Soul Beat Africa

• STRATEGIES - community participation and ICTS to build resilience and respond to emergencies...
• RESOURCES FOR PROGRAMME MANAGERS - a game for disaster risk reduction and a communication toolbox for emergencies...
• RESOURCES FOR THE MEDIA - DDR and crisis reporting guides for journalists...

• 1. Ready! Lessons in the Design of Humanitarian Games [2014]This report looks at a study that explores the effectiveness of games designed to create awareness and trigger conversation about DRR, particularly focusing on the example of Ready! played in Namibia. Designed by PETLab, at Parsons The New School for Design for use by the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, Ready! is a relatively physical game that can be played using virtually any disaster scenario. The goal of this Climate Centre working paper is to identify best practices for using games in DRR and to document what has been learned for the benefit of international humanitarian organisations, designers, and practitioners interested in the potential of games.
  
• 2. Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Management: Stories of Change from CDKN [April, 2013]By Mairi DuparThis brief presents results from projects supported by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) to assess vulnerability and to mainstream climate resilience into development planning. Case studies from several countries illustrate the importance of involving diverse social groups in defining and monitoring vulnerability and delivering adaptation solutions. The brief highlights the use of techniques such as role-playing games to raise people's awareness of the challenges posed by decision-making in a changing climate.
  
• 3. Humanitarianism in the Network Age [April, 2013]This report from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) imagines how a world of increasingly informed, connected, and self-reliant communities will affect the delivery of humanitarian assistance. It lays out some of the most pertinent features of new technologies, such as SMS (text messaging), social media, and others, identifying the opportunities and difficulties in applying them.
  
• 4. Improving Communication Between Aid Agencies and Crisis-affected People: Lessons from the Infoasaid Project [February, 2013]By Carole Chapelier and Anita ShahThis paper, commissioned by the Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN) at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), discusses how communication can be used in emergency contexts to improve humanitarian responses, with particular focus on the infoasaid project experience. Infoasaid was implemented from 2010 to 2012 by BBC Media Action and Internews "to improve the quality of humanitarian response by maximising the amount of accurate and timely information available to humanitarian responders and crisis-affected populations through enhanced communication between them in an emergency." It included the development of a set of humanitarian communication tools and pilot projects designed to address the drought and insecurity crisis affecting areas of Kenya and Somalia. These pilot projects used community radio and mobile phone applications to disseminate information and engage communities.
  
• 5. Hashtag Standards for Emergencies [October, 2014]By Roxanne MooreThis "Think Brief", published by OCHA, discusses the emerging use of social media, particularly Twitter, as part of emergency responses. It outlines the value of such social media, and in particular how twitter can be used effectively as a real time information gathering and dissemination tool. Due to the high volume of information, the brief proposes that using standardised and effective "hashtags" associated with Twitter can help with directing and analysing the information being generated.
  
• 6. Communicating During Disasters: Examining the Relationship between Humanitarian Organizations and Local Media [September, 2013]This report by Internews in collaboration with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) examines the relationship between humanitarian aid organisations and local media from the perspective of the aid providers in order to identify ways in which these relationships can be improved to better serve the needs of communities affected by disasters.
  
• 7. Towards a Code of Conduct: Guidelines for the Use of SMS in Natural Disasters [February, 2013]This publication draws on existing expertise across numerous organisations and previous research to codify a series of best conduct practices for the use of short messaging service (SMS) in disaster response. The draft code of conduct, prepared by Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GMSA) Disaster Response, Souktel, and The Qatar Foundation, seeks to bring an improved sense of coordination and understanding between telecommunications companies and humanitarian actors. It recognises the expertise of both the humanitarian and mobile sectors in their particular domains and the benefits to each in strengthening the coordination and partnerships between them.
  
• 8. Social Media in Emergencies: UNICEF Guidelines for Communication and Public Advocacy [2012]Focusing on the use of social media to communicate with the general public and the media in emergency situations, these guidelines are designed to assist communications officers at United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) headquarters, regional and country offices, and in national committees. Social media is described here as a means to ensure that information reaches the intended audience as part of an overall communications mix that includes offline media as well as other digital tools such as websites or email newsletters.
  
