[MUSIC] Welcome back to this course on Specificities of Humanitarian Communication in the Action. In this second part, we will focus mainly on the communication managed during and after the deployment of assistance. Let's start. From day one of the intervention up to the end of the project, the staff of the aid organization will use communication as a mean to create and develop its working space. I said previously, while developing a project, the organization establishes a communication channel with affected population. The participation of the future recipient will ensure that the offer of assistance meets their needs, is adapted to the evolution of the context, and that they accept the aid actor. This implies a process of continued dialogue between the two parties. Communication is also crucial in terms of accountability and potential complaint mechanism. We will see that later. A foreign organization must have a clear authorization of deployment. The authorities in charge may grant it easily or not based on the reserves of a mission negotiation. In the initial phase, the authorities must be able to recognize the added value of the aid actor. To achieve this, the aid organization must be able to provide information on who it is, its values, and operation and principles, and communicate its intentions, its identity, and its added value in this, in a convincing manner. The image it presents upfront will play a major role during the next phases and is particularly important to gain acceptance. But, as an organization's intervention is not isolated from its context, it must implement its action within a specific framework and coordinate it with other actors. And usually, the framework is defined and given by the national authorities who validate the organization's presence on their territory. And they validate also the project that has to be implemented. In addition, in order to avoid duplication and enhance an efficient use of resources, organizations usually coordinate with other humanitarian actors or actors involved in humanitarian action, whether local or international. This is done through meetings dedicated to sharing experience and information and creating synergies. Potential partnerships may be developed with locally or nationally organized groups who have the same intention of helping the affected people. Such partnerships can only happen if all partners share the same intention and also the same values on how the aid must be deployed. The humanitarian principles usually are the main framework for such partnership. It is frequently deployed in context where the crisis is partially or completely disrupted political, social, and economic structures. Diverge and interest between warring parties in a conflict, frictions between ethnically, religiously, or culturally different population groups, or simply the struggle for survive, it creates tensions and rivalries. This may jeopardize the possibility to assist those most in need or the most vulnerable population. Indeed, it can divert aid delivery or even prevent it. It's the responsibility of the aid organizations through communication activities to maintain an adequate working space, to discuss with all parties, to take full advantage of federal inferences and to mitigate the negative ones. By doing so, the aid organization ensures that its presence and actions are accepted by all parties. In order to achieve this, aid actors must engage in three main activities, enter into dialogue and build relationship with all actors to constantly demonstrate their credibility and legitimacy. This include the assisted population, the actors of influence, such as armed groups, authorities or the formal or informal leaders and other organizations. Second, to negotiate the access to the affected population and work in mandatories in order to develop the project according to its own terms. Third activity is to advocate on behalf of the population for the delivery of appropriate and principle guided assistance and protection services. We will come to the definition of these terms in a minute. These three activities of communication are part of the operational communication. The operational communication is the communication that directly impacts on the capacity to deploy an effective response to the need of the population affected by the crisis. Now, we are going to look at these three activities in more details. To develop dialogue and build relationship refers to the medium, humanitarian organizations interact with the affected population, its staff and the externals difficulties. The participation, means the quality of the relationship with the affected population that creates the necessary environment for smooth implementation of the aid. Notably by providing them clear mechanism for their feedback on the type of the aid received and how it is distributed. The humanitarian representation involves meeting with all external stakeholders such as the community leaders, authorities, and armed groups to create a network of information providers and the likes. For each of these activities, the organization's identity and projects, its way of working and its values are presented in a formal as well as informal meetings, through presentation folders, radio and TV interventions. The way this will be done should be defined in a communication strategy. One of the aims is to prevent or respond to possible opposition to the aid project or aid actor. In case of blockages preventing the aid actor to access a population group in need of assistance, in case of conflict or immediate threat to the security of the staff or the assisted population, or simply to ensure acceptable working conditions aid actors must enter into what is called humanitarian negotiations. In negotiating, the aid actor is trying to create a mutual interest with his interlocutor to find a solution based on humanitarian grounds. Certain negotiations are traditionally done in a discreet way and may take time. Editors may use humanitarian advocacy because they are confronted with latent or manifest resistances to the provision of it, or to the operational strategies. And then eventually, we may want to shed light on a crisis or reveal the insufficiency of the aid action developed. Advocacy is a process by which an aid organization implements the service of communication activities in public or beyond closed doors, trying to influence the power holders. The aim is being to put pressure on them to take an action in a positive sense for the affected populations on a specific issue at stake. All three activities must be based on a comprehensive understanding of the context and of the actors who can exert a positive influence. According to the specificities of the context and the issue at stake, communication action may consist in a series such of meetings, reports, reportage, public opinion on position at local or global level. And the use of locally adapted channels of information to pass the message to inform or convince the power holders. During projects implementation, the organization must have a proper internal communication. This should ensure that staffs are aware of the issues at stake, are convinced of the organization's value to fully embrace their role of ambassador of the organization. It also allows keeping the motivation of the staff that is able to understand and participate in problem solving if it's needed. To summarize, we can see that solely good intentions and adapting the response to the needs of the population are not sufficient to undertake assistance and protection project. Pressures, resistance or outright a position to aid deployment, require aid organization to constantly communicate, adapt the message internally as externally through locally relevant channels to the targeted audience. If the situation gets back to normal at the end of a crisis, for example after the epidemic outbreak or if the aid organization decides to stop its action at a certain point, the handover of activities must be planned. The best mechanism or actor must be identified to preserve the benefits of the aid action and to increase its chance of sustainability. Such handover is possible only if good communication channels are developed and maintained in this constantly, between partners as with the affected population. The formal evaluation of an aid project is a good moment for the aid organization to communicate successes. But also limits of the project. This allows the organization to be accountable first and foremost to the affected population but also to its donors and to its own staff. Lessons learned from the experience must first be analyzed internally and then should be shared with other aid actors and observer of humanitarian action. This sharing of information is necessary to constructively fuel debates around humanitarian aids and it's impact. In conclusion, we can see that the better the aid organization knows the context of its intervention, the better it will understand the dynamics among local and international actors. This will in turn allow it to better master its communication which is an essential ingredient of the aid action itself. First and foremost communication allows the aid actor to exist and furthermore it's a necessary tool to allow humanitarian aid to meet the real needs. And I see, I can say to you, thank you. [MUSIC]
