Report on Montego Bay Outreach Activities of the GOJ/EU/UNEP Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Project April 19-20, 2012

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1 1 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, 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.

2 2 Results: - 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 2 nd 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. - 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). - A Townhall Meeting- There were about 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. - 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.

3 3 - 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 schools- Howard Cooke Primary, Corinaldi Primary, Flankers Primary and Junior High and Barracks Road Primary. - 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 Montego- Bay 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

4 4 15. Natalie Fearon did a radio interview on Nationwide at 6:50 pm on April 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.

5 5 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.

6 6 Media Coverage of Montego Bay Events for Earth Day-Hyperlinks Artistes lift voices for Climate Change-The Gleaner, Sunday, April 15, Govt moving quickly to address climate change-pickersgill JIS, April 19, Full slate of activities to mark Earth Day on April 22-JIS, April 19, Jamaica Observes Earth Day-April Radio Jamaica - April 19, Pictorial Coverage of the Private Sector Luncheon-The Gleaner, April 21, Earth Day 2012: Concerns about Effect of Climate Change-IRIE FM, April 22, Climate Change will be considered in deciding land use says Pickersgill- Jamaica Observer, April 22, Citizens must help minimise the effects of climate change -JIS, April 23, citizens-must-help-minimize-the-effects-of-climate-change MoBay could be wiped out! Western Mirror-April 28, Vulnerability of the Montego Bay Coastal Zone-Western Mirror, April 28,

7 7 SCENES FROM THE MONTEGO BAY OUTREACH APRIL 19-20, 2012 Journalism Sensitisation Workshop-Wexford Court Hotel, April 19, 2012

8 8 Private Sector Luncheon Pelican Restaurant, April 19, 2012

9 9 Townhall Meeting Montego Bay Civic Centre, April 19, 2012

10 10 School Visits and Boat Tour with Voices for Climate Change Education Artistes