Disaster risk information is critical for building disaster resilience in all phases of the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) cycle. It is equally as important for risk information to be communicated and understood for effective and risk informed decision-making.
Disaster risk communication aims to raise public awareness on hazards and possible disasters in communities to encourage preparedness and resilience.
The primary challenge of risk communication is to improve communication at all levels to ensure that information flows freely and effectively across society (United Nations, 2019). Another recent challenge is that most countries have experienced a new wave of ‘fake news’ and misinformation during COVID-19. The course will provide important inputs and insights to address these challenges.
The course consists of ten (10) sessions that will be delivered over 3-4 weeks. It should be noted that all sessions are based on the New Normal scenario (i.e. during and post COVID-19).
Session 1. Course Overview
• Need for disaster risk communication plan.
• Course objectives, scope, content overview, methodology and schedule.
Session 2. Overview of DRM concepts and frameworks
• Concepts, terminologies, and frameworks on DRM.
• Understanding Disaster Risk Communication and its linkage with DRM.
Session 3. Situation Analysis
• Concept of risk, risk information, risk perception and risk management options, risk perception factors.
• Participants conduct situation analyses based on the specific needs or situations.
Session 4. Disaster Risk Communication Approaches
• Disaster risk communication approaches for rapid and slow onset disasters (natural hazard-induced).
• Participants define and select approaches for their disaster risk communication plan.
Session 5. Understanding Your Audience
• Audience analysis and segmentation.
• Identifying additional stakeholders involved in disaster risk communication.
• Developing audience analysis and segmentation for disaster risk communication plan.
Session 6. Establishing Goals/ Objectives
• Desired results of a disaster risk communication plan.
• Participants establish goals/ objectives of their disaster risk communication plan
Session 7. Developing Right Message
• ‘What to say’ and ‘how to say’ for disaster risk communication.
• How to talk about the hazard’, ‘what to do’.
• Message delivery – style, tone, demeanour and accuracy.
• Participants develop the right messages for their prioritized audiences.
Session 8. Delivering Right Message
• Tools for communicating risk to the public (i.e., traditional and modern).
• Participants identify and select tools for delivering their right messages.
Session 9. Monitoring and Evaluation
• Framework for monitoring and evaluation of the effects of disaster risk communication
• Participants discuss and identify steps for preparing and implementing monitoring plan
Session 10. Return Demonstration
• Participants review and finalize their disaster risk communication plan.
• Participants present their final disaster risk communication plan for feedback and enhancement.
The target audience for this course are organizations dealing with disaster risk communication; namely,
• National, Local and Sub-national Governments,
• Private Sector and Professional Organizations
• Non-Governmental Organization and Civil Society Organizations
• Education and Research Institutions
• Media
• Regional Organizations including IGOs
• UN, International Organizations
Program/Project managers, including mid-to-senior level staff and personnel from above types of organizations, dealing with risk communication from disaster, public health, and relevant fields are encouraged to apply. Motivated Individuals who are interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills on disaster risk communication are also encouraged to take this course.
This course contains of following components:
• Interactive Power Point presentation
• Community visit
• Evaluation Quizzes
• Discussion Forums
• Peer Group Work for assignments
• Training Materials
• Course evaluations
• Coaching and Mentoring
This fee-based course is designed to offer practical guidance and hands-on experience to participants on developing a disaster risk communication plan. By doing so, participants will be able to improve their risk communication and contribute to effective risk-informed decisions at all levels.
This course explores risk communication from a natural hazard-induced disasters perspective (both rapid and slow onset) which includes epidemics such as COVID-19. The course also gives attention to multi-hazard and gender perspectives.
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
• Increase awareness, knowledge and skills on effective disaster risk communication;
• Develop or enhance their draft disaster risk communication plan in the New Normal; and
• Identify initiatives and good practices on effective disaster risk communication in the New Normal for possible future replication.
The standard course fee of USD200 covers course tuition, registration fee, training materials, study visit and online course software.
The course will be delivered by internationally recognized resource persons on disaster risk communication with a balance of technical and field experience; theory and practice; international, national and local knowledge; and disaster experience and training skills.
 | Mr. Shuvo Kumar Saha I would like to extend my appreciation to ADPC for this training. This course is interactive and we were able to share the knowledge and experience with fellow participants from other parts of the world on disaster risk communication processes. I also personally thank ADPC, particularly on selection of participants for my group with some government officials and UN agency guys. We learned a lot and we were able to develop the DRC plan together well. |
 | Dr. Shimaa Maki Ahmed We can learn new things from each other and teammate as well as providing the materials. We really love this training especially, the course convenes. The time of interaction would be a bit longer. The virtual community visit was excellent. We can know how the real community deal with the risk and how difficult they face in the real situation. |
 | Liza Velle B. Ramos The course has truly been a rewarding experience for me and the rest of the Makati contingents. True to its objectives, the 3-week training program has been successful in providing not only the theoretical aspect of DRC, but also its practical application in a disaster/emergency environment. After completing the course, Makati contingents will instantly apply our DRC learnings in various facets of our disaster risk reduction and management services, such as planning, advocacy, training, and operations, as well as in our Covid-19 management. |
 | Ms. Grace Tsz Kwan Yip Overall, I think this course is very timely, especially for us during the
COVID-19 pandemic situation. It will help me a lot at work in Hong Kong
Adventist Hospital and it will help reduced the knowledge gap because I
think it was an obstacle or challenge coming up with impact and quick DRC
plan. For the course content, I am very appreciative because it is very active
with expert advise and handling. Well organized. |