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SIX ABU MEMBERS MOVE TO PHASE 2 OF THE GLOBAL MEDIA FOR DRR INITIATIVE

Three ABU members in Bangladesh, two in Fiji and one in Papua New Guinea have completed the Phase 1 of  the Global Media for DRR Initiative.   Nearly 150 professionals from Bangladesh TV, Bangladesh Radio, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication, Fijian Broadcasting Corporation, Fiji  TV and EMTV were introduced to the concept of building a culture of disaster prevention through news, documentaries and popular shows.

The four-day interactive online courses aimed to establish the knowledge base of DRR concepts of the participants and develop ideas for increasing programming to educate people how to stay out of harm’s way.

The ABU Head of SG Office Ms Natalia Ilieva, who is the Asia – Pacific Coordinator of the Initiative, says that this is a very complex undertaking. It involves a trainer for content production on climate change adaptation and disaster prevention, a trainer on Early Warning Systems, a trainer on Weather Forecasts and input from radio specialist on Early Warnings and representatives of National Meteorological Offices and Disaster Management Authorities.

“It is a truly global initiative implemented by the members of World Broadcasting Union in Asia – Pacific, Africa, Arab States, Europe and Caribbean region. It relies on the expertise of a top team of trainers and consultants selected by the organisations supporting the initiative – UN Office for DRR, World Meteorological Organisation and International Telecommunication Union. For each training we have to navigate at least five time zones because trainers are based in Britain, USA, Trinidad and Tobago, while the ABU implementation team, (Ms Nargiza Numanova and Ms Ruchi Malhotra) is in Kuala Lumpur  and participating organisations are, Bangladesh, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. It is a challenge, but it works well. It is so rewarding to see the enthusiasm of our members. We already have five draft Action Plans for increasing DRR content and building a culture of disaster prevention and resilience, which hopefully will be put in practice very soon.”

Eleven more ABU members will undergo the same training by the end of March. Twenty five more will be offered the online course by the end of 2021.  The next phase of the Global Media for DRR Initiative will focus on building the links of broadcasters with their national Meteorological Offices and Disaster Management Authorities, practical in-country production training and regional and global co-productions.

For more information please contact Ms Natalia Ilieva, Asia – Pacific Coordinator of the on Global Media for DRR Initiative – natalia@abu.org.my