Discussion forum hosted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Broadcasting Union

How can public broadcasters contribute to reducing disaster risk,
saving lives and fulfilling their mandate to further the public good?

SRSG

Discussion forum hosted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
and the World Broadcasting Union

14.00- 15.40 (Session 1)- 13 May 2019

Ladies and gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure to join you today, on the very first day of the Global Platform, and to engage around such a critical element of how we prepare for, live through and avert disasters.

• I thank the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and in particular, EBU president Noel Curran, who conceived this panel discussion today on behalf all World Broadcasting Unions.
• I also acknowledge all who have joined us today- representatives of public broadcasters, whose reach and role is critical to citizen information and well-being. We are really delighted that you too see the importance of this discussion.
• When we think about the elements of what keeps our society functioning, naturally, the media is one of the essential components. We often refer to the mainstream press and news media as the ‘fourth estate’, or the ‘fourth power’ in acknowledgement of the explicit capacity that you have in regard to advocacy and citizen engagement, particularly around political and state governance issues.
• The ‘fifth estate’, or social/online media, has now joined the ranks, and is a vital tool in giving those who previously may not have had a voice, a platform and an audience. And whilst this is fundamental to how democracy functions today, it is also true to say that the rise of the fifth estate has also contributed to the triumph of opinion over expertise, of sensationalism over accuracy, and – some would say- reducing people’s attention span to two seconds!
• As public broadcasters, you are not just about numbers of ‘likes’, ‘shares’ and ‘engagement statistics’- although these things are important- as a public broadcaster, you have a mandate that goes beyond vanity metrics.
• You serve the public. You connect the public to issues of the day, unfiltered, unaligned and unbiased. You connect the public to ideas, to innovation and to information that is designed to contribute to the public good.
• You are a key partner for us in the business of reducing disaster risk: ensuring that critical communication infrastructure functions to alert potentially affected public, providing information to help communities prepare to survive a disaster event, and providing accurate timely information about how and where to seek help in a disaster event.
• UNDRR has been working closely with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) to promote disaster risk reduction and the implementation of the Sendai Framework, the global plan of action to reduce disaster risk and loss by 2030, among their members.
• These actions have showed how accurate and timely information through tv, radio and printed media could impact positively populations, better preparing them against disasters and alerting them on increasing disaster risk.
• The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted in 2015 has defined four areas of priorities and seven targets. Two targets are particularly significant to our discussion today:
  • Target (d) of the Sendai Framework which is to substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services – i.e.
    • Do we have the necessary protocols in place to disseminate the right messages and how do we work with specialized international institutions and national partners to ensure that the complete early warning chain is working, accurate and timely?
    • What critical infrastructure development is needed to support a resilient communication infrastructure?
  • Target (g) of the Sendai Framework which is to increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to people by 2030 – i.e.
    • How do we incorporate innovative programming in the public interest?
    • How can we encourage more constructive journalism that deals with disaster risk reduction and climate change issues?
• If we are to take the radical actions necessary to protect the future of our planet, we must be open to asking the questions, and finding the answers together. And we look forward to exchanging opinions and experiences today.
• Today is the start of what we hope is an ongoing conversation. You know the issues that need to be raised and dealt with. We want to support you to be the catalysts for change in the countries you operate and for the public you serve. We are very excited by what we can achieve together.

Thank you