Report on Manchester Outreach Activities of the GOJ/EU/UNEP Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Project July 5-6, 2012

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1 1 Report on Manchester Outreach Activities of the GOJ/EU/UNEP Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Project July 5-6, 2012 Manchester outreach activities under the GOJ/EU/UNEP Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Project s communication and public education campaign (Result Area Three) took place between July 5 th and 6 th, The project partnered with the Manchester Parish Council, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Panos Caribbean and the National Environment Education Committee (NEEC) Voices for Climate Change Education Project for the Manchester activities. Other agencies represented in outreach activities included the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the UWI Climate Studies Group. The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) was to have participated as well but the designated representative was forced to cancel his engagement at the last minute. 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: A Manchester Climate Change Stakeholders Meeting convened by the Manchester Parish Council in collaboration with the GOJ/EU/UNEP CCADRR Project on July 5 Media Sensitisation Session with local media in Mandeville on July 6 Private Sector Luncheon to raise awareness about climate change and in particular its implications for the tourism sector An all day Expo on the Mandeville Parish Green An Edutainment Event featuring Women s Media Watch in a community theatre piece and the Voices for Climate Change Education Artistes in a concert Press and Publicity Activities-to raise awareness about: the Manchester 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 Manchester consisted of Mr Jeffrey Spooner and Mr. Clifford Mahlung from the Meteorological Service; Ms. LeAnne Roper from RIVAMP and the Planning Institute of Jamaica; Dr. Tannecia Stephenson from the UWI Climate Studies Group; Ms. Gail Hoad and Ms. Chantalla Griffiths from the project unit and Mrs Constance Mayne-Hinds and Mr. Paul Folkes, providing administrative and logistics support from the Meteorological Service.

2 2 Ms. LaJean Powell, parish disaster coordinator for Manchester, worked to identify service providers for the parish council meeting, the expo and the concert; develop the concept for the meeting agenda and invite speakers and participants and coordinate the expo and exhibitors for July 6, among other things. - Manchester Climate Change Stakeholders Meeting at the Manchester Parish Council on July 5- convened by the Manchester Parish Council in collaboration with the GOJ/EU/UNEP CCADRR Project. The meeting was a special session of the parish disaster committee and was attended by the Committee Chair (the deputy mayor), Councillors, the Secretary Manager and local NGO and community representatives. The Member of Parliament for South Manchester, the Hon. Michael Peart, was also in attendance. Presentations were made by the PIOJ, the UWI Climate Studies Group, the Meteorological Service, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute and the Voices for Climate Change Education Project. Information was provided on the work of the Adaptation Fund and on Jamaica s recently approved Adaptation Fund proposal which has project activities for Manchester. Councillors were particularly interested in knowing how communities were selected for project interventions and how they could, as a body, participate in the process of identification and selection of beneficiary communities during the development of proposals by the PIOJ. Particular concerns were raised about the need for disaster risk reduction and adaptation work for communities in South Manchester to cope with coastal erosion and with water shortages. Ms Powell shared some information about the training and public education activities planned for the Alligator Pond community and environs. It was agreed that a follow up meeting on climate change issues was necessary for the parish disaster committee. A copy of Jamaica s Second National Communication to the UNFCCC was presented to parish council. - Media Sensitisation Session at the Mandeville Hotel on July 6 Invitations were sent to two local media houses in Mandeville as well as to three correspondents for national media houses, based in Manchester. Confirmations were received from the two local media houses only the Mandeville Weekly and the Northern Caribbean University Media Group. On July 6 three journalists all from the NCU Media Group - attended the session. The Mandeville Weekly sent apologies. Mr Clifford Mahlung from the Meteorological Service made a presentation based on the Second National Communication on Climate Change and its impacts on the Agriculture and Water sectors, as well as recommendations for adaptation. Mrs. Indi McLymont-Lafayette from Panos Caribbean provided tips for covering climate change issues. There was a lively discussion and exchange of ideas and the project promised to follow up possible working relationships with the NCU Media Group. The team was afterwards invited to appear on the NCU current affairs programme State of Affairs on NCU radio and television. As a follow up, the Mandeville Weekly also asked the project to provide some information on the outreach activities in Manchester for its news pages. The Mandeville Weekly reporter had attended the parish council meeting.

