Report on Montego Bay Outreach Activities April 2012

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Report on Montego Bay Outreach Activities of the
GOJ/EU/UNEP Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk
Reduction Project – April 19-20, 2012
Montego Bay outreach activities under the GOJ/EU/UNEP Climate Change Adaptation
and Disaster Risk Reduction Project communication and public education campaign
(Result Area Three) took place between April 19 and 20, 2012.
The project partnered with the Panos and NEEC Voices for Climate Change Education
Project and NEPA for the Montego Bay Activities, as the Voices Project had also been
planning and had budgeted for “Mo-Bay Splash” activities in April.
The outreach activities were linked to the commemoration of Earth Day (April 22) and it
was thought this was particularly suitable as NEPA indicated that EFJ and a number of
other groups had activities planned for Kingston and it was an excellent opportunity to
do awareness activities in Eastern Jamaica.
The objectives of the outreach activities were:
1. To increase engagement of target groups in exchanges of information and ideas
regarding climate change, its impact at the individual, community and national
levels in Jamaica and on possible adaptation measures that can be undertaken at
these levels;
2. To increase the availability of accurate and culturally relevant information and
communication resources on climate change, its impact and adaptation, to wide
cross sections of the Jamaican population
The activities undertaken over the two days were:
▪ Media Sensitisation Session with Western Media
▪ Private Sector Luncheon to raise awareness about climate change and in
particular its implications for the tourism sector
▪ Town hall Meeting targeting the general public to raise awareness about
climate change, its implications for St James and possible adaptation
responses
▪ Voices for Climate Change Education Concert with Voices Artistes
▪ School Visits to four primary schools with Voices artistes to raise
children’s awareness about environmental protection and about what
they can do to help address climate change
▪ Boat Tour with Artistes and media to raise awareness about the
importance of coral reefs and coastal resources in helping protect
Jamaica from climate change impacts and to bring visibility to NEPA’s
work in Result Area Two of the project.
▪ Press and Publicity Activities-to raise awareness about: the Montego Bay
outreach activities, climate change, its impacts and the need to adapt and
the work of the GOJ/EU/UNEP CCADRRP and the Voices Project
The CCADRRP team in Montego Bay consisted of Mr Rollin Alveranga from the Policy,
Planning and Standards Division of the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and
Climate Change; Mr Clifford Mahlung, Mrs Constance Mayne-Hinds and Mr. Paul Folkes
from the Meteorological Service, Dr. Tannecia Stephenson from the UWI Climate Change
Group and Gail Hoad and Chantalla Griffiths from the project unit.
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Results:
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Media Sensitisation Session at the Wexford Court Hotel –The six
media houses/bureaus in Montego Bay were invited and two attended.
The Forestry Department also attended the session. Brief presentations
were made by Mr Clifford Mahlung from the Meteorological Service on
what the 2nd National Communication has reported on St James and
Climate Change impacts, as well as its recommendations for adaptation,
and by Indi McLymont-Lafayette from Panos Caribbean on tips for
covering climate change issues. A lively discussion took place and
journalists were particularly appreciative of information on what climate
change meant for Montego Bay and its coastal infrastructure. They were
also provided with copies of the Second National Communication and
contact details for resource persons. The Jamaica Information Service
and the Western Mirror produced stories from information and data
provided at the event.
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A Private Sector Luncheon –Invitations were sent individually to all
members of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce as well as the the
Chamber itself asking them to help us mobilise members. The Jamaica
Hotel and Tourism Association was also asked to invite members. The
event was held at the Pelican Restaurant. The president of the chamber
had confirmed attendance but had a last minute emergency and so sent
apologies. Over 30 members of the Chamber as well as the Mayor of
Montego Bay attended. Four media houses covered the event (JIS,
Gleaner, Observer, IRIE FM).
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A Townhall Meeting- There were about 30-40 persons in attendance.
This was in part due to a reliance on the parish council to assist in
mobilisation and the subsequent challenges that body faced during that
period in April. In terms of content, the format and communication
methodology used was well-received. Women’s Media Watch did a skit
highlighting key climate change concerns for St James and for Jamaica in
general, and then proceeded to engage the panel of experts present and
the audience to discuss these issues and look at possible responses at the
individual, community and national levels for Montego Bay. The expert
panel consisted of Mr. Rollin Alveranga, Dr. Tannecia Stephenson, Mr.
Clifford Mahlung and Panos’ Indi McLymont-Lafayette. The meeting was
chaired by NEPA’s Natalie Fearon. The event was held at the Montego
Bay Civic Centre.
