Broadcasters and presenters from 17 countries participated in a workshop on Emergency and Disaster Management in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The workshop, held on October 29 and 30, was organised by the CBA and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) to introduce current expertise and share best practices for use before, during and after emergencies for Caribbean broadcasters.

“We would like to encourage regional collaboration and set objectives for continued engagement,” said Adam Weatherhead, Project Manager with the CBA. “While we had planned the workshop long before Hurricane Sandy, it has provided a timely reminder of the importance of organised information sharing in the region.”

The workshop, which had around 40 participants, targeted senior broadcasters throughout the Caribbean. Countries represented included Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.

The workshop included presentations from Patrick Cozier, Secretary General of the CBU, Barbara Jacobs-Small from Saint Lucia, Rose Willock from Montserrat, Emanuel Moolchan from Trinidad and Tobago, Russell Lewis from National Public Radio in Alabama and Anahi Iacucci from Internews (Washington).

It was facilitated by Indi Mclymont-Lafayette, Country Coordinator (Jamaica Office), Panos Caribbean.

The workshop also received support from other partners such as United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), Commonwealth of Learning, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, Atlantic LNG and CCN-TV6.

Powerpoint’s available upon request.

Programme

Monday 29 October

Strategic planning for emergency situations and business continuity
Khemraj Nanhu, Business Strategies Limited

Covering disasters and trauma
Russell Lewis, Southern Bureau Chief, NPR

Causes of natural disasters
Indi Mclymont-Lafayette, Panos Caribbean

Meteorological Services and the media
Emmanuel Moolchan, Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service

New media tools for broadcasters
Anahi Ayala Iacucci, Internews

Tuesday 30th October

Sharing best practices – when disaster strikes
Rose Willock, Radio Montserrat
Richard Purcell, CCCL
Gary Allen, RJR

Public Service Broadcasters at times of national crises
Patrick Cozier, CBU
Adam Weatherhead, CBA

Participatory approaches to disaster awareness campaigns
Barbara Jacobs Small, Transformative Communication Partners
Ian Pringle, Commonwealth of Learning

Regional and local disaster response mechanisms – the media as active participants
Nadine Newsome, Communication Specialist/Lecturer Disaster Studies

Regional collaboration – the next steps
Indi Mclymont-Lafayette, Panos Caribbean