3 3 - Expo in the Mandeville Village Green/Park- Heavy rains all day on July 6 disrupted this event. Some exhibitors came out but did not stay long because of the rains. In the end the two remaining booths were the parish council s exhibition and NEPA s exhibition. The booths did however attract a number of people to the area and most stayed or returned after they were told there was to be a concert later in the evening. - Edutainment Event Community Theatre by Women s Media Watch and Voices for Climate Change Education Concert-This event was spearheaded by the Panos/NEEC Voices for Climate Change Education project and featured performances by 15 artistes. There was a skit performed by Women s Media Watch focusing on climate change impacts and adaptation responses, particularly those relevant to the parish of Manchester. The actors interacted with the audience and asked them questions related to the topics explored in the skit. The concert with the artistes performances followed. The performances by both the drama group and the artistes were well received and despite the poor weather conditions earlier in the day, there was a good crowd turnout for the event. Bags and cups produced as promotional items for the project were distributed as prizes and giveaways. The event was held at Mandeville Green/Park which the parish council provided free of cost and waived all associated license fees for the event. The CCADRRP campaign supported the artistes participation in the concert. - Press and Publicity- A publicity strategy for the Mandeville activities was developed and implemented in collaboration with Panos, NEPA and the parish council. Flyers were developed for the expo and edutainment event and circulated among councillors, in the town of Mandeville and environs, posted on the Voices for Climate Change Education Facebook page etc. A radio advertisement was produced for the event and an advertising package accompanied by an outside broadcast was negotiated with Power 106. The project poster was mounted at all events for visibility. The emcees at the concert mentioned sponsors including the GOJ, the EU and UNEP. A photographer was hired for the parish council meeting and for the July 6 events in the park. 1. Invitations to cover the parish council meeting, the expo and the edutainment event were sent to the two local media houses and to Manchester/Central Jamaica correspondents from The Gleaner, The Observer and the RJR group. 2. Advertisement recorded and run on Power 106 and special package deal arranged with Power 106 to run advertisement spots and to do an outside broadcast from the park featuring interviews with key persons from the CCADRRP, the parish council and the Voices project. This outside broadcast ran from about 2:30pm to 5:00 pm on Power 106 on Both Sides of the Story hosted by Dervan Malcolm.

4 Target groups engaged-the parish council members and staff, community representatives involved in disaster risk reduction work, the media and the Mandeville community/public. 4 Successes: Organising events in close collaboration with the parish council worked very well. The parish council in this case was highly motivated and took the lead in terms of articulating areas of focus for them and in organising the parish council stakeholders meeting. The parish council also gave support in terms of identifying reliable service providers for the various events, getting quotes for services needed and doing all the necessary follow up on the ground in the parish. Engagement with local media also worked very well as local media stakeholders are hungry for information about issues affecting their parish and communities and appreciate the effort of a national programme to reach out to them at the parish level. The team approach of working in conjunction with Panos/NEEC Voices Project and NEPA worked well and gave much needed support and added strength to efforts, prevented duplication of efforts and supported a harmonised approach to public education and sensitisation. Challenges: The outreach activity plans had included a luncheon session with private sector via the Manchester Chamber of Commerce at its regular meeting on July 5. Due to its packed schedule for the week of the outreach however, the Chamber of Commerce was unable to accommodate the project s request for a meeting with members. Some follow up may be needed to reach this important private sector group at a later date. Lessons Learnt & The Way Forward: The presence of senior civil servants/goj representatives proved invaluable and essential at the parish council meetings. A recommendation from the report on the St Ann outreach activities had noted more authoritative and high level messengers from the public sector required. The presence of the acting director of the Met Service and the acting head of the Climate branch provided much needed context and institutional history re development of project proposals in response to burning questions posed by the parish council members. The inclusion of senior GOJ representatives from relevant departments on the outreach team is important to ensure success of the campaign activities. The input/involvement/buy in and active participation of the Parish Council in the Manchester activities was integral to the success of the outreach. The parish disaster coordinator was proactive in identifying the needs of her parish, organising relevant activities and mobilising the council and other players in the parish to participate in the stakeholder meeting. The success of activities in Manchester is largely due to the tremendous support from the parish council. Regarding the Women s Media Watch skit, more coordination is needed with the PA/Sound System provider to ensure that the actors need to move around on the ground (offstage) and interact with the audience met.

5 5 Continue using artistes in other outreach activities. In Montego Bay had used them in schools and in Manchester used them at the parish council meeting to add a new dimension/angle to the outreach efforts. The two artistes involved said they had learnt a lot by sitting in and listening to the various presentations by technical experts. Artistes are more aware of the need to consistently provide environmental awareness and climate change messages during their performances but additional training could support their efforts. It is therefore recommended that some of the artistes participate in the vulnerability and adaptation training being planned by the UWI Climate Studies Group in August There is need to have a secure and separate backstage area for the artistes where the audience cannot enter. Audience members entering the backstage area sometimes disrupt the flow of the programme and cause unnecessary confusion for the MCs and the sound crew. The strategic use of prizes and giveaways were useful and attracted the crowd Continue to keep the Director of Communications in the Ministry abreast of activities so that she can involve the Minister and his advisory team in the campaign activities wherever possible. The Minister s Senior Advisor on Climate Change had signalled her intention to come and make a presentation at the parish council meeting in Manchester, but had to cancel the engagement a day before the event. The project has agreed to support training and public education activities by the Manchester Parish Council, which focus particularly on the Alligator Pond community and environs, as a pilot public education project as outlined in log frame activities for Result Area Three. It is hoped that these activities can be initiated in August 2012 before the parish disaster coordinator goes on study leave.

6 6 SCENES FROM THE MANCHESTER OUTREACH JULY 5-6, 2012 Parish Council Climate Change Stakeholders Meeting-July 5, 2012

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8 8 Media Sensitisation Session-Mandeville Hotel, July 6, 2012

9 9 Edutainment Event-Mandeville Park-July 6

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