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Voices for Climate Change Education Concert-This event was
spearheaded by the Panos/NEEC Voices for Climate Change Education
and featured performances by 18 artistes. There were again logistic and
organisational challenges particularly due too the challenges facing the St
James parish council at that time. The event was held at Dump Up Beach,
which the UDC provided free of cost. The CCADRRP campaign supported
the artistes’ participation in the concert.
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School Visits-This event was also spearheaded by the Panos/NEEC
Voices for Climate Change Education project and saw the artistes and
representatives from the Meteorological Service and NEEC visiting four
schools to provide education and entertainment regarding climate change.
CCADRRP stickers with the campaign tagline were distributed and
members of the team supported with information to students. Trees were
provided by the Forestry Department for planting at the four schoolsHoward Cooke Primary, Corinaldi Primary, Flankers Primary and Junior
High and Barracks Road Primary.
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Boat Tour- Two boats took Voices Artistes on a tour of the Montego Bay
Marine Park. The press was invited but did not attend. The aims of the
tour were to build awareness about the importance of coastal resources
in helping Jamaica cope with climate change and to raise awareness
about the work being done by NEPA under Result Area 2 of the project.
Nichelle Oxford provided information on coral reefs, the impact of climate
change on coral reef, the impact of human activity on these resources
and the work of the project in protecting them. There was a lively
discussion between the technical staff from NEPA and the Marine Park
rangers and the artistes on the subject.
6. Press and Publicity- A publicity strategy for the Montego Bay
activities was developed and implemented in collaboration with
Panos and NEPA. The CCADRRP was a part of the NEPAorganised press event, featuring Minister Pickersgill, to
announce events and plans for Earth Day and the Montego Bay
outreach activities were included as a part of Earth Day events.
Project posters were mounted at the event. A photographer was
hired for the private sector luncheon
7. Press release re the CCADRRP activities in Montego Bay was
drafted and sent out to all media houses
8. Invitations to cover the business luncheon, the townhall meeting
and the boat tour of the Marine Park were sent to all MontegoBay based media (RJR, JIS, Gleaner and Observer Western
bureaus, Mello FM, IRIE FM, the Western Mirror)
9. Advertisement recorded and run on Power 106 and Mello FM
and used for the town
10. Special package deals were arranged with Power 106 and Mello
FM to run advertisement spots re the CCADRRP outreach
activities and to do interviews with key persons from the
CCADRRP and Voices
11. Clifford Mahlung and Gail Hoad participated in a radio interview
on April 18 on Power 106 at 8:30 am
12. Gail Hoad provided a quote for an article on the Voices outreach
activities which was published in the Gleaner
13. Gail Hoad did a radio interview on 7:30 am on April 20 on Mello
FM
14. Natalie Fearon from NEPA did a radio interview with Michael
Anthony Cuffe on POWER 106 at 8:50 pm on April 18
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15. Natalie Fearon did a radio interview on Nationwide at 6:50 pm
on April 19
16. Indi McLymont-Lafayette from Panos did a radio interview with
Barry G on Mello FM on April 19
Target groups engaged-media, students, private sector groups, tourism interests, the
Montego Bay community/public, Voices artistes.
Successes:
• Mobilisation and engagement of the private sector through the Chamber of
Commerce worked very well.
• Engagement with schools also worked very well as did the engagement with
media houses.
• The team approach of working in conjunction with Panos/NEEC Voices Project
and NEPA worked well and gave added strength and visibility to efforts,
prevented duplication of efforts and supported a harmonised approach to public
education and sensitisation.
• The team approach also worked well in helping us cover wide ground and reach
multiple stakeholders.
• There was excellent visibility for and publicity given to outreach activities and
good media coverage was obtained
Challenges:
• Reliance on parish council and associated problems resulting in failure to reach
community level institutions, groups, agencies including DRR coordinator to help
mobilise communities for the town hall meeting and concert
• Need for clarification and localisation of key messages for private sector – more
in-depth preparation needed for the technical panel
Lessons Learnt & The Way Forward:
Give more time to team planning of outreach activities internally and with partners. As a
result of this lesson learnt, May will be used for planning parish outreach activities for
the next six months as well as for producing AV materials and working with the Spanish
Town and Manchester Parish Council re activities to be supported in climate change
adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
Parish outreach activities will resume parish outreach in June and July. The project will
look at doing outreach in St Ann and St Thomas in June and in two other parishes in
July (TBD). We have learnt that in organising and mobilising for the townhall meetings
we need to work closely with DRR coordinators at parish council levels as well as with
churches and citizens associations/organisations, the police especially the community
officers and neighbourhood ODPEM, CBOs and NGOs, the GEF programme
For events where dignitaries are invited ensure protocol is observed re greeting and
seating of these specially invited guests such as Mayors and Chamber of Commerce
presidents etc.
