Francaise /French Red Cross

Herv GAZEAU,

DRR Regional Coordinator orSouth-East Asia and the PacifcMobile: +66 819 373078Email: deskreducrisk@croix-rouge.r

International Federation of

Red Cross Red Crescent

Caroline Austin, Benefciary CommunicationIFRC Southeast Asia Regional Delegation

Mobile: +66 089 814 4794Email: caroline.austin@irc.org

Follow us:

Credit French Red Cross.

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MethodologyUnderstandingtherange ofhazardsthat communitiesace, as well as communication patterns, is critical to

understanding inormation needs and designing an eec-

tive benefciary communication strategy. The programme

in West Sumatra undertook a series o workshops and

inormation assessments at the community level to under-

stand the communication context o each communityand to identiy the sources o vulnerability to disasters in

preparation or design o the communication strategy.This included PMI conducting ocus group discussions on

how communities received and communicated inorma-

tion, with the assistance o community based action teams

(CBAT). Multiple channels o communication were iden-

tifed by the community, which included printed materi-als, radio, television, mobile phones and social media. The

use o multiple channels ensured that all community

members had access to the inormation based on their

preerences, language and culture o receiving i norma-

tion (whether individually or in groups).

At the organizational level, workshops were also held to

identiy the capacity o the province and district teams tocommunicate with communities.

This important step recognized that understanding the

capacity o the organization to communicate outwards to

communities includes strong internal communication

between province and districts. Inormation management

and analysis o the inormation received rom communi-ties is an integral and i mportant part o communicating

eectively outwards. Based on fndings rom the work-

shop, PMI in West Sumatra established a Facebook site to

share inormation quickly and easily between all stake-

holders at province and district levels on disasters and

the programme. An administrator at the province levelwas appointed to manage inormation in this orum.

Building an innovative strategy of

communication to community

1. Stimulating discussion using a cultural

reerence point Lah Lun

To stimulate discussion on issues associated with disaster

risks, PMI designed a series o questions under the heading

LahLun.LahLunisaculturalwordoftenusedbythe

people throughout West Sumatra that explores i people

have undertaken actions or steps related to somethingwithin their community. Questions asking the communi-

ty i they were aware o hazards within their village were

printed on stickers and large posters and placed at strate-

gic points such as shops, community centres and markets

or two weeks.

2. Question cards: testing pre knowledge onrisk reduction issues

At the same time as the posters and stickers were dis-

seminated within the community, question cards were

distributed by Community Based Action teams (CBAT)

volunteers to check the initial understanding o commu-

nity knowledge o disaster i ssues. They contained ques-

tions to test community knowledge on what to do beore,during and ater a disaster.

3. Communication material (fipcharts, posters,

shop blinds, movies)

To answer the questions posed in the stickers and posters,

the programme team designed ipcharts, posters, calen-

dars and shop screens carrying key messages on disaster

risk reduction. Integrating the inormation within everydayitems, such as calendars and shop screens, was monitored

in a post question card or eectiveness. An important

part o this communication was the joint development

byPMIandthecommunityofanUncu2 character that

conveyed the messages in the materials. These materials

were then delivered by trained CBAT volunteers to the

community and allowed the community to check under-standingofDRR messaging,aswellas gatherfeedback

rom communities related to the programme.

4. Question cards: testing post knowledge on

risk reduction issues

Ater completing these communication activities, the

communitiesunderstandingwassurveyedusingaques-

tion card. Results indicated signifcant improvements inknowledge o disaster risk reduction issues rom the pre

survey. The results are summarised below.

Why this document?This document captures the key experiences o the benefciary communication

programme run at province and district level by PMI West Sumatra. It includes

recommendations or programmatic and institutional change relevant to communicationwith communities or all Red Cross Red Crescent partners in Indonesia and in the region.

2International Federationof Red Crossand Red CrescentSocieties

Role of communication in building resilence3

International Federationof Red Crossand Red CrescentSocieties

Role of communication in building resilence

A sae and resilient community is knowledgeable:

Ifitcanassesshowprepareditis; Hasahighlevelofawarenessaboutmaintaini ng

good hygiene and sanitation practices and

practicestheseskills; Doesnotputitselfatgreaterrisk;

Canundertakesearchandrescueactivities; Hashadtrainingonshocksandstresses;

Hasahighlevelofawarenessabouttheshock

orstress,stayscalmanddoesnotpanic;

Canundertakedamageassessments.

Importantly, this inormation should be assessed

at the beginning o the programme cycle and on

an ongoing basis across the ICBRR programmingto allow or appropriate changes and updates as

needschange.CommunityBasedDisasterRisk

Reduction Study, Characteristics o a Sae and

ResilientCommunity,ARUPat http://www.ifrc.org/

PageFiles/96986/Final_Characteristics_Report.pdf

What channels o communication does yourcommunity have access to?

What are the preerred channels o

communication? When do you access

these channels?

What are the preerred channels to enable

two-way communication between communities

and PMI (to voice your opinion, eedback or

suggestions) during the programme?

What does it mean to be a knowledgeablecommunity?

Summary o inormation needs assessmentquestions in West Sumatra:

It is a good idea when the radio talk show pro-

grammes open up forum for discussion. I tried to

participate by calling up by phone and felt that it

was great to be able to contribute my thoughts on

the issues discussed.

Local residents in Solok District

2. UncuinWestSumatraisa respectedperson,someonewhothecommunitylooksuptoin termsofknowledgeandwisdomandaccessibletoall members

ofthecommunity.

A PMI volunteer conducting an information assessment related to disaster riskreduction in Padang.Photo credit: Husni / French Red Cross

Large posters displayed in a central point in Bukittinggi to build awareness ondisaster risk reduction issues. Photo credit: Husni / French Red Cross