OECD-IRGC Workshop on Social Media and Crisis Communication

Jointly with OECD, IRGC organised a workshop on ‘Crisis Communication: opportunities and challenges of social media’, on 29 June 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Background

The workshop explored how governments can use, influence, and shape social media and social networking for effective and reliable two-way communication in times of crisis. It is both about how social media shape modern communications and how governments can use them for the purpose of improving crisis management.

Among the topics for discussions were:

• How to use social media and social networks for risk and crisis communication
• How to manage social media in such a way that it contributes to effective risk and crisis management.

Presentations and policy oriented discussions focused on enabling participants to identify opportunities and constraints and ways to remedy to them.

Proceedings:

Welcome by Pierre-Alain Schieb, Head of OECD Futures Projects, OECD Secretariat and Marie-Valentine Florin, Managing Director IRGC

Plenary Session I

• Key note introduction – Federal Managment Agency briefing, Robert A. Farmer, Operations Division, Resopnse Directorate, FEMA, USA

Breakout Session I– Eyjafjallajökull eruption crisis (Iceland, 2010)

• Communicating during a volcano, Kyla Evans, Corporate Communications and Stakeholder Relations Management, Eurocontrol

Breakout Session II– Great East Japan Earthquake (Japan, 2011)

• Opportunities and challenges of social media, Yoshimitsu Kaji, Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Relations Office, Japan
• Risk communication by social media in Korea, Seong-Ju Kang, Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Korea

Plenary Session II– Improving national risk and crisis communication strategies by working with the social media: conditions for success

• Social media success factors for improving national risk & crisis communication strategies, Tim Tinker, Booz, Allen & Hamilton
• Social media for emergency management, Jeff Boycuk, Public Safety Canada
• Improving national risk and crisis communication, Anita Friend, Cabinet Office, Civil Contingencies Secretariat, United Kingdom
• Opportunities and challenges of social media, Mexico National Experience, Juan Carlos Orantes, Ministry of the Interior, Mexico

Plenary Session III– Communicating at times of catastrophic events: sharing practices across the public and private sectors

• Setting the scene: Stephane Koch, Consultant IT and communication
• Paul Conneally, Communication and Partnership Promotion Division, International Telecommunication Union
• Crisis communication @Nestlé, Marc Schaedeli, Group Risk Management,  Nestlé
• Filtering Twitter to obtain real-time intelligence, Richard Stronkman, Twitcident, Delft University of Technology

Policy Round Table

• Opportunities and challenges of social media, Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman ICT4Peace
• Examining crisis mapping, Findings from two studies by the CSS-ETH Zurich, Stefan Brem, Risk Analysis and Research coordination, Federal Office for Cvil Protection, Switzerland
• Opportunities for international cooperation, Ulf Bjurman, Senior Advisor