Ensure content for all sector groups as far as possible is made relevant to the specific
situation of the parish using the Second National Communication and other relevant
documents.
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Have the townhall meeting followed by the concert at one venue on the same day. This
makes better sense in terms of planning, organisation and implementation, as well as in
terms of costs. In Montego Bay this was not possible as the Civic Centre area could not
accommodate the concert and the concert venue was confirmed late (April 18).
Ensure the number of events planned is manageable and does not over stretch the
resources of the team. At the same time, we have found that having a number of events
reaching multiple stakeholders does have a desired “blitz” effect on the particular area.
If Result Area One or Two of the project is working in the parish targeted, ensure they
are fully integrated into the outreach activities. Nichelle Oxford from NEPA was on hand
in Montego Bay and attended the private sector luncheon and the townhall meeting and
led on the boat tour of the Marine Park. This gave visibility to the result area two
activities and provided an opportunity to disseminate key messages re improved
protection of coastal resources as an adaptation response to climate change.
Negotiate specially tailored advertising packages with media houses using limited funds
and outside of the standard package deals being offered by the media houses. Try to
rely less on outside broadcasts which are usually pushed by media houses and more on
packages with in-depth interviews and advertising spots for key messages over a
particular period. This approach worked very well for the project with regards to the
Montego Bay activities.
Work more to piggyback onto existing activities to implement outreach activities at the
parish level e.g. private sector groups and service club groups regular meetings etc.
Always ensure that a communication point person (from CCADRRP, Voices or NEPA) is
always with a breakout group giving communication support to the technical persons,
when the team is split up for outreach activities.
Continue to keep the Director of Communications in the Ministry abreast of activities so
that she can involve the Minister in the campaign activities wherever possible
The importance of a “climate change champion” as noted in the campaign stragegy, in
reaching key groups is critical. The involvement of Robert McKinney from Rose Hall
Developments on the technical panel was very important in the private sector luncheon
and worked well. We also would want some gatekeepers in each parish to help us by
doing things like chairing the town hall meeting i.e. having an insider introduce the
initiative to the local community
Partnerships and building on the strengths of existing initiatives that are working well
are approaches that work in public education and communication activities. While we
ensure all our events and activities are branded, we also recognise the importance of
collaboration for greater effectiveness and results.
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Media Coverage of Montego Bay Events for Earth Day-Hyperlinks
Artistes lift voices for Climate Change-The Gleaner, Sunday, April 15, 2012 http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120415/news/news4.html
Govt moving quickly to address climate change-Pickersgill –JIS, April 19, 2012
http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/116-water-housing/30323-govt-moving-quickly-to-addressclimate-change-pickersgill
Full slate of activities to mark Earth Day on April 22-JIS, April 19, 2012
http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/145-water-land-environment-climate-change/30324-fullslate-of-activities-to-mark-earth-day-on-april-22
Jamaica Observes Earth Day-April 19-22 - Radio Jamaica - April 19, 2012
http://rjrnewsonline.com/news/local/jamaica-observes-earth-day-april-19-22
Pictorial –Coverage of the Private Sector Luncheon-The Gleaner, April 21, 2012
http://mobile.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120421/western/western43.php
Earth Day 2012: Concerns about Effect of Climate Change-IRIE FM, April 22,
2012
http://www.iriefm.net/news/headline/earth-day-2012-concerns-about-effect-climatechange
Climate Change will be considered in deciding land use says PickersgillJamaica Observer, April 22, 2012
http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/career/Climate-change-will-be-considered-indeciding-land-use--says-Pickersgill_11294848
Citizens must help minimise the effects of climate change -JIS, April 23, 2012
http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/145-water-land-environment-climate-change/30351citizens-must-help-minimize-the-effects-of-climate-change
MoBay could be wiped out! – Western Mirror-April 28, 2012
http://westernmirror.com/index.php/permalink/5560.html
Vulnerability of the Montego Bay Coastal Zone-Western Mirror, April 28, 2012
http://westernmirror.com/index.php/permalink/5572.html
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SCENES FROM THE MONTEGO BAY OUTREACH APRIL 19-20, 2012
Journalism Sensitisation Workshop-Wexford Court Hotel, April 19, 2012
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Private Sector Luncheon –Pelican Restaurant, April 19, 2012
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Townhall Meeting –Montego Bay Civic Centre, April 19, 2012
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School Visits and Boat Tour with Voices for Climate Change Education Artistes