• 9. Mobile Technology in Emergencies: Efficient Cash Transfer Mechanisms and Effective Two-Way Communication with Disaster-Affected Communities using Mobile Phone Technology [December, 2012]Based on experiences in 6 countries (Niger, Kenya, Somalia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan), Save the Children and the Vodaphone Foundation outline some of the ways in which information and communication technology (ICT) can be used to address the challenges in a crisis, looking in particular at mobile cash transfers, which "have been a leading context for the use of mobiles in emergencies and have important lessons for the wider use of mobile technology."
  

• 10. In Harm's Way: Oxfam America's Game on Rethinking Natural DisastersOxfam America's interactive game, In Harm's Way, is designed to help raise awareness of the causes and consequences of disasters, as well as the positive ways that communities can work to lessen the impact. The planning kit provides step-by-step guidance on how to conduct a role-playing game, including a script designed for two speakers.
  
• 11. Communication and Complex Emergencies: A Resource Guide [June, 2014]By Andrew Skuse, Tait Brimacombe, and Dianne RodgerThis guide assesses the broad role and use of communication in complex emergencies, cutting across all forms of communication - from interpersonal to mass media to new communication technologies. It provides a range of examples of situations in which communication supports humanitarian relief, conflict reduction, and recovery. It also highlights a number of guiding principles that are designed to ensure communication effectiveness in crisis situations and offers links to external resources developed by bilateral and multilateral agencies.
  
• 12. Communication Toolbox: Practical Guidance for Program Managers to Improve Communication with Participants and Community Members [August, 2013]Published by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), this Communication Toolbox offers practical guidance for programme managers who want to communicate more effectively with programme participants and community members. Designed for emergency and development programmes, the toolbox focuses on communicating about programmes as a way to improve accountability to communities. This toolbox was inspired by programmes in Haiti, where Catholic Relief Services observed that relatively simple, low-cost activities that promoted transparent communication substantially improved programme implementation.
  
• 13. Toolkit for National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa [2010]This toolkit, published by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), outlines actions, examples, and resources recommended to establish, maintain, and sustain national platforms for DRR. National platforms are described as "a generic term for national mechanisms for coordination and policy guidance on disaster risk reduction that are multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary in nature, with public, private and civil society participation involving all concerned entities within a country."
  

• 14. Disaster through a Different Lens: Behind Every Effect, There Is a Cause - A Guide for Journalists Covering Disaster Risk Reduction [May, 2011]This guidebook for journalists, produced by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), is written not for DRR practitioners, but, rather, for journalists and the media who are interested in learning more about DRR issues. It describes how climate change, environmental degradation, evolution of extreme events such as droughts and floods, poverty, and rapid urbanisation contribute to exposing more people to disasters, and discusses what the media can do to convince more national and local governments to invest more in DRR policies.
  
• 15. Always Alert: Reducing Disaster Risk Guide for Communicators and Radio Broadcasters [2012]By Deborah WalterThis manual focuses on broadcasting around disaster risk reduction and was developed for the media in Mozambique following severe flooding in the country. It was designed to be used for self-study, to gain ideas and insight about reporting and communicating on DRR, and to develop training programmes with community radio stations to support DRR efforts.
  
• 16. Reporting on Humanitarian Crises: A Manual for Trainers and Journalists and an Introduction for Humanitarian Workers [April, 2014]By Jacobo Quintanilla, Jesse Hardman, Matt Abud, Alison Campbell, and Deborah EnsorFrom Internews, this manual and set of handouts are designed to prepare journalists to cover natural and manmade disasters in a more informed, balanced way and to show how a utilitarian approach to information content and dissemination can be an effective life saver. It is intended to function as both an educational guide that journalists can read and learn from, and as an outline for a workshop focusing on the training of local reporters.
  
• 17. Disaster and Crisis Coverage [2009]By Deborah Potter and Sherry RicchiardiThis online guidebook is designed to help journalists prepare for future disaster coverage. It is part of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)'s work to provide journalists with training so that newspapers have a plan for dealing with possible disaster scenarios including: lack of power and transportation, anticipated equipment needs, staffing issues, and the conditions of journalists who are required to deal with traumatic stress from disaster reporting.
  

• Michael Wod-Awat Olworo - Communication Strategist, International Development Consultant - Uganda
• Noni Gachuhi, M.P.H. - International Public Health Consultant - Johannesburg Area, South Africa
• Juliet Le Breton - Communication for Development and Social Change Consultant - Harare, Zimbabwe