The United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) promotes global awareness and United Nations paintings through its networked paintings of United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) around the world. The United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva targets local audiences in Switzerland.
Hélène Papper, Director of UNIC Colombia, spoke with Solange Behoteguy Cortes from the UN in Geneva about the many demanding situations and successes she has faced during the pandemic.
“Getting the right message out about COVID-19 can be challenging, but it saves lives”
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise around the world, the data factor is more vital than ever: lives are counting. ” Receiving quality data allows us to make the right decisions and save lives,” says Hélène Papper, Director of the United Nations Information Centre for Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela (UNIC Colombia).
UNIC Colombia is one of the 59 United Nations centers leading the fight against what the World Health Organization (WHO) has called an “infodemic. “
This proliferation of pandemic-like news and rumors has accentuated a truth that already existed in the region, Hélène says.
He explains how other people in several Latin American countries, including Colombia, recently gained a tantalizing WhatsApp message. “Stay at home, the UN will bring you food,” he promises. . . in exchange for non-public data, of course. Still, this has led others to flock to the U. N. office in hopes of getting something to eat.
At the time of writing, while none of the countries where Hélène works has announced an end to the national lockdown – and some, including Colombia, have extended theirs until May 11 – some messages posted on social media claim otherwise, with conflicting dates. and timings on when self-isolation restrictions will be lifted.
Other messages falsely attributed to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) claimed that other people drink hot water and eat ice cream to avoid infection. “These fake messages also say that even once we are allowed to pass out, everything will remain closed. for a year,” Hélène continues: “People are afraid and others take advantage of this situation to manipulate them. “
To combat this barrage of disinformation, UNIC Colombia has partnered with key local actors, such as local law enforcement radio stations and cybersecurity centers, whose public service announcements are broadcast from speakers installed on the back of motorcycles that drive through towns and cities. Access to a radio.
Most recently, Hélène oversaw a new collaboration with global news firm Agence France Presse (AFP). It collaborates with UNIC groups in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia sharing its fact-checking generation in exchange for its news tracking reports. Creativity and debate are two formidable weapons to prevent the pandemic and the infodemic from destroying us,” says Hélène.
UNIC Colombia has also created an online page dedicated exclusively to issues similar to COVID-19. It offers a “true or false” quiz and educational games. People can also ask their questions about the pandemic through a WhatsApp account created through UNIC Colombia with that of the WHO. UNIC Colombia’s radio groups read them and give answers on the radio systems they broadcast on their radio station Voces Unidas. Similar charts are also being made with indigenous communities in their own languages.
Hélène and her team are just one of many UN data centers that challenge and debunk myths and misinformation. But having been on the front lines of this constant struggle, they are convinced that attacking misleading content is enough; what they need is a basic overhaul of how the Internet works.
This fear has been addressed by the WHO, which has created a team of “myth busters” that collaborates heavily with companies such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.
Together they analyze the effects of search engines and remove content from unfounded medical reviews that can endanger people’s health.
Hélène is a young mother and life is, of course, a constant balance between her professional and domestic responsibilities. Like her female colleagues, she lives with her son and has no maid or nanny. Her son is six years old and his life, like most others in the world, replaced overnight due to COVID-19.
You don’t need to leave it for a second. Sometimes he cries, not yet old enough to express his emotions in any other way. “He pays attention to me all day to communicate about the virus. Inevitably, this affects him,” says Hélène. To calm him down, he rarely puts on his headphones. with him, so that he can pay attention to you in your meetings.
“It’s a time to reinvent yourself. You have to do everything, take care of the house, be a mother, be a teacher, a psychologist and manage a workplace and tight deadlines,” she adds.
Sometimes it’s just not imaginable to do everything the task throws at you. “We shouldn’t sacrifice those we love,” she says from her apartment, where she works remotely in three languages under the watchful eye of her son. “This myth of the figure of the superwoman will also have to be destroyed. “
Although it can be difficult, Hélène tries to pass out with her son for an hour a day without her phone or tablet. She is aware that she is privileged compared to thousands of people confined in conditions marked by inequality or domestic violence. .
In Colombia, the most vulnerable people are women, casual workers, and the many Venezuelan migrants and refugees who used to work as street vendors and now find themselves unemployed.
When asked how she sees the end of the crisis, Hélène responds without hesitation: “I think we will have to be artistic after COVID and take advantage of the UN’s global dialogue,”75 she said, referring to UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ speech. initiative to inspire others around the world to voice their key considerations and priorities today, on the 75th anniversary of the Organization.
“After all, even after the pandemic, the world will continue to grapple with the problems that the Sustainable Development Goals aim to address, in addition to the fight against poverty and hunger,” Hélène adds.
As our long virtual verbal exchange between Geneva and Bogotá draws to a close, Hélène gives a glimpse of what motivates her now and what will likely occupy her once the pandemic is over: “Communication is a struggle,” she says. During the deconfinement procedure, one of the maximum responsibilities will be to “detoxify” ourselves from fake news and reconsider the place of social networks in our lives. “
“You see, we’re not making these pictures to make ourselves feel better. That kind of traditional perception of what a benefactor is. We are making these paintings because we are completely convinced that it is not necessary, in today’s world, for so many other people. to enjoy the discomfort, for so many other people to enjoy the hardships, for so many other people to see their lives and livelihoods at risk. “
Dr. David Nabarro has committed his life to global health. After a long career that has taken him from the horrors of the Iraq war to the devastating aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he still feels compelled to act on the enormous inequalities in the world. health care.
“What helps me stay awake at night are the inequalities endemic in our world. . . We see a lot of unnecessary suffering. “
The Manguinhos Ballet, named after its favela in Rio de Janeiro, is back on level after a long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has 250 young people and adolescents from the favela as interpreters. The ballet organization provides social assistance in a network where poverty, hunger and teenage pregnancy are constant problems.
The pandemic has put many other people to the test, and journalists are no exception. Not only has the coronavirus waged a war against the lives and well-being of other people, but it has also spawned countless clinical deceptions and lies.