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By Jonathan Ulrich, Francisco Ianni and Jimena Cuevas
Traditional on-site and face-to-face resilience-building activities should not be carried out for humanitarian and progression organizations due to the coronavirus pandemic and related closures. While communities around the world still face hazards in the form of Covid-19, as well as herbal hazards such as flooding, it is more vital than ever to locate practical tactics to help communities build resilience. Flood resilience and pandemic preparedness paintings through the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance (ZFRA) team of the Mexican Red Cross illustrates how the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of virtual methodologies and tools, as well as the opportunities and situations that come with them.
Prior to Covid-19, the Flood Resilience Team was responsible for network brigade education and crisis threat control (DRR/M) network education. These activities were based on face-to-face interaction with communities, and the virtual team played only a minor role in the work. The team used WhatsApp to coordinate upcoming occasions with network leaders. The local Red Cross subsidiary also obtained hydrometeorological data from the Institute of Civil Protection through WhatsApp. Social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter were only used for popular communication activities. All of this has been replaced with the onset of the pandemic and confinement, because face-to-face interaction with communities has been and remains impossible.
Driven by the circumstances, the team is now increasingly resevering on social media, messaging facilities and communication teams to stay in touch and help communities in the crisis. For example, while fitness awareness and promotion have historically been done face-to-face, the team now stores infographics, podcasts and videos on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. Responding to the acute wishes of communities at the start of the pandemic, the team encouraged Covid-19 protection measures at home and abroad and raised awareness of the differences between Covid-19 and dengue symptoms.
Beyond messages and data shared with communities, the team’s virtual netpainting paintings help and enable communities to organize. It is more vital than ever to facilitate organization and social cohesion, as blockades and physical distance can lead to social estrangement and erosion of social capital. As Brenda Avila Flores, ZFRA Country Program Manager, says: “For us, ties with and in communities are very vital. Whether covid-19, floods or storms, we want to be in touch with them to find out how communities are organizing and helping them.
For wide dissemination, the team works strongly with key players such as local leaders, authorities, teachers and directors, who act as multipliers. For example, videos and infographics are percentages with teachers and principals, who then percentages with colleagues, academics, and parents. In this way, the team can take advantage of existing communication channels. Teachers’ comments indicate that students liked animated videos about Covid-19’s security measures.
Podcasts selling Covid-19 security measures are shared with leaders and local authorities, who broadcast them over loudspeakers in communities. Curtains are also shared on the WhatsApp teams of network brigade members who were recruited prior to the pandemic. As a result, the team was able to remain in close contact with 4 communities of approximately 2,000 more people in Teapa and 18 communities of approximately 6,700 more people in Jonuta.
Weekly follow-up calls with network leaders are used as feedback channels and to monitor the stage in the field. As Gabriel Reyes, ZFRA Field Coordinator, explains, “Staying in normal contact with communities also allows them to request express data and the team to create what other people are asking for.” Close two-way communication allows the equipment to remain network-oriented and demand-driven.
Of course, this new way of running is not without challenges. Internet access may be limited in remote areas, due to virtual illiteracy and/or (smart) phone prices and cellular knowledge. As a result, activities would possibly not succeed in all members of the community, and i.e. poor and remote families would possibly be excluded. The team is aware of this and is exploring tactics to succeed over those obstacles. For example, videos are shared at the shortest length imaginable to reduce knowledge traffic. However, the scope of the challenge is unclear, as lately the team only has incomplete data on use through phone, social media and messaging communities, which they hoped would be very different from reports in cities.
Another challenge is reliance on the team from other stakeholders and networks, making it difficult to control content and assess its effect. For example, the team is convinced that their contacts have a percentage of data and clothing with the rest of the community. However, ZFRA staff and volunteers are aware of the threat of data being used for propaganda and political purposes. This is especially complicated in fragile contexts with political conflicts. In addition, since you cannot imagine rigorous follow-up and evaluation due to the blockade, the team is limited to anecdotal evidence of the effect that activities have. This maximum of evidence occasionally comes from key contacts and stakeholders.
Digital technologies, and social media in particular, can be hard equipment for CRR and resilience systems when site and face-to-face activities cannot be performed. Mexico’s example shows how Internet access, social media, and messaging open up new opportunities to succeed and work even with remote and inaccessible communities. Exploration and use of these opportunities accelerated with Covid-19.
We have observed with coronavirus and related blockages in all countries how professionals no longer use social media only as a communication tool, but as mechanisms for delivering fundamental paintings in areas of threat awareness, education and progression workshops, and facilitate two-way dialogues with critical stakeholders. . Especially as we move forward with “the new standard” and the possible waves of moments, we want to anticipate hybrid programming and a service delivery strategy. As Gabriel Reyes says: “As a cash coordinator, I think we want to mix virtual activities and presence because we expect the existing scenario to continue for some time. We are exploring tactics for our communication and virtual activities.”
The Covid-19 crisis is likely to be an era of primary reforms in the CRR’s programming and resilience, driving the digitization procedure unprecedented. Reforms triggered through Covid-19 and the roles that organizations are now developing will shape CRR and resilience systems in the “new normal” of the post-Covid-19 world.
The potential benefits of this transformation are obvious. Digital teams and strategies enable organizations to work with communities even when access is unimaginable due to blocking, remoteness, lack of trust, or impassable paths due to flooding. In addition, the use of virtual teams and strategies opens up unprecedented opportunities for effective CRR scaling and resilience service delivery and access to a wider audience. However, demanding situations such as the exclusion of vulnerable computers without Internet access are serious and must be addressed.
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